Alexandros Papadiamantis

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Alexandros Papadiamantis, 1906

Alexandros Papadiamantis ( Greek Ἀλέξανδρος Παπαδιαμάντης ; * 4. March 1851 on Skiathos , Greece ; † 2. January 1911 ) was a Greek prose - writer . He is best known for his 170 stories, the best known of which, The Murderess , is part of the canon of modern Greek literature.

Family and name

Alexandros Papadiamantis was one of nine children of the Greek Orthodox priest Adamantios Emmanouil and his wife Angelikí (née Moraitidou). His older siblings were Emmanouíl, who died early, and the sisters Ouranía and Charíklia; his younger siblings were named Sofoúla, Giórgis and Kyratsoúla. Two other siblings died very young. The surname Papadiamantis is made up of the job title of his father (παπάς papás , priest) and his first name Adamantios. In his youth Papadiamantis also appeared with other surnames, for example as Adamantíou Ieréos (Αδαμαντίου ιερέως = "[son] of the priest Adamantios") or as Papá Adamantíou (Παπά Αδαμαντίου). In his literary work he repeatedly used pseudonyms such as Vyzantinós (Βυζαντινός = Byzantines) or Skeptikós (Σκεπτικός = skeptics).

Life

School education

From 1856 to 1862 Papadiamantis attended elementary school on Skiathos. He then interrupted his education for three years and left his home island for the first time in 1865 to continue his school career on Skopelos . In the years up to 1865 he regularly assisted his father in mass, wrote his first verses and painted. In 1866 he graduated from secondary school on Skopelos with "very good", returned to Skiathos for a short time and enrolled in the high school in Chalkida in 1867 , where he made his first attempt at a novel. As early as 1868 he broke off his school education again due to arguments with his religion teacher, but returned to school the following year and successfully passed exams.

As an 18-year-old he went to Athens in 1869 , where he continued his education at the high school in Piraeus . Papadiamantis, whose stay in Athens was financed by his father, received several letters of recommendation from dignitaries on his home island to help him find a job. Presumably, however, he decided not to use them and traveled back to Skiathos. He opposed his father's plans for a priestly career and developed a desire to become a writer. A pilgrimage took him together with a friend to Mount Athos for several months in 1872 . The following year he was back in Athens, continued his education and gave private lessons in order to improve his tight financial situation. The oldest literary text that Papadiamantis has received is from 1874, a poem for his mother. He was finally able to finish his school education with the grade “good” and began studying philology at the Philosophical Faculty in Athens, which he did not graduate. Georgios Vizyinos was a fellow student . His firm intention was to devote himself entirely to writing.

Working life in Athens

Papadiamantis learned English and French and tried to stay afloat as a private tutor. Nevertheless, he was forced to ask for money from his father, with whom the relationship remained strained. In 1878 he anonymously published his first series of articles in the magazine Efimerís . Under the pretext that he was studying, he was able to postpone his draft to the military and avoid traveling to Skiathos, where he feared confrontations with his father. Only over 20 years later did he return to his home island more often and for longer periods of time. In 1879 he published his first historical novel Die Migrantin (Η μετανάστις) as a continuation story in the Constantinople magazine Neologos . In 1880 he was finally drafted into the military and served about ten months until 1881. In the following period he published more and more literary texts, found a job as a translator in 1882 and had the historical novel The Gypsy Daughter (Η γυφτοπούλα), which was also translated into Italian , A success in 1884. However, a complete breakthrough was denied him; until the end of his life he never held a printed book of himself in his hands. Despite his growing fame and recognition by literary circles, he avoided the public from around 1886 and preferred society to simple people. In 1887, when he increasingly devoted himself to religious subjects and also worked as a cantor , he published his first short story. However, he was still in difficult financial circumstances and earned his meager living with constantly changing and never long-term engagements as a journalist, writer and translator (he translated around 40 novels into Greek). Nevertheless, contrary to his intention and social expectations, he was unable to support his family on Skiathos financially. In 1891 the confident writer, whose narrative skills have been compared by a critic to those of Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens , replied with the comment: “I don't resemble Poe, nor Dickens, nor Shakespeare , nor Béranger . I resemble myself. Isn't that enough? "

