The Murderess by Alexander Papadiamantis

Disclaimer

The article below was originally written as an undergraduate assignment for the Greek Open University in 2005, during a period when the author’s academic skills were still developing. Although the quality of this article does not match that of later examples of the same author’s work, it is written in a thorough manner and contains useful information for students and other readers with non-specialised knowledge; therefore, it has been proudly included on this website.

The reader needs to be warned that the original assignment, on which this article was based, was written in Greek and was intended to be read by specialised academics. Despite the author’s best intentions to present his essay in the clearest way possible, some points and arguments might still be lost in translation. The author recommends that readers consult the web for additional information on any unfamiliar words or specialised vocabulary.

The author admits that the bibliography for this article is limited, as required for an undergraduate assignment of this level. The author did not include any additional bibliography during the translation of his work into English due to time and access limitations. It must also be noted that the original bibliography for this article was studied from translated copies in Greek; therefore, the page numbers suggested in the citations below match the page numbers of the translated copies and not the original volumes.

Introduction

This paper discusses a social novel (1) by Alexander Papadiamantis, The Murderess (Η Φόνισσα), written in 1903. The study focuses on the special techniques and other means of expression employed by Papadiamantis to narrate a story rich in social, ethnographic, and psychological content. The paper is divided into four sections. The first section discusses the relationship between Papadiamantis's novel and the broader movement of 19th-century European Naturalism, examining the conditions under which the ideas of the latter were introduced and incorporated into Greek literature. The second section discusses the function of retrospective narrations in The Murderess and their contribution to the plot’s economy. The third section focuses on the novel’s final paragraph, which forms the story’s epilogue. The section analyses the protagonist’s final thoughts and the author’s own remarks as an external observer. The final section concludes by examining the author’s approach and how it is communicated through his novel, emphasising the elements of Ethography and Psychography evident throughout the text.

The Relationship between The Murderess and European Naturalism

Naturalism and Realism are two combined movements that appear in literature and the representational arts during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Both movements promote the representation of images and the description of people or events in the most detailed and natural way possible. Both movements are connected to scientific developments, economic progress, industrialisation, and urbanisation that occurred in Western European countries during the period under discussion. Naturalism, in particular, is associated with the latest developments in natural sciences, particularly in biology and medicine. In literature, Naturalism introduces the methodologies of natural sciences, which result in the systematic application of ‘experiment and observation’ techniques (Anastasiou 2000, 137-8).

In 19th-century Greece, industrialisation did not progress at the same pace as in Northern and Western Europe; as a result, urbanisation was held back. As a result, Greek Naturalist writers turn to the description of scenes and events from rural life, associated with the country’s agricultural activities. Such themes are also more familiar to the audience than those connected to urban life, which is still underdeveloped. Furthermore, the peak of Naturalism in European literature coincides with the birth of Ethnography in Greek literature; therefore, the production of Greek Ethnographic novels, associated with life in the rural countryside, follows the same principles as European Naturalism (Veludis 1992). The Murderess (Fonissa) by Alexander Papadiamantis is a novel that falls under these principles.

The story is about an old woman, Chadoula Fragogiannou, and takes place on the island of Skiathos, the writer’s own birthplace. The social and economic conditions on the island, combined with the broader difficulties of rural life at that time, lead the protagonist to commit a series of violent murders against young girls, which she supposedly aims to ‘redeem’ from their future problems-to-come (Beaton 1996, 112-3). The writer ‘sketches’ the Murderess in a Naturalistic manner, revealing her enigmatic character, the abysmal psychological causes behind her crimes, and the peculiar perception of her own actions (Politis 2003, 206).

Papadiamantis borrows the scientific methodology of ‘experiment and observation’, which is practised in Naturalism (Veludis 1992), to describe the personality of his protagonist. He then combines his observations with the social ethos of his home island, Skiathos, which he knows well from personal experience; thus, he describes the broader social and cultural environment in which his protagonist lives and acts with accuracy and conviction.

In this environment, women are brought up to be servants or “slaves” in his exact words (Papadiamantis, The Murderess, 8). Children suffer hardships, malnourishment and infant diseases (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 14). Some men from the island, such as Dadis, work in the shipyards, while others, such as Yalis, are sailors in the merchant navy (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 12). Poverty forces many islanders to migrate abroad, as in the case of Statharas, who is departing for America (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 29). Poor parents cannot afford decent dowries for their daughters, who are often given bedding or old, dilapidated residences (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 31).

