THE EXILE OF 1831 The Paradigm of Greek Romantic Prose … · 2017. 5. 2. · notope as a theoret...

A REAPPRAISAL OF A. SOUTSOS’S THE EXILE OF 1831

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The Paradigm of Greek Romantic Prose Fiction (1830–1850):

A reappraisal of A. Soutsos’s The Exile of 1831

Pieter Borghart

Refut�ng the assumpt�on that the first novels after 1830 const�tute the advent of Greek real�sm, th�s paper �ntends to corroborate Tz�ovas’s argument that these texts, draw�ng on the world construct�on of the Hellen�st�c and Byzant�ne adventure novel, const�tute an �d�osyncrat�c branch of European Romant�c�sm. Th�s w�ll be ev�denced through an analys�s of A. Soutsos’s The Exile of 1831, theoret�cally underp�nned by Bakht�n’s theory of the l�terary chronotope. A two-fold argument w�ll be developed: ex negativo by oppos�ng Bakht�n’s v�ew on l�terary real�sm to the trad�t�onal manner �n wh�ch the d�eget�c world of The Exile �s constructed, and ex positivo by argu�ng that the narra-t�ve structure of the adventure novel can be regarded as a log�cal cho�ce �n v�ew of the hypothes�s that tens�on between the d�eget�c world and contemporary real�ty �s char-acter�st�c of Romant�c�sm. In turn, a s�m�lar approach w�ll allow for a more coherent �nterpretat�on than l�terary cr�t�cs have formulated to date.

IntroductionΟ Σούτσος δεν μπόρεσε να συγκεράσει το ιστορικό με το μυθιστορικό μέρος ή μάλλον να ενσωματώσει το πρώτο στο δεύτερο, ούτε να εξισορροπήσει τη σάτιρα και το κωμικό με τη ρωμαντική έκφραση και το τραγικό. Έτσι τα δύο ζεύγη, ιστορία και κωμικό, μύθος και δράμα, πορεύονται σχεδόν παράλληλα, δίχως να συναντιούνται και δίχως να συνερ-γάζονται, παρά μόνο επιφανειακά. [...] Ο Εξόριστος του 1831 παραμένει απόπειρα μυθι-στοριογραφίας, δίχως να φτάνει σε κατορθωμένο αποτέλεσμα (D�al�smas, 1996:79–80).

Soutsos was not able to blend the h�stor�cal w�th the fict�onal part or rather to �ncorporate the first �nto the second, nor to counterbalance sat�re and comedy w�th the express�on of romant�c feel�ngs and tragedy. In th�s way two pa�rs, h�story and comedy, fict�on and drama evolve almost �n parallel, w�th only superfic�al mutual l�nks between them. [...] The Exile of 1831 rema�ns an attempt at wr�t�ng a novel w�thout ach�ev�ng sat�sfactory results (my translat�on).

Borghart, Pieter. 2009. The Paradigm of Greek Romantic Prose Fiction (1830-1850): A reappraisal of A. Soutsos's 'The Exile of 1831'. In E. Close, G. Couvalis, G. Frazis, M. Palaktsoglou, and M. Tsianikas (eds.) "Greek Research in Australia: Proceedings of the Biennial International Conference of Greek Studies, Flinders University June 2007", Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek: Adelaide, 357-368.

Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au

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Th�s quotat�on �s symptomat�c of the negat�ve att�tude generally expressed by con-temporary l�terary cr�t�c�sm towards the first novels publ�shed �n the newly founded Greek k�ngdom, espec�ally Alexandros Soutsos’s The Exile of 1831 (1835).1 Even though ev�dence clearly shows that dur�ng the n�neteenth century both cr�t�cs and readers approved of Soutsos’s novel to a certa�n extent (Droul�a, 1994; Varelas, 2006), �t was the rather d�sm�ss�ve v�ew of �nfluent�al wr�ters such as Alexandros R�zos Rangkav�s and Angelos Vlakhos (Droul�a, 1994:52–53) — apparently med�ated by the equally author�tat�ve History of Modern Greek Literature by D�maras (1949) — that ga�ned general acceptance among modern scholars, a number of notor�ous excep-t�ons notw�thstand�ng (Mastrod�m�tr�s, 1992:375–82; Tz�ovas, 1997:17; Vagenas, 1997:49–52; Beaton, 2006). In add�t�on to th�s remarkable d�sagreement on the aes-thet�c value of The Exile of 1831, there �s also a debate go�ng on about the novel’s gener�c class�ficat�on. Whereas Sakh�n�s holds that Soutsos’s text, together w�th the bulk of romant�c prose fict�on up to the 1880s, clearly belongs to the h�stor�cal novel on the bas�s of �ts extens�ve descr�pt�ons of a trans�tory but nevertheless �mportant per�od �n Greek pol�t�cal h�story, namely the success�ve governments of Ioann�s Kapod�str�as and h�s brother Avgoust�nos (Sakh�n�s, 1958:50–51), others tentat�vely �dent�fy The Exile of 1831 as well as most of the other novels wr�tten between 1830 and 1850 w�th the advent of Greek real�sm, po�nt�ng out that these narrat�ves gen-erally feature a more or less contemporary sett�ng (Tonnet, 1991:98–105; Droul�a, 1994:45; Vagenas, 1994:188–95; Veloud�s, 1996:49). F�nally, D�m�tr�s Tz�ovas (1997) has recently �nvoked Bakht�n’s theory of the l�terary chronotope to argue that the deep narrat�ve structure of these first-fru�ts of Modern Greek prose fict�on actu-ally has more �n common w�th the adventure novel from Hellen�st�c and Byzant�ne t�mes than w�th the�r supposed European models.2 Further elaborat�ng on Tz�ovas’s v�ew, the present paper a�ms at demonstrat�ng that a proper aesthet�c apprec�at�on of Soutsos’s novel �s h�ghly dependent on a clear understand�ng of the narrat�ve genre to wh�ch �t ult�mately belongs. At the same t�me, �t w�ll be argued that the gener�c model �n quest�on — wh�ch �n fact const�tutes the parad�gm of Greek romant�c prose fict�on of the t�me (1830–1850) — �s anyth�ng but an �llog�cal cho�ce g�ven the Euro-pean context of the romant�c movement �n wh�ch Soutsos and h�s contemporar�es took part.3

1 See e.g. a number of trad�t�onal h�stor�ans of Modern Greek l�terature such as D�maras (1949:364) and Sakh�n�s (1958:53), as well as — more recently — the �ntroduct�on to the latest ed�t�on of The Exile of 1831 (Droul�a, 1994:46–49) and the presentat�on of A. Soutsos’s l�terary career �n the renowned ser�es Η παλαιότερη πεζογραφία μας (D�al�smas, 1996:79–80).

2 Tonnet (1994) was the first to po�nt to th�s remarkable structural affin�ty, but only w�th regard to The Orphan-girl of Chios (1839) by Iakovos P�tz�p�os. Subsequently, Tz�ovas (1997) extrapolated th�s v�ew to the bulk of romant�c prose fict�on pr�or to 1850, mak�ng use of Bakht�n’s theory of the l�terary chro-notope as a theoret�cal framework.

3 As Ro�los (2003:62, 65) r�ghtly remarks, �t goes w�thout say�ng that the cho�ce for a l�terary model that can be traced back to the Hellen�st�c and Byzant�ne eras perfectly fits �n w�th the pol�t�cs of Greek




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Bakhtin’s theory of the literary chronotope

Before turn�ng to an analys�s of Soutsos’s novel, I th�nk �t useful to br�efly �ntroduce the general outl�nes of Bakht�n’s theory of the l�terary chronotope (1981, 1986). D�f-ferent from sheer formal�st or structural�st approaches to novel�st�c t�me and space, �n Bakht�n’s v�ew these narrat�ve categor�es const�tute a fundamental un�ty. Th�s �nsep-arab�l�ty of t�me and space �s denoted by the term “chronotope” and refers to the “world construct�on” that �s at the base of every narrat�ve text, compr�s�ng a coherent comb�nat�on of spat�al and temporal �nd�cators:

In the l�terary art�st�c chronotope, spat�al and temporal �nd�cators are fused �nto one carefully thought-out, concrete whole. T�me, as �t were, th�ckens, takes on flesh, becomes art�st�cally v�s�ble; l�kew�se, space becomes charged and respons�ve to the movements of t�me, plot and h�story. The �ntersect�on of axes and fus�on of �nd�cators character�zes the art�st�c chronotope (Bakht�n, 1981:84).