The last 15 years

In 1895 Papadiamantis' father died. In 1897 Papadiamantis stayed on Skiathos for a long time. In 1899 an article by Kostis Palamas about Alexandros Papadiamantis appeared in the magazine Téchni (Τέχνη) . From 1902 to 1904 he finally spent two full years on Skiathos, constantly writing stories and doing translations. In 1903 he published his most famous work, Die Mörderin, in the magazine Panathínäa (Παναθήναια) . His health deteriorated noticeably; In 1906 he suffered such severe attacks of rheumatism that he could hardly write any more. He also became increasingly alcoholic . Papadiamantis' probably first photograph taken by his friend Pavlos Nirvanas was from 1906 ; there was also an article by Nirvanas on the life and work of Papadiamantis. During this time most of the short stories were published; Papadiamantis was at the height of his literary work. Nevertheless, he never took the step to prosperity and integration into society and instead remained the deeply religious, withdrawn, ascetic writer who lived in poverty and whom his contemporaries called the "secular monk". In 1908 he refused to appear at a celebration organized for his 25th anniversary as a writer. He went to Skiathos one last time and stayed there until the end of his life. On October 29, 1910, he fell ill with pneumonia and died in the night of January 2 to 3, 1911.

Papadiamantis remained unmarried and childless.

plant

After a few poems, three historical novels and a short story, Alexandros Papadiamantis wrote almost nothing but short stories. The best-known include Rings around the Lake (Ολόγυρα στη λίμνη, 1892), Dream on the Wave (Όνειρο στο κύμα, 1900) and The Murderess (Η Φόνισσα, 1903). The setting is almost always his home island of Skiathos.

Papadiamantis was a writer of ethography, the portrayal of customs , who in Greece at the end of the 19th century pushed the historical novel off the stage of literary events as a realistic or naturalistic narrative in a mostly rural setting and focused on simple figures of the people and the psychological dimension judged. In his stories he mainly used figures and landscapes from his home island Skiathos, which, as he himself wrote, all come from his memory and not from his imagination. A special characteristic of Papadiamantis is the love for nature that clearly emerges from his work and the tenderness towards the characters who appear in his stories.

Furthermore, Papadiamantis' narrative language is a remarkable characteristic of his literary work. It is an aesthetic form of a moderate Katharevousa that is unique in modern Greek literature and contains both learned and popular elements. Alexandros Papadiamantis is considered to be the last great author of the standard language and at the same time as the first to give it an expressiveness that was only customary for the vernacular . In dialogues, however, Papadiamantis - like Georgios Vizyinos - allows the vernacular to have its say, which heralds the final elimination of standard language from literature, which has been done in poetry since the 1880s, also for prose.

Numerous stories have been translated into several languages. The German translation has been published:

  • The holy night on the mountain
  • The murderess
  • The Seal's Lament
  • Father at home and The Gleaner
  • Under the royal oak
  • The rose colored beaches
  • A love in the snow

Two of his works have already been filmed: The Murderess and The Rose-Colored Beaches .

Reception and criticism

Today Alexandros Papadiamantis is considered to be one of the most important writers, if not the most important narrator, of modern Greek literature, which is primarily due to his innocent, unadulterated way of writing; his stories are steeped in sensitivity and authenticity in depicting people and the Mediterranean world in which they live. Odysseas Elytis sums up the diversity and profundity encountered in his works: Whichever page of his stories we linger on, we always encounter the Greek behind the Christian, behind the mystical, the Mediterranean sensual, behind the people of the Church that of the body, of fragrant herbs and beaches. [...] we always understand that for him nature means neither a place of refuge nor consolation or relief. Nor does it represent a dark and demonic power. It is the eternal and immortal framework that holds creation together, a guarantee for what we are or can be.

Despite all the enthusiasm that Papadiamantis has for prose, it cannot be concealed “that just as often as one can credit impressive passages, unsuccessful passages can be picked out; namely, those who cross the line to simple-mindedness and testify to an unforgivable and sometimes annoying lack of deliberation. Regardless of whether it is the rest of journalistic practice or a weakness of the moment - even a conscientious middle school teacher would improve this for his students. ” Elytis alludes to certain repetitions of words and clichés that one sometimes encounters at Papadiamantis; Also, the mass of 170 stories, which are often similar to one another, are not always characterized by high quality, but rather by quantity. One must not forget that Papadiamantis was constantly in financial distress and had to use every conceivable opportunity to publish texts. This explains some literary weaknesses in his work. Critics have also pointed to some of Papadiamantis' logical "flaws". Judging by the outstanding parts of his work, Alexandros Papadiamantis is rightly a much-praised stroke of luck in modern Greek literary history (the "saint of Greek literature", as he is called again and again), which is still widely read a hundred years after the peak of his work.