Papadiamantis’s Ethography also provides some useful ethnographic information (2). He notes the different clothes worn by the Greeks during his time, depending on the areas they lived in. Those on the mountains wear the traditional Foustanela (Φουστανέλα = a long skirt or kilt worn by the men), while those on the islands wear the Vraka (Βράκα = a type of baggy pants) (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 58).

The novel presents the different languages spoken in rural Greece at that time, a topic typical of both Greek Ethnography and Folk Studies. The narrator (Papadiamantis himself) uses an idiosyncratic Katharevousa combined with his own personal style (Politis 2003, 205). The rest of the dialogues are all in rural Demotiki and represent various idioms. For example, the policemen speak the local dialect of Skiathos (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 41); Stamato speaks Albanian, and she does not understand how to properly pronounce Greek (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 102); and the elderly Kyranno has a strong Macedonian accent (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 58).

Papadiamantis combines his ‘experiment and observation’ techniques with his personal memories from the island of Skiathos to form realistic descriptions. His descriptions of various places are so extensive and detailed that they reveal an excellent understanding of the geography and topography of his story. Furthermore, such descriptions are not limited to the author’s home island. The Jewish Quarters, the Upper Gate and Souvala in the town of Chalkida (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 57-8) are equally familiar to him as the locations in Skiathos, e.g. Conomou, Little Anargyros, St. John the ‘Clandestine’, Acheila Stream, etc. (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 68-9).

The novel’s psychographic dimension is constructed through experimental methods that sketch the main character's personality (Poltis 1996, 206). The retrospective narrations from Chadoula’s past, which will be examined in more detail in the following section, are used to shape the protagonist’s profile and to portray the biological characteristics that comprise her murderous personality. Her personal experiences from the past are described as highly repressive: she used to be “her husband’s slave” (“σκλάβα του συζύγου”), “her children’s bondwoman” (“δούλα των τέκνων”) and “her grand-children’s labourer” (“δουλεύτρια των εγγόνων”) (Papadiamantis, The Murderess, 8). Poverty and misery, central to European Naturalism (Furst and Skrine 1991), force Chadoula to steal money from her own mother (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 27). This is presented as an act of moral indignation, which is associated with socialist ideas of the early 20th century (Furst and Skrine 1991). By employing her cunning skills, Chadoula earns her living as an untrained midwife (“μαμμή”) and pseudo-doctor (“ψευδογιάτρισσα”) (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 29), professions that characterise a dynamic woman, who earns her living by taking advantage of other people’s problems and fears.

Papadiamantis follows the principles of Naturalism, which are associated with human biology (Furst and Skrine 1991) and Darwinian evolution. Chadoula is presented as a living example of the ‘survival of the fittest’, which is evident in nature. She is capable of surviving by all means possible, including honest labour, theft, deception and hypocrisy. Even in unfamiliar environments, she manages to survive by solving countless problems. The author speaks of her trip from Chalkida to Stylida on foot, during which Chadoula has no money, yet she manages to survive and return safely to her home-island (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 58-60).

The ‘law of heredity’ is another element of Naturalism (Xenopoulos 1890) employed by Papadiamantis, borrowed from the biological sciences. Heredity confirms and even justifies some characteristic features of the protagonist’s criminal profile. Papadiamantis presents the family history of Chadoula Fragogiannou to explain that her murderous personality is due to certain defaults in her genes: “Her father was a hard-working, money-saver and peaceful man. Her mother was evil, blasphemous and envious. She was one of the old-hags of her time” (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 9).

Papadiamantis follows the conventions of the Naturalist School in his descriptions of his scenes, rendering them in photographic detail. The level of detail is such that there is an absolute imitation of the physical reality (Furst and Skrine 1991). Photographic descriptions not only include external scenes and events but also extend to the inner fluctuations of human psychology, the protagonists' feelings, and their broader psychosynthesis. For example, Amersa is getting stabbed by her own brother, Mouros, and she is bleeding severely. Despite her pain, her brotherly instincts are immediately activated; she crawls on the floor, she picks up the murder weapon, and she hides it, so that the police can not find it as they are already after her brother. The victim is determined to lie to the law regarding her own murder attempt and pretend as if nothing happened in order to protect her attacker (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 42-3). The description of the bleeding scene, Amersa’s pain and her internal struggle to hide her frustration consist of typical naturalistic descriptions.

