Der Bruch mit der literarischen Tradition: Weibliche Identitätskonzepte in Zofka Kveders multikulturellem OEuvre
Breaking with the Paradigm of Literary Tradition: Female Identity Concepts in the Multicultural Opus by Zofka Kveder

Summary/Abstract: This article presents the literary opus by Zofka Kveder (1878-1926). The writer was active in various cultural milieus, e.g. in Trieste, Bern, Prague, and Zagreb, and published her works in Slovenian, German, Czech, and Croatian. What is special about her opus is the clear feminist engagement. Her works are focused on female characters and their search for identity. The writer depicts them as “new women”: artists, intellectuals, travellers, and wanderers around European capitals. They are also often portrayed in unconventional maternal roles. Kveder’s protagonists belong to all social classes. The author’s texts, from the numerous short stories to the novels Njeno življenje [Her Life] and Hanka, engage in an interesting dialogue with the works of her contemporaries from other national literatures. Zofka Kveder was inspired by the writings of Josef Svatopluk Machar, Helena Malířová, Laura Marholm, Adela Milčinović, Gabriele Reuter, Růžena Svobodová, and other fi n de siècle writers. Her literary texts are an important contribution to modern culture as well as to the development of female authorship.

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