Acknowledgments

A few people have helped me during my work on this study. Above all, it was Dr. Ljubica D. Popovich, professor emeritus at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Without her generous dedication of time to the careful reading of this work, I would have not been able to improve the initial form of this analysis. Her comments, critiques, and suggestions have proven to be precious and constructive. I owe great gratitude, again, to Dr. Popovich, and to her sister, the late Ruzica Popovitch Krekic (MA in Slavic Literature, MA in Library Studies), for their gift of a critical edition of Laza K. Lazarević's stories. This gift not only made my work have no obstructions, but it also provided me with the enticement to further investigate the unpublished works by Lazarević.

I express my deep gratitude to Mima Simić from Croatia (MA in Gender Studies from the Central European University), a renowned feminist, writer, and film critic, not only because she was one of the first readers of this work, but also for extending her support at a time when I most needed it.

I owe exceptional gratitute to the translator of the introductory chapter of this work into English, Kosara Gavrilović. All her questions contributed to the correction, improvement, and additional clarification of all the problematic passages. To the other translator, Višeslav Simić (professor at Technologico de Monterrey, Mexico) and editor Jelena Buđevac I owe my thanks for careful and detailed reading, for their comments and sugestions. My special thanks also go to Rosemarie Connolly from Slavica Publishers for her great help and assistance during the final editing process. Yet, any possible errors in this work were not intended and they remain my sole responsibility.

I am especially grateful to Dr. Lilien Filipovitch Robinson, professor at George Washington University, Washington D.C., and co-editor of Serbian Studies for her constant support and help. I appreciate Dr. Popovich's and Dr. Robinson's hard work so much.

I express my exceptional gratitude to Dr. Snežana Milosavljević Milić (Professor at the School of Philosophy, University of Niš, Serbia) for providing me with the digital version of an analytical text "Narrative functions in Laza Lazarević's story, 'To Matins with Father for the First Time.'" The same goes to Dr. Svetlana Tomin (School of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad, Serbia) for her aid in researching the official Orthodox Church's canonization of female saints.

I owe gratitude to Mrs. Bisenija Todorović Kisovec, now resident in the state of Virginia, for lending me the books by Serbian realist authors. Her extensive library of Serbian literature, in addition to being part of her family tradition, is yet another example of how much the Serbs who live outside of their motherland follow and read our national literature. Thanks to her, I was able to read the first-edition examples of Serbian novels, published over a century ago, and also to exchange thoughts about the latest books from Serbia.

I thank my Belgrade colleagues and friends, Jelena Kovačević and Vera Stanišić Rončević, as much as my Banja Luka colleague and friend, Svjetlana Marković, for sending me a variety of copied material. Their generous help always meant a lot to me.

And most importantly—my family: My mother and father-in-law, Dragica and Dimitrije Tomić, originally from Livno, my husband Miroslav, and our children, Matej, Tadej, and Andrea—all of them assisted me in my labor. For all your love, support, and help, my gratitude goes beyond any power of expression.