Topics Modern Greek Literature

Recently, efforts have been made by the Greek government to curb femicide in Greece by proposing to institute it in the penal code as a distinct crime. h the words of the press, " Greek prosecutors will not only prosecute for murder but (will also) take aggravating circumstances into account". This proposal is a result of campaigns by various women's groups in an effort to reduce domestic violence. From January to October of 2021, twelve women have found violent death in the hands of their husbands or partners. With the stress of the existing pandemic, contributing, these ferocious murders bring to focus some deeply embedded patterns in the mores of Greek society.

Why have such patterns of violent behavior remained so deeply entrenched in both urban and provincial Greek society? Moreover, in their indubitable and complex relationship, Greek literature and society also seem to share them. Particularly, as far as the genre of the novel is concerned. As a literary form, the novel is unique in the way that it absorbs, reflects and exorcises the historical and social tensions of the community. By its nature as a narrative, it escapes the privacy of the author's thought and emotion in order to connect with the reader in the public sphere. Then, could fiction cast a distinct light on some of the dynamics of such male to female violence? Could it allow for a deeper look into what the newsprint sees as the persistent patriarchal nature of the culture, as its equally persistent traditionalism?

In this class, we will examine novels selected from the first three quarters of the 20th century, a period violent with wars and inflamed by passionate ideologies. We will look into how the selected fiction reflects and dissects a system of values that has allowed for such aggression against women to remain embedded in the culture not only in the social, but also in the aesthetic and artistic realms. In the selected Greek novels, the beauty of the female body is presented so as to emphasize the female character's "othemess", "outsideness" and exoticism. The exercise of its power over the male raises the female body to the level of the symbolic. Thus, it meets with attempts at its annihilation and destruction in the hands of violent male characters.

Among other authors, we will examine fiction by S. Myriviles, N. Kazantzakis, E. Fakinou, along with the thought of Julia Kristeva, and J. Lacan. All Greek literary works will be available also in English translation. Historical and theoretical materials are in English. Films are either in English or with English subtitles.