A Reexamination of Analytical Methodology of "To Matins with Father for the First Time" as Presented in High School and University Textbooks

In this chapter the author explains what she believes are the methodological and ethical errors in the analysis of "To Matins with Father for the First Time," published in the textbook, Methodology of the Serbian Language and Teaching of Literature. This analysis is meant as an investigation into the formal characteristics of a literary work, and not as an analysis that ties itself neutrally and scientifically objectively to inter-textual elements of Lazarević's story. While it primarily bases itself on the interpretation of the male characters of the story, this analysis also explains the female character, though inadequately and to a much lesser extent. In this part of the work, the importance of the narrator's comments is also examined. In addition, the consequences of excluding the historical context of the position of women in nineteenth-century Serbian society while analyzing the story are discussed.