Norm-respecting Emancipation

The study examins the participation of women’s groups defined as conservative in the process of emancipation at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The introduction of the term “norm-respecting emancipation” will enrich the previous picture formulated by the previous research on conservative women and women’s groups. The term suggests that those women who – beyond their traditional roles – were active and devoted in beneficial, social and clerical work, experienced a kind of self-realization as a result of the changes of mentality, way of thinking and way of living involved in their activities. It was interpreted as a goal beyond the individual level, dedicated to the service of God, the nation, the society. They gradually widened their own possibilities of action from generation to generation, meanwhile respecting the accepted social norms. They did not cross the unquestionable borders of their own social group. The presence of “norm- respecting emancipation” is represented by analyses about the contemporary discourse, the presentation of two case studies. Furthermore, there is a specific emphasis on the questions and opinions about the women’s (Póla Szász, Gyuláné Vargha and Flóra Kozma Perczelné) role.