Abstract

The paper explores the narrative representations of girlhood in Jagoda Truhelka’s novel “Vječna zaručnica” (engl. Eternal Fiancée). The novel was serialized in 1939 in the magazine “Obitelj” (engl. Family), and it approaches the subject of girlhood within the framework of a patriarchal (rural) social community. The interpretation of girlhood, coupled with an imagological understanding of girlhood as a discursive cultural and social construction and representation, relies on Dubravka Zima’s historiographical study from 2022 – Djevojka u gradu (engl. Girl in the city) – in terms of specific aspects articulating urban girlhood in the 19th century (girl corporeality, sexuality, and infatuation), as well as Suzana Leček’s study from 2003 – Seljačka obitelj u sjeverozapadnoj Hrvatskoj 1918. – 1941. (engl. Rural Family in Northwestern Croatia 1918 – 1941) – when it comes to addressing the articulation of rural girlhood through narratives of girl’s labor, adult supervision of girlhood, and marital strategies associated with the choice of a spouse. These are identified as crucial narrative focal points within the analyzed novel’s structure. Moreover, it is essential to consider the ideological context of the 1930s and the author’s literary production influenced by the prevailing expansion of Catholic literature.