93-119

Ή Μετανάστις or the early stages of the myth

• Saunier, Guy

Papadiamantis' novel Ή Μετανάστις, while badly flawed as regards the conventional rules of the novel, is of exceptional interest when viewed in the light of the various myths which inform it. 1) The myth of death is developed in a highly spectacular way from the first pages of this, Papadiamantis' first work. The special narrative technique results in the multiplication of the deaths. 2) The myth of water and drowning is present in a variety of forms (tempest, imaginary abyss ate). 3) The myth of the «wicked parents» is also strongly represented. The persona of the wicked mother is shared between Mrs. Rizou, Mrs. Markoni and also Valsami, while Captain Villios and his son, Zennos, conform to that of the wicked father. 4) The «family» myth, which is probably the most significant, has three aspects:— the form of real or imaginary incest— the form it was to take in Φαρμακολύτρια— the form it was to take in 'Αμαρτίας φάντασμα.5) Finally, there is the myth of madness, of the abnormal and particularly of otherness. The most significant madness is that of Zennos, whose name also denotes «the stranger». Marina is Ή Μετανάστις, eternally a stranger wherever she goes, even in the next world.

• Languages and Literature

• Λογοτεχνία