This thesis examines both public and private opinions and relationships towards women and the woman question as expressed by influential Slovenian men in the early 20th century. Geographically, the research is limited to ethnically Slovenian areas with an emphasis on Ljubljana, and it spans the time period between 1900 and 1930. The first part of the thesis acquaints the reader with the social standing and political rights of Slovenian women in the late Austro-Hungarian Empire and early years of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. This initial framework establishes four key parameters that were featured heavily in the aforementioned public discourse: political rights, education, employment and work, and the domestic sphere. The second part of the thesis introduces the characteristics of the early-20th-century Slovenian bourgeois elite, briefly touching on its social structure and influence, while centring on the position of women within the bourgeois family and society. The thesis presents the male contribution to public discourse on the woman question through the analysis of selected newspapers. Furthermore, the cases of seven influential Slovenian men, members of the elite, are examined in detail: Ivan Hribar, Ivan Tavčar, Anton Aškerc, Fran Govekar, Ivan Cankar, Etbin Kristan, and Janez Evangelist Krek. The selected individuals engaged in both private and public discourse on the social standing of women and the woman question. Their opinions and views can be uncovered by analysing their memoirs, diaries, letters, political essays, lectures, and other primary sources. In addition to their private and public opinions on the woman question, this thesis also explores how these men performed in their roles as husbands, fathers, mentors, co-workers, supporters or enemies of women’s emancipation, and how this aligns or clashes with their publicly expressed views.
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