WRITING THE DICTATORSHIP: REUSE OF MYTH IN ISMAIL KADARE’S NOVELS Fatmir Terziu A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of London South Bank University for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to thank my Directors of Studies, Professor Anna Reading and later Dr Jenny Owen, who were extremely helpful and supportive through the whole process of research. I am also thankful to my supervisor, Dr Suzanne Scafe. Their valuable advice and comments are very much appreciated. I am also grateful to South Bank University for all academic and technical support during the years of the work. I also wish to extend my gratitude to John Thompson, a solicitor and ex-Law Lecturer at Kingston University who helped me by proofreading the thesis. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family; my wife Luciana, my sons Andi and Evi, and my daughter Evisa, for their patience, love and care, which allowed this work to be completed. 2 ABSTRACT This study attempts to analyse how and why Kadare reuses myths in his novels Chronicle in Stone, The Bearer of ill Tidings – Islamo nox, Agamemnon's Daughter and Beauty Pageant for Men in the Accursed Mountains. I will be arguing that the reused myths in these novels predominantly convey a message about Albania at the time during which Kadare wrote the novels. It will be argued that the novels are used to critique the period of Communism and the period immediately after the collapse of Communism, even when they are set in different time periods, and it is through a use of myths and archetypes that Kadare manages this. It was necessary for Kadare to write his criticism of aspects of communist society through the use of the myths, in order for him to escape the censorship of the Communist Party, which required all literary works to conform to socialist realism, and to present a particular ideological view. This idea will be analysed predominantly in the discussions around Chronicle in Stone, The Bearer of ill Tidings – Islamo nox and Agamemnon's Daughter. On the other hand, Beauty Pageant for Men in the Accursed Mountains was written in the post-Communist period, though Kadare still felt it necessary to investigate the transitional society in Albania through the use of mythical aspects as metaphors. 3 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: SETTING THE STAGE I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 6 II. Theoretical evaluation of ‘myth’ ....................................................................................... 11 III. The myth in the structure of literary works ........................................................................... 19 IV. The myth in Kadare’s work .................................................................................................. 21 V. Myth used to express cultural identity .................................................................................. 28 VI. Organisation of thesis ........................................................................................................... 31 VII. Aims of the thesis .................................................................................................................. 33 Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 35 1.2 A review of foreign studies on Kadare’s work ........................................................................... 37 1.3 A review of Albanian studies ...................................................................................................... 48 1.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 55 Chapter 2: CHRONICLE IN STONE 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 58 2.2 Cultural identity in Chronicle in Stone ....................................................................................... 59 2.3 Configuration of myth through fantasies .................................................................................... 63 2.4 The city as labyrinth of the mythic ............................................................................................. 69 2.5 Archetype of the collapse of a civilization .................................................................................. 75 2.6 The colour ‘black’ and the element of ‘blindness’ ...................................................................... 80 2.7 “Hija” and “magjia” in Chronicle in Stone ................................................................................. 85 2.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 89 Chapter 3: THE BEARER OF ILL TIDINGS – ISLAMO NOX 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 92 3.2 Cultural Imposition as described in Kadare’s novels .................................................................. 95 3.3 Narrative transformations in the Hadji Milet’s monologue ...................................................... 104 4 3.4 Archetypes through labelling and function of characters ......................................................... 111 3.5 The archetype ............................................................................................................................ 116 3.6 Return of ‘Hell’ and ‘Inferno’ ................................................................................................... 120 3.7 The ferexhe as the bringer of darkness to the light ................................................................... 123 3.8 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 126 Chapter 4: AGAMEMNON’S DAUGHTER 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 129 4.2 Archetypes of the sacrificer and sacrificed daughter ................................................................ 131 4.3 The mythical trope of emptiness ............................................................................................... 137 4.4 Archetype of Circe - allusion to mould a new identity ............................................................. 141 4.5 The myth of the ‘Bald Man and the Eagle’: sacrifice as a political act .................................... 147 4.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 153 Chapter 5: BEAUTY PAGEANT FOR MEN IN THE ACCURSED MOUNTAINS 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 160 5.2 The context of Beauty Pageant for Men in the Accursed Mountains ....................................... 162 5.3 The myth of Narcissus in the novel .......................................................................................... 165 5.4 The mythical trope of the highlander and the mountain as a mythical space ........................... 174 5.5 Representation of the blood feud and isolation in the novel ..................................................... 185 5.6 Mystery in the narrative, the figure of “Lalë Krosi” ................................................................. 194 5.7 The myth of morality under communism ................................................................................. 199 5.8 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 202 Chapter 6: CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES: Primary sources:.............................................................................................................................. 213 Secondary sources: .......................................................................................................................... 216 Other sources: (Albanian Newspapers and Magazines).................................................................. 229 5 INTRODUCTION: SETTING THE STAGE I. Introduction The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse Kadare’s reuse of myth and to explore how the author has used these to enhance his ideas about life under Communist rule in Albania. Myths were extensively used by Kadare to convey meaning, especially when disguising the meaning of his narrative so as to escape the censorship of the communist regime in his homeland, Albania. The thesis enquires into the effect of the incorporation of mythical themes to the technique and structure of the novel, assuming that both will be radically altered. The thesis is not, however, limited to registering the effects of the myths, but will also establish Kadare’s reasons for using myths and will try to evaluate the success of these mythical elements in terms of highlighting ‘forbidden’ topics during the period of communism in Albania. Ismail Kadare is fuelled by Western European culture and from classical Greek mythology, but his imagination was also fed by the oral stories of his early childhood, especially those he heard