| Abstrakt: |
Czech novels for girls began to be published in the last third of the nineteenth century. Among the first such works were adaptations from German literature made by Eliška Krásnohorská (1847-1926). Czech women authors, too, gradually began to write literature for girls. Among the aims of this special genre was to strengthen the gender role of the girls and women who read it. The gender stereotypes not only reflected the contemporary state of affairs, but also importantly helped to create it. Throughout the long nineteenth century girls were brought up mainly to be good wives, mothers, and housekeepers. But this norm also changed, particularly with regard to the approach to education after the middle of the century. Novels for girls also reveal male stereotypes, especially of the father as head of the family. Last but not least one can usefully read this genre as normative literature, which defined the boundaries that middleclass men and women should not go beyond in their relations with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
