CONFLICT OF VALUES AS A REFLECTION OF BRITISH SOCIETY OF THE 1960S IN MARGARET`S DRABBLE`S THE MILLSTONE

Predmet te diplomske naloge je roman The Millstone avtorice Margaret Drabble. Po žanru delo sodi med ženske vzgojne romane in njegova glavna tematika je materinstvo. Njegova protagonistka je Rosamund Stacey, dobro izobraženo dekle, katere starši so socialisti in pripadajo srednjemu družbenemu sloju, in katera po enem samem spolnem odnosu zanosi ter se odloči, da bo otroka vzgajala sama. Družbene, zgodovinske in biografske okoliščine, ki so vplivale na avtorico, se v knjigi močno odražajo. Glavni poudarek je na prizadevanju glavne junakinje po neodvisnosti, na njeni izkušnji materinstva in notranjih konfliktih, ki izvirajo iz nesoglasij med tradicionalnimi in liberalnimi vrednotami tistega obdobja. Da bi dosegla cilj, sem preučila avtoričino profesionalno in zasebno plat življenja, zgodovinske in družbene okoliščine obobja šestdesetih, še posebno pa fabianizem, feministična gibanja ter britanski nacionalni zdravstveni sistem (NHS). Na podlagi ugotovitev je bila narejena analiza besedila, ki je pokazala, da je neodvisnot glavne junakinje dvoumna in, da je materinstvo v njej sprožilo spremembo nazorov. Posledično protagonistka postane bolj prepričana vase, realna v svojih nazorih in njene vrednote odražajo angleško moralo tistega obdobja. Dejstvo, da izhaja iz srednjega družbenega sloja, ji pomaga premagati družbeno zaznamovanost kot neporočena mati, poleg tega pa ji njena uspešna in obetavna kariera pomaga, da ostane zbrana in lažje premaguje izzive skozi celotno izkušnjo.The subject of this graduation thesis is Margaret Drabble\u27s novel The Millstone. The novel\u27s main subject is motherhood and it falls into the genre of female Bildungsroman. Its female protagonist, Rosamund Stacey, is a well-educated young woman brought up by middle-class socialist parents, who unexpectedly becomes pregnant after a single sexual encounter in her life and decides to raise the child on her own. Social, historical and biographical circumstances that influenced the author are highly reflected in the book. The protagonist’s quest for independence, her experience of motherhood and inward conflicts deriving from disruption of the traditional and liberal values of the time, are the main focus of this study. To achieve this goal, research about Drabble’s professional and personal life, historical and sociological circumstances of the 1960s era, especially influences from the Fabian socialism, feminist movements and the British National Health Service, was conducted. An analysis on the text was conducted according to the findings of the research. The examination of the text proved that the protagonist’s independence is ambiguous, and that motherhood instigated an important change in her perspective, resulting a more self-confident heroine with realistic outlook to life and, whose values reflect English morality of the time. Belonging to the middle class has helped her escape the social stigma of an unwed mother, moreover, her successful and promising academic career helped her to stay focused and to cope more easily with all the challenges throughout the whole experience