The use of retrospective narrations by Papadiamantis

The use of retrospective narrations is a particular feature in the novel by Alexander Papadiamantis, which allows the author to describe the causality of events and the esoteric cosmos of his protagonists. In the novel, the actual story is interrupted six times until the end of Chapter 5, which is the chapter where Chadoula commits her first murder by drowning her own granddaughter. Five retrospective narrations are primary, as they relate to the main protagonist, Chadoula Fragogiannou, and one secondary retrospective narration is about her eldest daughter, Amersa. The five primary retrospective narrations about Chadoula are used by the author to explain the escalation of her psycho-synthesis, which, in the end, surpasses the level of paranoia. As an external observer, the author then remarks that her mind has “flipped” (“Είχε ‘ψηλώσει’ ο νους της!”) (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 52).

The first flashback occurs in Chapter 1, where Papadiamantis describes Chadoula’s family history and, by extension, the hereditary characteristics of the protagonist’s personality. The mother of Chadoula Fragogiannou, Delcharo, was an evil, blasphemous, envious, and dangerous woman. There is a description of a scene where Delcharo is hunted down by the leaders of the Greek resistance in Macedonia as she is guilty of witchcraft, presumably during the Greek-Bulgarian conflicts of 1904-1908. Delcharo cunningly hides away from them and manages to avoid death at the last minute (Papadiamantis, 1988 [1903], 8-12). This flashback foreshadows Chadoula's end: she will be hunted down by the police and endure the same agony her mother endured; however, Chadoula’s end will not be pleasant.

In the second flashback, also in Chapter 1, Chadoula recalls her marriage to a man chosen by her parents when she was only seventeen years old. Her husband was a hard-working yet careless and naive man. If Chadoula had not been cautious and vigilant with the family’s spending, her husband would not have been able to manage the family’s affairs. Unlike other young girls of her age, who were given substantial dowries by their fathers, Chadoula’s father kept the best pieces of land for himself and his sons. Chadoula’s poor dowry and her marriage to a careless husband led readers to conclude that, when she was young, she was abandoned by her own parents to the hardships of a difficult marriage without substantial economic support. This flashback also points out the location of the vineyard that Chadoula was offered as dowry, which was of poor output: it was “at the edge of the coastline’s cliff…three hours away from the modern citadel” (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 12-13). This vineyard reappears in the story’s tragic epilogue, where it plays a symbolic, heavily ironic role.

The third flashback in Chapter 2 is about Chadoula’s betrothal and wedding. There, old-Decharo tricks her own daughter, whom she calls “little-hag” (“στριγκλίτσα”) and her future husband, by offering them low-value wedding gifts. The beddings and the kitchen utensils are not the ones originally agreed, and the ‘house’ they were promised is unsuitable for habitation. At the end, Chadoula and her husband are forced to stay with her husband’s sister, who does not like her at all. Due to the constant clashes and mistreatment by her sister-in-law, and after having given birth to seven children, Chadoula builds her own residence all by herself. It is a basic, poorly built house to cover her family’s needs, which also allows her to escape her sister-in-law’s tyranny (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 17-22). At the end of the third flashback, the cunning and talented Chadoula regains control of her life, further confirming her dynamic character.

The fourth flashback in Chapter 3 relates to the economic activities of Chadoula’s family. Fragogiannou is presented as a cunning and greedy person who uses her skills to cheat or steal money from others. She steals her husband’s daily pay from his pockets when he is asleep, she steals her mother’s hidden savings, and she makes money by tricking people with her fake medicine skills. Due to the family’s poverty, her sons migrate abroad, leaving her on the island with her daughters, for which she must raise the wedding dowries herself (Papadiamantis, 1988 [1903], 24-32). The concept of building dowries for her daughters is essential in the story, as this is Chadoula’s motive for committing her future murders. The reader realises the despair generated for poor parents, who are obliged by the social norms of the time to pay for their daughters’ wedding dowries. In Chadoula’s own twisted mind, the only redemption from this economic despair comes with the death of her own daughters and granddaughters.

It is interesting that the ancient Greek practice of Ekthesis (έκθεσις = abandonment) of baby girls aimed to relieve poor families of the burden of future wedding dowries. Even though it cannot be confirmed whether Papadiamantis was aware of this cruel ancient Greek practice, it is almost certain that building wedding dowries for their daughters was an issue that troubled a lot of Greek families in the 19th century, often forcing them to abandon their own children to the Church or other institutions that could take care of them.