Subsequently, Bakht�n states that the number of poss�ble world construct�ons �s not �nfin�te at all, and that narrat�ves wr�tten �n the same per�od of l�terary h�story tend to d�splay s�m�lar chronotopes. Although he devotes the l�on’s share of the two theo-ret�cal essays �nvolved to a deta�led descr�pt�on of a h�stor�cal typology of chronoto-pes, the Russ�an scholar seems to h�ghl�ght two bas�c types �n part�cular: the anc�ent Greek adventure novel of ordeal and the chronotope of n�neteenth-century real�sm. Be�ng s�tuated at the very beg�nn�ng and at Bakht�n’s personal apogee of the European novel respect�vely, these chronotopes const�tute each other’s oppos�te �n every respect (Morson & Emerson, 1990:364).

The Greek adventure novel (Bakht�n, 1981:86–110; 1986:11–16) �s character�sed by a stat�c world construct�on �n wh�ch t�me, space, plot and protagon�sts are fused �nto a merely mechanic unity. Bakht�n terms the dom�nant t�me concept�on of th�s chronotope “adventure t�me”, wh�ch means that t�me does not affect the regular course of the heroes’ l�ves but forms a dev�at�on from �t between two adjacent b�o-graph�cal moments: the first encounter between the hero and the hero�ne and the�r subsequent marr�age. Thus, even though �n adventure t�me the protagon�sts are sepa-rated from each other for years, they hardly show any b�olog�cal or psycholog�cal development, eventually marry�ng each other as �f noth�ng has happened �n between. W�th�n such a world construct�on, the success�on of d�eget�c events �s character�sed by a certa�n degree of revers�b�l�ty: wh�le the sum of ordeals that the protagon�sts have to go through serves to keep them separated throughout the central part of the story, the overall plot l�ne features noth�ng but a cha�n of �solated ep�sodes w�thout any

Romant�c�sm, wh�ch a�med at construct�ng a nat�onal past that “retrospect�vely could cla�m to have made the present ex�stence and future asp�rat�ons of the nat�on �nev�table” (Beaton, 1988:99). The present paper, by contrast, w�ll explore the �d�osyncrat�c �ncorporat�on of a common feature of the poet�cs of European Romant�c�sm for themat�c purposes.



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�nev�table log�cal or chronolog�cal order, ruled ma�nly by co�nc�dence. Not surpr�s-�ngly, space funct�ons as a mere background for the heroes’ �mplaus�ble adventures, lack�ng every organ�c “attachment to a part�cular h�stor�cal epoch, a l�nk to part�cular h�stor�cal events and cond�t�ons” (Bakht�n, 1986:15); consequently, from the po�nt of v�ew of the love story per se space could eas�ly be replaced by another funct�onal set-t�ng as well (“�nterchangeab�l�ty”).

Conversely, �n the chronotope of the n�neteenth-century h�stor�cal and real�st novel the four components of narrat�v�ty d�st�ngu�shed by Bakht�n make up an organic unity, be�ng organ�sed �n such a manner that the result�ng world construct�on can only be des�gnated as dynam�c. Its most �mportant hallmark �s the ass�m�lat�on of “real h�stor�cal t�me”. Be�ng the organ�s�ng ax�s of th�s part�cular chronotope, such a t�me concept�on has far-reach�ng �mpl�cat�ons for the other narrat�ve categor�es as well: space ceases to be mere background and becomes �dent�fiable w�th a part�cular h�stor�cal era to such an extent that “present, past and future [are] l�nked by a process of genu�ne growth, wh�ch means that change does not take place �n an arb�trary fash-�on (not just anyth�ng can happen)” (Morson & Emerson, 1990:405). W�th regard to plot structure, the fus�on of h�stor�cal t�me and space s�gn�ficantly confines the range of narrat�ve poss�b�l�t�es: as the fict�onal world �s ma�nly ruled by soc�al and h�s-tor�cal factors, the heroes’ rad�us of act�on �s strongly dependent on the cond�t�ons of the epoch under cons�derat�on; �n add�t�on, the success�on of s�ngle plot events not seldom becomes causally structured. It goes w�thout say�ng that, �n ma�nta�n�ng a strong �nteract�on w�th the fict�onal world, the protagon�sts gradually undergo a genu�ne evolut�on. The sett�ng of contemporary Capod�str�an pol�t�cs notw�thstand-�ng, a structural analys�s of The Exile of 1831 w�ll show that such a dynam�c world construct�on �s st�ll str�k�ngly absent �n Soutsos’s novel.

