In my master's thesis, I address the depiction of girls in young adults war prose. For comparative consideration, I chose two young adult novels, the novel Confidential: Marjetka's War Diary (1981) by Slovenian author Anton Ingolič, which is temporarily placed in World War II (1941-1945), the anti-fascist resistance in the former Yugoslavia, and the novel Hotel Zagorje (2010 ) by the Croatian writer Ivana Simić Bodrožić, taking place during the Homeland War in Croatia (1991-1995). In my thesis I explore the extent to which ideological and social interests are reflected in the portrayal of girls whose upbringing is subject to many regulations, how changes in the treatment of women and the position of women in society are portrayed as young female readers are the target of new educational and ideological processes. I assumed that the ideological conceptions of the political and economic systems of both societies in and after the war were reflected in the portrayal of young female characters, and that differences were reflected in the expression of character traits, involvement in society and participation in war, perceptions of loss of family members, understanding of the refugee position, attitudes towards family, friends, society and prevailing social values in their environments, attitudes towards the body and related topics (first menstruation, sexuality, appearance ...).
Due to the same structure of the narrative (heroine's diary) and common motives, it is easier to understand the ideological contribution and socially conditioned factors in the reference time and space of the two novels, as they apear in text, and to recognize the similarities and differences in the portrayal of the girl characters. In comparative analysis, I have used feminist literary theories and feminist criticism. For the most part, I confirmed my basic research hypothesis, and in the course of comparison, I found that there are commonalities in both novels. Both novels, despite being embedded in a different ideological environment, reproduce patriarchal ideology, the novel Confidential only to a lesser extent. I also confirmed the thesis that the characteristics of both ideologies, socialist internationalism and anti-socialist nationalism operating in both reference environments, are reflected in the depiction of girls. Girls are the bearers of ideas that express themselves through their actions, understanding of the world and how they see themselves
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