The theory of reception was founded by Hans Robert Jauss in 1967, and the idea is the reader who creates a literary work. Within the framework of reception theory, a triad was created consisting of the author, the literary work and the reader. Without a reader, the book remains unfulfilled in its basic function, only in the interaction between the reader and the literary work is it realized as a literary-aesthetic fact. Representatives of the theory believe that the reader is responsible and meritorious for the meaning of the literary work, while the connection between the text and the reader is created during the reading process. The meaning or significance of the text depends on the reader's experience, which is important for teachers when students are interpreting the reading. The key concept of the theory is the horizon of expectations, which tells what the reader expects from a new literary work. The horizon of expectations is also a subjective experience; the student as a recipient creates expectations when learning new material as well as when reading reading material. Expectations are extremely important and should be encouraged. One of the starting points of theory of reception is Ingarden's place of indeterminacy, which is filled in by the reader. Analogous to the horizon of expectation and the place of indeterminacy, there are different interpretations of the same literary work. Starting from that, the graduation thesis examines how the students interpreted what they read, i.e. whether there are differences in interpretation. Ivana Brlić-Mazuranić's fairy tale Fisherman Palunko and his wife brings together everyday themes. It interprets about a fisherman who is unhappy and dissatisfied, about a fisherman who strives for an easy life. On the other hand, his wife is modest, does not ask for much, and gives her best, even her life, for others, for her family. Relying on the theory of reception and the (co)existence of the central characters of the fisherman Palunko and his wife, an attempt is made to investigate whether there are differences in their reception among male and female students. Students of the fourth grade of a school in Zadar participate in the research.