On the way to independence : Women education and professional activity in Marie von Ebner-Eschenbachs Lotti, die Uhrmacherin, Theodor Fontanes Mathilde Möhring and Vicki Baums stud. chem. Helene Willfüer

This study concerns the growing women´s independence movement and the professional activity among women in Germany and Austria from 1880 to 1928. Three female novel characters are examples of women who worked at home, chose to become teachers, or, in the beginning of 20th century studied science at the university and worked as scientists. This study aims at finding out if the women in the novels are shown as independent; if both female and male gender norms are represented and what differences there are between the novels. The three novels are Lotti, die Uhrmacherin by Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach and first published in 1880, Mathilde Möhring by Theodor Fontane and published in 1908 and stud. chem. Helene Willfüer by Vicki Baum, published in 1928. The analysis has shown that each one of the three novels expresses social criticism and describes problems the novel figures had because of their female gender. The chosen method for this study is a comparison between the novels and it is based on feminist literature theory. The comparison has shown that three novels have clear similarities and references to the year in which they were published and they discuss actual problems. Further research and analysis is relevant because of the complexity of women´s liberation and their path to equality