Kumičić’s Literary Mothers: The Construction of Motherhood in the Novel Olga i Lina

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the textualization of motherhood in Eugen Kumičić’s novel Olga i Lina [Olga and Lina]. The emphasis is on the characters of mothers portrayed in the novel as “good” mothers and “bad” mothers. The paper addresses two main research questions. The first refers to what characterizes Kumičić’s “good” mother as “good” as well as the features of his “bad” mothers. Secondly, we look into whether the author uses standard (literary) models of motherhood or whether he departs from social and literary conventions, and why motherhood appears as an essential topic in Kumičić’s novel.

Keywords: Eugen Kumičić, Olga i Lina, motherhood, “good” mothers, “bad” mothers