LIFE STORIES OF WOMEN FROM UGLJAN: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

Life on the Adriatic islands is generally characterized by a peripheral existence. Relative isolation from the mainland has historically produced various social and economic vulnerabilities for the population, such as limited educational and business opportunities or unavailable social and health services. The relative isolation also impeded modernization processes, visible (among other things) in the traditional role of women, focused on caring for children and the elderly. However, women's lives on the islands are not universal and clear-cut. They are contextually influenced, with differences between islands, in relation to the size of the island, and the distance from the mainland playing a major role. This paper starts from the assumption that the contemporary life of women in urban settlements on the island of Ugljan resembles the life of women in urban settlements on the mainland: it is simultaneously characterized by continuity (in relation to the household and family care) and change (work and education). Nevertheless, life in an island community brings certain specificities, especially in relation to greater solidarity within the community, which traditionally puts a greater burden on women.