The Exile of 1831 and the adventure chronotope

Even though the d�scourse (“réc�t”) of The Exile of 1831 �s more soph�st�cated than would appear at first s�ght, the underly�ng story (“h�sto�re”) �s qu�te s�mple: (1) encounter and separation of the young lovers: even before he has actually met the beaut�ful Aspas�a, the hero — who �s referred to as “the ex�le” throughout the narra-t�ve — generously refuses h�s father’s marr�age proposal as h�s best fr�end N�k�stratos has fallen desperately �n love w�th the g�rl. Dur�ng the�r first encounter the ex�le �s nevertheless struck by the heavenly beauty of Aspas�a, who seems to rec�procate h�s love for her. Loyal to N�k�stratos, however, the hero suppresses h�s deepest emot�ons and sets out on a journey to Europe; (2) adventures: hav�ng returned to Greece wh�ch �s suffer�ng severely under the government of Ioann�s Capod�str�as, the ex�le �s not only �nformed that h�s best fr�end has passed away �n the meant�me, but also that a certa�n Avger�nopoulos �s now try�ng to court Aspas�a. Aga�nst the background of the Capod�str�an per�od �n Greek pol�t�cal h�story, the rema�nder of the story compr�ses a ser�es of ev�l tr�cks by Avger�nopoulos �n h�s attempt to prevent the ex�le from be�ng




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reun�ted w�th h�s beloved; (3) reunion of the lovers: hav�ng real�sed that Aspas�a w�ll never become h�s lawful w�fe, Avger�nopoulos cunn�ngly dec�des to po�son the g�rl, so that the unfortunate lovers are eventually reun�ted on Aspas�a’s deathbed...

As �s apparent from the way �n wh�ch th�s summary �s organ�sed, Soutsos has obv�ously der�ved the overall plot structure from the stat�c world construct�on of the adventure novel of ordeal.4 On the level of novel�st�c t�me, th�s �s ev�denced by the revers�b�l�ty of adventures wh�ch compr�se the major part of the story. Between the ex�le’s return to h�s homeland and h�s eventual reun�on w�th the dy�ng Aspas�a, he �s forced to overcome three attempts by h�s opponent to el�m�nate h�m: Avger�nopoulos betrays the hero to the Capod�str�an author�t�es on the ground of h�s revolut�onary sympath�es — hence the novel’s t�tle and the protagon�st’s ep�thet; he cowardly tr�es to shoot h�m down �n a duel; and he h�res an Alban�an assass�n to have h�s r�val mur-dered. Apart from the po�son�ng of Aspas�a at the end, Avger�nopoulos’s ev�l plans do not exh�b�t an �mperat�ve log�cal or chronolog�cal order. Its major ep�sodes be�ng mutually revers�ble w�thout substant�ally damag�ng the narrat�ve log�c, the central part of the plot �s clearly structured by adventure t�me.

