Mothers and stepmothers in children's literature

Dječja književnost usmjerava se prema dječjim doživljajima, fantaziji i mašti. Unutar dječje književnosti vrlo često se javlja i motiv obitelji, a u ovom se radu promatra motiv majke i maćehe. Dok je majka u najvećem broju slučajeva prikazana kao vrlo brižna osoba koja voli svoje dijete i sprema je žrtvovati se za njega, motiv maćehe prikazuje se kao izrazito negativan, odnosno kao osoba koja djetetu ne želi dobro i spremna je sve učiniti da ga se riješi. Cilj ovoga rada je usporediti motive majke i maćehe u odabranim tekstovima književnosti za djecu. Rad se sastoji od pet poglavlja. U uvodnom dijelu rada prikazani su predmet i cilj rada, struktura rada te metode istraživanja. U sljedećem poglavlju definiran je pojam dječje književnosti, objašnjene su karakteristike dječje književnosti te su navedene vrste dječje književnosti. Treće poglavlje odnosi se na uobičajene motive unutar dječje književnosti. Četvrto poglavlje odnosi se na motiv majke i maćehe u dječjoj književnosti. Najprije se prikazuje lik majke u dječjim književnim djelima, a potom lik maćehe. Navedeni su arhetipovi majke i maćehe. U zaključku se navode najznačajniji rezultati rada.Children's literature focuses on children's experiences, fantasy and imagination. The motif of the family often appears within children's literature, and in this work the motif of mother and stepmother is observed. While the mother is in most cases portrayed as a very caring person who loves her child and is willing to sacrifice for it, the stepmother's motive is presented as extremely negative, i.e. as a person who does not wish the child well and is willing to do anything to get rid of it. The aim of this paper is to compare the motives of mother and stepmother in selected texts of children's literature. This paper consists of five chapters. The introductory part of the paper presents the subject and the aim of the paper, the structure of the paper and the research methods used for it. The next chapter defines the notion of children's literature, explains the characteristics of children's literature and lists the types of children's literature. The third chapter deals with common motifs within children’s literature. The fourth chapter deals with the motif of mother and stepmother in children’s literature. The character of the mother in the children's literary works is shown first, and then the character of the stepmother. The archetypes of mother and stepmother are listed. In conclusion, the most significant results of the work are stated