The fifth flashback in Chapter 4 concerns Amersa, Chadoula’s eldest daughter, who recalls an incident with her brother, Moros. Moros is portrayed as a paranoid, aggressive and violent person, who has probably inherited these characteristics and murderous tendencies from his own mother. Even as a little boy, he is portrayed as prodigal, drunk, and quarrelsome. One day, he gets drunk and becomes violent toward his own mother. In his attempt to escape the police, who arrive at the scene to investigate the attack, he does not hesitate to stab his own sister. While leaving the premises, he has the nerve to shout back to his bleeding sister to cover up his cruel actions without any feelings of guilt or repentance. The author probably describes the incident with Moros to suggest that Chadoula’s criminal instincts have been passed down to her own children, just as she inherited her mother’s. In another chapter, Papadiamantis explains that Moros ends up in prison because of another crime, which confirms his violent personality (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 34-47). The general idea behind the fifth flashback is that violent and paranoid behaviours are not encountered due to the protagonists’ past experiences, but because they are hereditary characteristics of their entire family.

The sixth flashback takes place right before Chadoula’s first murder in Chapter 5. Chadoula’s conclusion after this flashback is a statement to explain the motive for her following murders. After the death of her husband, the widow Chadoula Fragogiannou raises her children as both mother and father. This dual role and its subsequent responsibilities are extremely difficult for her. As a mother, she is expected to provide or purchase the mobile goods for her daughters’ dowries (e.g., bedding, kitchen utensils) and to find suitable husbands for them, which is a mother’s social duty. As a substitute ‘father’, she has to raise cash and buy properties for her daughters, which form another part of their dowries, even if these will be offered to useless husbands such as Konstantis (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 47-9). Amersa, a responsible person, realises the problem and wishes to remain single; therefore, her mother is not obliged to provide her with a wedding dowry. The situation, however, is likely to be different for Krinio and Chadoula’s baby granddaughter, who might be forced to save up for their weddings. This is where the novel’s most crucial dilemma appears for the first time: Is it really worth giving birth and raising female children? Chadoula provides the answer before committing her first murder: “Καλύτερα να μη σώσουν να πάνε παραπάνω” (Papadiamantis, 1988 [1903], 49), or in other words, “it is better if they do not crowd up any further”.

The analysis of the novel’s final scene

At the end of the story, Chadoula the Murderess is trapped under the tidal waves while trying to escape the police. She wishes to reach the old temple of St. Saviour to confess her crimes to a local monk. It is important to note that although St. Saviour is an exciting place on the island of Skiathos, its role at the end of the story is symbolic. It relates to Chadoula’s attempt to find forgiveness and redemption for her crimes.

During her escape, two policemen have already tracked her movements and are chasing her. This pursuit puts Chadoula in a difficult situation, where she has to risk her life to cross the rising sea (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 156-7). As she gets trapped in the waves and is helplessly drowning under the water, she manages to turn around and take a last look at the cliff where her own dowry is located. This is the vineyard noted in the second retrospective narration in Chapter 1. Seconds before she drowns, her final thoughts are: “Oh, here’s my own dowry” (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 157). The futility and irony of this scene contrast with the protagonist’s psychology.

The vineyard that was Chadoula’s wedding dowry is the projection of the reasons for which she has committed her crimes. The vineyard symbolises the financial burdens faced by any family that must provide substantial dowries for their daughters. While drowning under the sea, Fragogiannou realises the futility of her crimes, which were unnecessary, as her vineyard and other possessions would have been enough to pass on as wedding dowries to her own offspring. Chadoula’s greed confused her mind and made her think that the only way not to go through the financial burdens of her own parents was to murder her own children and grandchildren. Unfortunately, during the last minute of her struggle to survive the waves, she realises the exact opposite: even if she dies, the vineyard will remain where it stands, waiting for the next younger offspring to inherit it. A modern Greek aphorism explains this paradox as follows: “Of whatever we own, we will take nothing with us to the afterlife” (Smyrnaios, an anecdotal quote from the island of Lesbos).

The scene of Chadoulas’ drowning is a manifestation of nature’s revenge. Death comes in the form of divine retribution, which is a pattern resembling Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment (Beaton 1996, 113). Papadiamantis notes that Chadoula’s death comes “halfway between divine and human justice” (“εις το ήμιση του δρόμου, μεταξύ της θείας και της ανθρώπινης δικαιοσύνης”) (Papadiamantis 1988 [1903], 157). This specific quote requires further analysis.