But what about the contemporary pol�t�cal sett�ng of Soutsos’s novel? There are a number of good reasons not to regard sett�ng �n �tself as a dec�s�ve cr�ter�on for clas-s�fy�ng The Exile of 1831 as e�ther a h�stor�cal or a real�st novel. Even �f both textual and contextual ev�dence �nd�cate that the chronotope of the Hellen�st�c and Byzant�ne romance — w�th �ts comb�nat�on of adventure t�me �n an abstract-al�en world — more than l�kely served as a model for Soutsos and h�s contemporar�es,5 modern popular narrat�ves such as com�cs, Hollywood mov�es and the l�ke show that adventure t�me and the evocat�on of a h�stor�cal or contemporary sett�ng are anyth�ng but mutu-ally exclus�ve. As we have seen, Bakht�n has r�ghtly remarked that �t �s prec�sely the organic unity between h�stor�cal t�me and space that �s respons�ble for a narrat�ve’s dynam�c world construct�on, rather than a fam�l�ar background wh�ch �s d�scon-nected from the other narrat�ve components. That The Exile of 1831 lacks such a un�ty �s not only apparent from the novel’s adventure plot and t�me, �t �s even acknowledged

4 Tz�ovas (1997:16–17) r�ghtly ascr�bes the ma�n dev�at�ons from the model — such as the contempo-rary Greek or European soc�o-pol�t�cal sett�ng and the subst�tut�on of the happy end by the death of at least one of the protagon�sts — to the context of European Romant�c�sm, w�thout d�scuss�ng, however, the�r themat�c or �deolog�cal �mpl�cat�ons.

5 Apart from the structural analog�es already d�scussed, the contextual ev�dence for the rev�val of the adventure novel �n the first two decades of newly �ndependent Greece �s pr�mar�ly embod�ed by the figure of Adamand�os Kora�s, who already �n h�s long �ntroduct�on to the 1804 ed�t�on of Hel�odoros’ Aithiopika made a plea for a return to the Greek roots of the novel (Tz�ovas, 1997:10–12; Angelatos, 1997:193–99; Beaton, 1999:54–56; Beaton, forthcom�ng). As both Panag�ot�s and Alexandros Soutsos were students of Kora�s �n Par�s �n the 1820s (Droul�a, 1994:16–17), �t �s hardly surpr�s�ng that they were the first to put the�r tutor’s theoret�cal conv�ct�ons �nto pract�ce. Moreover, �n the absence of an elaborate Modern Greek prose trad�t�on, the republ�cat�on of Hellen�st�c and Byzant�ne novels had become a common pract�ce �n Phanar�ot c�rcles ever s�nce the last decade of the e�ghteenth-century (Kechag�oglou, 1991:58–59; Beaton, 1999:54).



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by the narrator h�mself. On several occas�ons he expl�c�tly d�st�ngu�shes between two separate d�mens�ons of h�s narrat�ve, a trag�c love story and a sat�r�cal dep�ct�on of contemporary pol�t�cs:

Αλλ’ εν τοσούτω, αναγνώσται μου τινές με στόμα χασμώμενον από νυσταγμόν με διακό-πτουν λέγοντες. “Μη τόσον ερωτικός πάλιν, Κύριε συγγραφεύ του Εξορίστου. Δεν κατα-βαίνεις ολίγον από τα υπερώα της α ι σ θ η τ ι κ ό τ η τ ο ς εις τα ήθη και εις τα συμβάντα της Ελλάδος; Δεν φαιδρύνεις και μίαν στιγμήν το μέτωπόν σου με το σατυρικόν γέλωτα, παριστών τα πρόσωπα και τα πράγματα του καιρού;” [...] Πάρα πολύ βιάζεσθε, Κύριοι. Το σύγγραμμά μου έχει ακόμη αρκετήν έκτασιν, και χάρις εις τους τόσους και τόσους πολιτικούς αγύρτας μας, δεν θέλετε μείνει αγέλαστοι και παραπονεμένοι. Αριστοφάνους σκηνάς με ζητείτε; Μη σας μέλη (Soutsos, A., [1835] 1994:123–24.21–2).6

But �n the meant�me some of my readers yawn�ng sleep�ly �nterrupt me by say�ng: “Don’t be so erot�c aga�n, S�r author of the Ex�le. Won’t you step down for a wh�le from the he�ghts of aesthet�c�sm to the morals and events of Greece? Won’t you br�ghten up for a moment w�th a sat�r�cal laugh �n present�ng the characters and occurrences of the t�me?” [...] You make too much haste, Gentlemen. My book st�ll has suffic�ent length, and thanks to the huge numbers of our pol�t�cal charlatans, you won’t keep be�ng stern and compla�n�ng. You are ask�ng me for scenes of Ar�stophanes? Don’t worry (my translat�on).

