FEMALE CHARACTERS’ RELATIONSHIP TOWARD THEIR BEAUTY IN LITERARY WORKS

Abstract

The research question in this paper is related to the way female characters are described in the literary works of foreign and domestic famous authors with the aim to showcase their relation with the beauty specifically personal, self perceived beauty, and their differences and similarities. Sampled are 11 female characters from different time periods, starting from ancient times to the present day. The analysis rests on the actantial model and on the qualitative content analysis in which the coding is the base. Five categories of female characters, i.e. women who treat their personal beauty in a different way are distinguished: women who perceive themselves as unmatched beauties or who are vain or narcissistic in the world, then there are the opposite types of narcissists, those beauties who remain indifferent to their own beauty, then women who fear their beauty, cold beauties and finally, those whose beauty is untouched by time.