The Construction of the Woman in Karkavitsas’ 'the Slender Girl'

Article

Voela, A. 2005. The Construction of the Woman in Karkavitsas’ 'the Slender Girl'. Modern Greek Studies Australia and New Zealand A Journal for Greek Letters.
AuthorsVoela, A.
Abstract

Andreas Karkavitsas’ ‘The Slender Girl’ published in 1896 has a recognised place in the cannon of Modern Greek Literature. The following article attempts to highlight some of the issues that have not yet been raised with reference to ‘The Slender Girl’. The approach is psychoanalytic-feminist. It deals with the narrator’s confused objectivity and with Anthi’s portrayal which, it will be argued, is only partially favourable to the heroine and rests upon a deep seated male anxiety about ‘the woman’ and ‘her desire’.
In theoretical psychoanalytic terms, the present reading explores the difficult relationships of the subject and the Other as these are filtered through Symbolic, Imaginary and Real experiences. According to psychoanalysis, a transition such as ‘being married’ is not only a position one is expected to occupy, but a position to be assumed and recognised as one’s own. In that sense, the present reading explores subjectivity and sexual identity in the making.

Keywordsmodern Greek literature; literary criticism; Karkavitsas; psychoanalytic perspectiv; folkloric realism; psychoanalytic-feminist reading
JournalModern Greek Studies Australia and New Zealand A Journal for Greek Letters
ISSN1039-2831
Year2005
Accepted author manuscript
License
CC BY-ND
Web address (URL)http://www.brandl.com.au
http://hdl.handle.net/10552/1017
Publication dates
Print2005
Publication process dates
Deposited11 Nov 2010
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Citation:
Voela, A. (2005) ‘The Construction of the Woman in Karkavitsas’ 'The Slender Girl’, Modern Greek Studies Australia and New Zealand, A Journal for Greek Letters, Vol. 13..

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