Andjela Svetozar is a 17-year-old feminist whose life is changed for the better by the Great War. She lives in a very small village in Serbia with her father and two sisters. Her father is very strict and traditional. He hates the Black Hand and considers them terrorists that only want to cause more chaos and unnecessary change. Andjela’s father refuses to allow her to receive an education or to even desire one. Andjela dreams big: of being a writer, a doctor, or even a government official, but instead she is forced to cook, clean, and care for her two younger sisters, Senka and Natasa. Andjela’s mother died of childbirth and Andjela must take her mother’s place as the housewife of the family, a position that she absolutely despises. Although she loves her sisters dearly, she cannot help but imagine her life had she been a man and able to work real jobs.
Fortunately for Andjela, her father is forced to fight in the war, leaving Andjela with the freedom she has always desired. She writes in her diary about the jobs that are now becoming available to her as more and more men are drafted into the army. However, she still must care for her sisters and this proves to be a great challenge. She loves her sisters both, but she wants desperately to achieve her dreams.
Sources:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Wfirst.htm
Sounds like ambitious women in Serbia benefitted from WWI because of the new job opportunities. The relationship between Andjela and her father sounds interesting, too.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool idea! I like how you chose to write about someone who benefitted from the war when most people are trying to show how terrible it was.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emily. I like how you were able to twist the war so that it benefited someone. Your character really seems to have a personality and a past, which makes her really interesting.
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