During the drowning scene, the church of St. Saviour stands on one edge of the coastal cliff, and Chadoula is desperately trying to reach it. The name of this church is symbolic and relates to the Christian principle of soul-redemption. A little before the end, Chadoula realises that she cannot escape the law, which is represented by the local policemen who are after her. Therefore, she seeks divine redemption through her confession to the church of St. Saviour. She wishes to redeem her consciousness, express her repentance and free herself from her torturing guilt. Regardless of how tough Chadoula is, fear and guilt form integral parts of human nature. On the other edge of the coastal Cliff stands the police, whose duty is to arrest her and bring her to justice. Human justice, however, is cruel and human laws bear no forgiveness. Chadoula’s drowning leaves the audience with an obvious question: what kind of justice does her death serve? Papadiamantis, who was the son of a priest, offers his own answer: Chadoulas’ death is halfway between divine and human justice.

Conclusions

The Murderess by Alexander Papadiamantis is a novel that displays the most characteristic features of Greek Naturalism. The story takes place in a rural environment, and the descriptions of the events and their protagonists are based on the principles of Ethography and Psychography. Papadiamantis also follows the basic methodologies of European Naturalism in literature. These include a scientific approach based on ‘experiment and observation’ techniques in order to sketch the psychological causes behind the protagonists’ actions. Furthermore, the author draws on his personal experiences and memories of Skiathos to establish the social background of his story.

Papadiamantis uses retrospective narration to interrupt the flow of the story and present individual events from the protagonists’ past. Such retrospective narrations allow the reader to gradually construct the psychological profile of the story’s main protagonist, the murderess Chadoula Fragogiannou. All flashbacks recall scientific theories from late 19th-century biology, such as the‘ survival of the fittest’ and the ‘power of heredity’.

The story ends tragically and highlights the futility of human action. This futility is based on a natural law, for which every action calls for a counter-action; therefore, every crime has its own punishment. There is a reference to the split between human and divine justice, which reminds us of philosophical approaches and social theories of the 19th century. However, in Papadiamantis’ novel, justice is delivered by the forces of nature, which satisfy both human and divine volition.

Bibliography

Anastasiadou, A., 2000, ‘The 1880s generation. Prose – Poetry’, in Garantoudis, E. (ed.) Letters II: Modern Greek Philology (19th and 20th century). Modern Greek Literature (19th and 20th centuries). Study Manual, Patra: Greek Open University, 133-54.
Beaton, R., 1996, An Introduction to Modern Greek Literature: Poetry and Prose, 1821-1992 , translated by Sgourou, E. and Spanaki, M., Athens: Nepheli.
Furst, L.R. and Skrine, P.N., 1971, Naturalism: The Critical Idiom Reissued, London: Methuen & Co, abstracts available at: http://www.komvos.edu.gr/diaglossiki/revmata/natoyralismos/natoyralismos.htm, accessed on 23/12/2005.
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Notes

1. Papadiamantis describes his text as a novel; however, by modern standards, it would qualify as a novella due to its small size. The term “social novel”, although it is likely to have been used by Papadiamantis himself, is in reality a convention to cover the lack of appropriate translation for the genre of Greek literature known as Ethography (Ηθογραφία). In Greek, the word Ethos has a dual meaning: in the singular (ήθος), it refers to an individual's moral character; in the plural (ήθη), it refers to the established moral values of a social group or a specific chronological period. The word Ethography describes a literary genre that explores the manifestation of public and private ethos, while also focusing on other parameters, such as culture, popular beliefs, and the customs of certain areas or chronological periods.
2. Ethnography is meant to describe moral values, culture, popular beliefs, and customs within certain geographical or chronological contexts. Greek Ethography is inspired by the rural parts of the country, and although it is a genre of fictional literature, it can be used as a source of information on Greek rural life of the late 19th and early 20th century; therefore, Ethography is in close interaction with Folk Studies (Laographia = Λαογραφία), which explore various aspects of modern Greek culture. According to Greek antiquities legislation, Archaeology is a science that focuses on human activities older than 200 years. The activities of the last 200 years fall under the scientific field of Folk Studies, which translates as Contemporary (Historical) Archaeology. Folk Studies also resemble Ethnography. Ethnography has traditionally been used to investigate contemporary foreign cultures that do not have the same socio-political structures and organisations as Western countries. In Greece, Folk Studies are a specific form of Ethnography that focuses on Greece’s contemporary culture over the last 200 years, during which the country has been a typical Western European nation-state. The above explanation is intended to show the connections among Ethnography, Folk Studies, and Contemporary (Historical) Archaeology.