Dun Ġorġ u n-nisa

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to look at some of Dun Ġorġ Preca's writings and analyse his ideas about women and their role in the Maltese society. As only few writings by women about Dun Ġorġ exist, it aims to search for and analyse women's ideas about Dun Ġorġ. This dissertation focuses on the views of seven women who knew Dun Ġorġ personally; it seeks to analyse the relationship they had, and their general views about this well-known religious personality. Following the feminist principle that women's voices should be given the opportunity to be heard, the study also explores the ideas of these women, about women in general and Maltese women in particular. The research findings show that these women have great respect for Dun Ġorġ and rarely dare to question his ideas. The research shows that Dun Ġorġ's teaching methods mostly attract and inspire these women. It also shows that their ideas of what a woman is, are influenced by the teachings of Dun Ġorġ. Chapter I gives a brief introduction to the whole dissertation. Chapter 2 describes the life of Dun Ġorġ and his mission and vision for women. The Third Chapter shows the main principles of feminist research. Chapter 4 analyses ten particular writings of Dun Ġorġ. The Fifth Chapter evaluates what women said in the first interview regarding Dun Ġorġ's life and his relation to women. Chapter 6 evaluates critically what women said in the second interview about the role of women, based on different ideas that Dun Ġorġ writes about in his books. The last chapter includes some personal conclusions made after this research.