Self-portrait with an Anti-heroine. Women as Negative Figures in the Novels about Female University Students Cover Image

Autoportret z antybohaterką. Negatywne postacie kobiece w powieściach o studentkach
Self-portrait with an Anti-heroine. Women as Negative Figures in the Novels about Female University Students

Author(s): Justyna Górny
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: studentka w powieści; Grete von Urbanitzky; Maria Szeliga; Vicki Baum; postać literacka; literatura XIX wieku; literatura XX wieku; female student in the novel; literary character; 19th century litera

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the relations between protagonists and episodic figures on the pages of late 19th and early 20th century novels thematising female students. As shown in the analysis, episodic characters, most of all those with negative attributes, are most informative in the context of the novel’s discursive and ideological underpinnings. Besides, negative episodic characters contrast with the idealised protagonists. The transfer of negative features onto the episodic figures turns them into vehicles of social criticism. Their contrast to the protagonists is instrumental in placing the novel inbetween the utopia and critique, creating both a fairytale and literary representation of oppression.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 44
  • Page Range: 67-90
  • Page Count: 24
  • Language: Polish