In his honor, the Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport on Skiathos became known after him and his home has been set up as the Papadiamantis Museum .

Editions of works (selection)

Total expenditure

  • Αλεξάνδρου Παπαδιαμάντη Τα άπαντα , 5 volumes, Athens 1954–56
  • Αλεξάνδρος Παπαδιαμάντης Άπαντα , κριτική έκδοση Ν.Δ. Τριανταφυλλόπουλος, 5 volumes, Athens 1981-88

Editions of individual works

  • Παπαδιαμάντη, Αλεξάνδρου: Διηγήματα (25 selected stories), ed. by Απόστολος Σαχίνης, series Νεοελληνική Βιβλιοθήκη, Athens 1988
  • Παπαδιαμάντης, Αλέξανδρος: Πασχαλινά Διηγήματα , Νεοελληνική Λογοτεχνία, vol. 181, ed. by Σπύρος Κοκκίνης. Athens 1975
  • ders .: Η γυφτοπούλα . Νεοελληνική Λογοτεχνία, Vol. 186, ed. by Σπύρος Κοκκίνης. Athens 1975
  • ders .: Σκοτεινά Παραμύθια (19 selected stories with comments), ed. from Στρατής Πασχάλης, Athens 2001. ISBN 960-375-239-8
  • ders .: Η φόνισσα . Η πεζογραφική μας παράδοση. Εκδόσεις Νεφέλη, Athens 1988. ISBN 960-211-028-7
  • ders .: Η φόνισσα . Introduction by Γιώργος Αριστήνος. Athens 2006. ISBN 960-406-788-5
  • ders .: Αλληλογραφία . Επιμέλεια Τριανταφυλλόπουλος Νίκος, Εκδ.Δόμος, 1992, Αθήνα ISBN 960-7217-60-8
  • Papadiamantis, Alexandros: The murderess . Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main, 1st edition 1995. ISBN 3-518-38991-2
  • Papadiamantis, Alexandros: Greek stories . A selection. Edition Hagia Sophia, Wachtendonk, 2019, ISBN 978-3-96321-026-6 .

Bibliographies

  • Κατσίμπαλης, Γ.Κ .: Αλέξανδρος Παπαδιαμάντης. Πρώτες κρίσεις και πληροφορίες. Βιβλιογραφία . Athens 1934, supplement 1938
  • Φουσάρας, Γεώργιος: Βιβλιογραφικά στον Παπαδιαμάντη . Athens 1991. ISBN 960-201-095-9
  • Φαρίνου-Μαλαματάρη, Γ .: Εισαγωγή στην πεζογραφία του Παπαδιαμάντη . Athens 2005. pp. 553–598 (a very extensive bibliography of works on Papadiamantis that appeared after 1980)

Secondary literature (selection)

In German language

  • Coulmas, Danae : “... between divine and human justice”, epilogue in: Papadiamantis, Alexandros: The murderess . Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp 1st ed. 1995, pp. 148-165
  • Elytis, Odysseas: The Magic of Papadiamantis. Who is dressed in white. In: Mitsou, Marie-Elisabeth; Oikonomou, Maria (Ed.): Reflections. Essays by Modern Greek Authors , Neuried 2005. pp. 249-291

In English

  • Louis Coutelle, Theofanis George Stavrou , David R. Weinberg (Eds.): A Greek diptych. Dionysios Solomos and Alexandros Papadiamantis . Nostos Books, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1986. - Review by: Elizabeth Constantinides, in: Journal of Modern Greek Study 5.2, 1987

