The Construction of Female Identity in Dialogue with History: Krese, Pirjevec, Wolf

Abstract

The article presents a comparative analysis of two Slovenian novels, Nedeljka Pirjevec’s Saga o kovčku (The Saga of the Suitcase) (2003) and Maruša Krese’s Da me je strah? (That I Am Afraid?) (2012), and a German novel, Christa Wolf’s Nachdenken über Christa T. (Thinking About Christa T.) (1968). All three novels share a common preoccupation with the processes of identity construction of the female protagonists, set against the backdrop of the historical events of World War II, the post-war reality of communist ideology and the socialist system, as well as similarities on the plot and narrative level. Literary texts featuring female protagonists in the chronotope of World War I and II not only depict monumental historical events, but also single out women as active participants in these events, while thematising and problematizing traditional gender roles. They challenge old dichotomies of public versus private, subject versus object of history, and definitions of femininity and masculinity, and assert that no sharp dividing lines exist between them. Women in the selected works become active witnesses of historical events, recounting them from direct experience. Their experience, however, is different from that of men. The novels engage in a dialogue with history on both the narrative and story/thematic level. They create a polyphony of narrative voices, a multiperspectivity and a technique of remembering. By employing these techniques, writers endeavour to prevent history and those who have lived it from being forgotten. The protagonists are embedded in a historical moment that allows them to experience a new identity, yet this selfsame historical moment can at the same time also limit them significantly.