The stat�c nature of the novel’s world construct�on �s further ev�denced by the find�ng that the protagon�st hardly develops throughout the story and �s not capable of leav�ng h�s personal mark on the pol�t�cal evolut�on of Greece. Though a conv�nced patr�ot who takes part �n the oppos�t�on’s m�l�tary act�on aga�nst the success�ve governments of Ioann�s and Avgoust�nos Capod�str�as, �n the h�stor�cal ep�sodes the hero �s por-trayed as a merely m�nor figure who �n no way affects the course of h�story. When the ex�le suddenly real�ses that even the m�l�tary v�ctory of the const�tut�onal�st party over the army of Avgoust�nos won’t br�ng about any substant�al �mprovement, he g�ves up h�s pol�t�cal �deals �n d�sappo�ntment and sets out to be eventually reun�ted w�th h�s beloved Aspas�a:

Ο Εξόριστος, μη φρονών ακόμη απεγνωσμένην την σωτηρίαν της πατρίδος, περιέμενε να ιδή τας πρώτας πράξεις της Κυβερνήσεως. Η μόνη του ελπίς εθεμελιούτο εις την συγκάλεσιν Εθνοσυνελεύσεως. Αλλ’ όταν μετ’ ολίγον οι συμπληρούντες την Κυβέρνησιν Καποδιστριανοί και οι λεγόμενοι Μ έ τ ρ ι ο ι ήρχισαν να ραδιουργώσι και να παρεμπω-δίζωσι την συγκρότησίν της, απεφάσισε να φύγη πλέον από την πόλιν των σκευωριών (196.20–26).

The Ex�le, who st�ll d�dn’t th�nk that the salvat�on of h�s fatherland was hopeless, wa�ted to see the first act�ons taken by the Government. H�s only hope was grounded �n the con-vocat�on of a nat�onal assembly. But when after a wh�le the Capodostr�ans and so-called

6 In a s�m�lar passage (186–87.26–9) the narrator even connects the two d�mens�ons of the novel w�th two d�fferent narratees: a female read�ng publ�c that �s supposed to be touched by the love story (“Χαριτόβρυτοι Κυρίαι”), and a male aud�ence more �nterested �n contemporary pol�t�cs (“Κύριοι Πολιτικοί”)!




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Moderates who filled the assembly started to plot �n order to prevent �ts format�on, he dec�ded to flee from the c�ty of �ntr�gues (my translat�on).

A final argument to susta�n the hypothes�s that the stat�c chronotope of the adven-ture romance �s at the base of The Exile of 1831, �s of a purely narratolog�cal nature. In l�ne w�th the two separate d�mens�ons of the novel prev�ously ment�oned, the narrator not only expl�c�tly marks the trans�t�on from one d�mens�on to another by the recurrent formula “let us leave the love story for a moment and draw our attent�on to pol�t�cs” or v�ce versa, he also makes use of d�vergent narrat�ve tech-n�ques �n the representat�on of both components. Whereas the trag�c love story �s chronotop�cally very well elaborated by the sporad�c use of �ntrad�eget�c narrat�on and �nternal focal�sat�on,7 the h�stor�cal d�mens�on lacks such an “exper�ent�al�ty”, as the well-known narratolog�st Mon�ka Fludern�k denom�nates the “the quas�-m�met�c evocat�on of ‘real-l�fe exper�ence’” (1996:12). Be�ng confined to mere “act�on report”, such ep�sodes �n her op�n�on can hardly be regarded as full-fledged narrat�v�ty but rather resemble trad�t�onal h�story (1996:26–27), as �s ev�denced by the follow�ng example:

