| Abstract [eng] |
The Master's thesis “Women Migrants in Lithuanian Literature: A Diachronic View” is based on the imagological approach to literary research and employing its concepts, as well as applying the works of Laura Laurušaitė, Joep Leerssen, Sandra Vlasta, and Svetlana Boym in the fields of imagology and (e)migration studies, the portrayal of the Lithuanian female migrant in different historical periods is analyzed. The theoretical part examines imagology as a theoretical tool for the analysis of (e)migration literature. The thesis aims to understand how various national and cultural images are constructed and conveyed in literature. For the comparative analysis, novels written in different epochs are employed: Antanas Vienuolis's interwar novel “Viešnia iš Šiaurės” (1933) and Aušra Matulaitytė's contemporary work “Prijaukinti vėjai” (2019). The research revealed that differences in time and socio-cultural context lead to fundamental changes in this image. In Vienuolis's novel, the Lithuanian female migrant is depicted as a figure experiencing longing for an idealized homeland and cultural alienation, with passive adaptation in the new environment. In contrast, Matulaitytė's novel portrays the contemporary Lithuanian female migrant as an individual actively striving to integrate into a multicultural space and searching for her identity. The thesis compares the strategies of cultural encounters and adaptation, revealing different modes of response by the characters. The evaluation of the influence of time and socio-cultural context demonstrated that over almost a century, the image of the Lithuanian female migrant in literature has become more complex and multifaceted, reflecting changing (e)migration experiences and social trends. The analysis also encompassed the shifts in the imagery of cities, stereotypes, identity searches, climate, and cultural encounters, emphasizing how these elements affect the migrant woman's self-perception and the attitudes of those around her. |
