Έμφυλοι ρόλοι της παραδοσιακής ελληνικής οικογένειας μέσα από το έργο της Άλκης Ζέη: Η μωβ ομπρέλα

Abstract

Abstract

Children’s literature, as well as adults’, often functions as society’s mirror, reflecting tendencies, sociocultural circumstances and ideologies that prevail at the moment it is produced. Alki Zei’s Ρurple umbrella is an indicative case of a contemporary social novel for children, which deals with modern issues through the characters’ personal experiences.  Although placed in the past, Zei’s narration revolves around a subject derived from contemporary society. Through the everyday life of Eleftheria, an average ten-year-old girl in the 40’s, the formation of gender identity in an unequal environment, the path to adulthood and the dispute of the conservative Greek family emerges. All subjects cause cracks in the patriarchal society’s status quo and stimulate the reader’s fertile reflections.

Keywords: Children’s literature, gender roles, Greek family, social novel, Alki Zei