In Greek language

  • Ζουμπουλάκης, Σ., Τριανταφυλλόπουλος, Ν. (Ed.): Ο μυθιστοριογράφος Παπαδιαμάντης . 2003
  • Θέμελης, Γιώργος> Ο Παπαδιαμάντης καί ο κόσμος του . Εκδ. Διάττων, Athens 1991. ISBN 960-7031-10-5
  • Κεσελόπουλος Ανέστης: Η λειτουργική παράδοση στον Αλέξανδρο Παπαδιαμάντη . Εκδ. Πουρναράς, Thessaloniki 1994. ISBN 960-242-092-8
  • Κολυβάς Ιωακείμ-Κίμων: Λογική της αφήγησης και ηθική του λόγου: μελετήματα για τον Παπαδιαμάντη . Εκδ. Νεφέλη, Athens 1991. ISBN 960-211-108-9
  • Μάτσας, Νέστορας: Αν δεις τον κυρ-Αλέξανδρο η άλλη βιογραφία του Παπαδιαμάντη . Εκδ. Εστία, Athens 1991. ISBN 960-05-0360-5
  • Μουλλάς, Παναγιώτης (Ed.): Αλέξανδρος Παπαδιαμάντης αυτοβιογραφούμενος . Athens 1999. ISBN 960-05-0833-X
  • Μπαρμπούνης, Μανόλης: Η παραδοσιακή θρησκευτική συμπεριφορά των συγχρόνων του στο έρδγο του Αππντάέξ . Athens 1998
  • Οικονόμου, Ζήσης : Ο Παπαδιαμάντης και το νησί του (μικρογραφία της ανθρωπότητας). Αθήνα, 1979.
  • Saunier, Guy : Εωσφόρος και άβυσσος: ο προσωπικός μύθος του Παπαδιαμάντη . Εκδ. Άγρας, Athens 2001. ISBN 960-325-399-5
  • Τριανταφυλλόπουλος, Δημήτρης: Πελιδνός ο παράφρων τύραννος ... : αρχαιολογικά στον Παπαδιαμάντη, Εκδ. Νεφέλη, Athens 1996. ISBN 960-211-298-0
  • Φαρίνου-Μαλαματάρη, Γ .: Αφηγηματικές τεχνικές στον Παπαδιαμάντη . Athens 1987. ISBN 960-04-1610-9
  • this. (Ed.): Εισαγωγή στην πεζογραφία του Παπαδιαμάντη . Athens 2005. ISBN 960-524-194-3
  • Χειμώνας, Χρήστος: Αφιέρωμα στον Αλ. Παπαδιαμάντης . Athens 1977
  • [oA]: Εισαγωγή στην πεζογραφία του Παπαδιαμάντη: Επιλογή κριτικών κειμένων . Εκδ. Πανεπιστημιακές Εκδόσεις Κρήτης, Iraklio 2005. ISBN 960-524-194-3
  • [oA]: Πρακτικά Α 'Διεθνούς Συνεδρίου για τον Αλέξανδρο Παπαδιαμάντη, Σκιάθος 20-24 Σεπτεμβρίου 1991. Εκδ. Δομός, Athens 1996. ISBN 960-353-033-6

Web links

References and comments

  1. Alexandros Papadiamantis: "Άπαντα", in the series "Ιδανική Βιβλιοθήκη", page 18, Edition Fitraki-Koutsoumbou (Greek Φυτράκη-Κουτσούμπου), Athens 1965
  2. See Φαρίνου / Μαλαματάρη, Γ. 2005, p. 13
  3. See Vitti, Mario: Ιστορία της Νεοελληνικής Λογοτεχνίας , Athens 2003, p. 305
  4. See Φαρίνου-Μαλαματάρη, Γ .: Εισαγωγή στην πεζογραφία του Παπαδιαμάντη . Athens 2005. p. 22ff.
  5. Cf. Elytis, Odysseas in: Mitsou, Marie-Elisabeth; Oikonomou, Maria (Ed.): Reflections. Essays by modern Greek authors , Neuried 2005. pp. 281f., 287f .; and Coulmas, Danae 1995, pp. 155f.
  6. Elytis, Odysseas in: Mitsou, Marie-Elisabeth; Oikonomou, Maria (Ed.): Reflections. Essays by modern Greek authors , Neuried 2005. p. 280
  7. Elytis, Odysseas in: Mitsou, Marie-Elisabeth; Oikonomou, Maria (Ed.): Reflections. Essays by modern Greek authors , Neuried 2005. p. 284
  8. For example, in the murderess the protagonist Frangojannou is first described as a woman of about sixty; In a flashback from twelve years ago, however, it says that she was 55 years old at the time.
  9. See Φαρίνου / Μαλαματάρη, Γ. 2005, p. 14