SOURCE: Gorup, Radmila. “Women in Andrić's Writing.” In Ivo Andrić Revisited: The Bridge Still Stands, edited by Wayne S. Vucinich, pp. 154-72. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California, 1995.

In the following essay, Gorup explores the ways in which Andrić's portrayal of male-female relationships provides insights into women's psyches.

Andrić's short stories and novels are populated with extraordinary women characters. Women are on equal terms with men in Andrić's writing. Juxtaposed with his famous male characters—for example, Djerzelez, Mustafa the Hungarian, Fra Petar, Ćamil, Ćorkan, Karadjoz, Karas, Alidede—there are women like Mara, Anika, Fata, the German girl, Lotika, Rajka, Saida, Rifka, and many more, named or unnamed. The titles of Andrić's works often reflect his preoccupation with women: “Anika's Times,” “The Pasha's Concubine,” “Woman on the Rock,” “Ćorkan and the German Girl,” “Jelena, the Woman Who Is Not,” “Mila and Prelac,” and The...