Η Ύδρα, δια περιοδικού φύλλου, του Απόλλωνος, από τον Μάρτιον ήδη μήνα είχεν αρχί-σει να κηρύττη ελευθέρας αρχάς εις το έθνος και να στηλιτεύη αναφανδόν το αυθαί-ρετον της Καποδιστριακής Κυβερνήσεως. Το Αιγαίον πέλαγος, ερεθισθέν, εζήτησε δι’ αναφορών από τον Καποδίστριαν την συγκάλεσιν εθνικής Συνελεύσεως. Αλλ’ αυτός, προς μόνην απόκρισιν, ητοιμάσθη να σωφρονίση τους Αιγαιοπελαγίτας δι’ ενόπλου δυνάμεως, και διέτρεξε φήμη, ότι ο εθνικός στόλος παρεσκευάζετο εις τοιαύτην εκστρα-τείαν. Η Ύδρα έσπευσε να προλάβη τα σχέδια του Καποδίστρια, και ο Μιαούλης μετά του Κριεζή κατέλαβεν εις τον Πόρον τον στόλον και το Νεώριον (80.4–12).

Through the newspaper Apollo, from March onwards Hydra had begun to procla�m the pr�nc�ples of freedom and to openly cast�gate the arb�trary character of Capod�str�as’s reg�me. The Aegean Sea, �rr�tated, asked Capod�str�as by means of pet�t�ons to convoke the nat�onal assembly. H�s only answer, however, cons�sted of mak�ng preparat�ons to br�ng the �nhab�tants of the Aegean Sea to reason w�th the a�d of armed forces, and rumour had �t that the nat�onal fleet was prepared for such an exped�t�on. Hydra hastened to prevent Capod�str�as’s plans, and M�aoul�s together w�th Kr�ez�s took command of the fleet and the dry docks at Poros (my translat�on).

Th�s recurrent narrat�ve pattern underscores the yawn�ng gap between the narrat�on of the story per se and the dep�ct�on of the contemporary pol�t�cal sett�ng from a purely techn�cal po�nt of v�ew as well.

7 To g�ve only one example: the story beg�ns in medias res, and the reader �s not �nformed unt�l chapter four about the trag�c events that plunged the protagon�st �nto “adventure t�me”. Be�ng �mpr�soned by Capod�str�as, the ex�le then tells the story of h�s l�fe to a fellow pr�soner �n the form of an extens�ve �ntrad�eget�c narrat�on.



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Narrative substructure and symbolic interpretationApart from poss�ble affin�t�es w�th European Romant�c�sm e�ther on an �ntertextual level or more generally w�th regard to the presence of romant�c topo�, the last part of the present study w�ll be devoted to the quest�on how the narrat�ve substruc-ture of The Exile of 1831 fits �n w�th the European romant�c trad�t�on, and what are the �mpl�cat�ons of such a v�ew for an overall �nterpretat�on of Soutsos’s novel? Accord�ng to the German scholar Gerhard Plumpe (1995) — an adherent of Luh-mann’s so-called “system theory” — the common denom�nator of Romant�c�sm can be found �n a cogn�t�ve strategy whereby the tens�on between the world of art and the phenomenolog�cal real�ty �s h�ghl�ghted. Th�s polar�ty between text and context (“System-Umwelt D�fferenz�erung”; Plumpe, 1995:233) not only man�fests �tself �n the romant�c pursu�t of outr�ght art�st�c autonomy, but �s also frequently themat�sed w�th�n the boundar�es of the l�terary text �tself through the presence of recurrent themat�c oppos�t�ons (culture versus nature, c�ty versus countrys�de, dull bourgeo�s versus art�st�c gen�us) or the use of part�cular world construct�ons (e.g. the �dyll�c chronotope; Keunen, 2001).

But what about the chronotope of the adventure novel that const�tutes the under-ly�ng narrat�ve structure of The Exile of 1831? To better understand the �d�osyncrat�c manner �n wh�ch Soutsos managed to convey th�s typ�cally romant�c polar�ty, a br�ef compar�son w�th h�s �ntertextual model could be helpful. In the trad�t�onal adven-ture chronotope the protagon�sts �n�t�ally depart from and finally end up �n a fam�l-�ar env�ronment �n wh�ch events — such as the encounter of the young lovers and the�r eventual marr�age — �rrevers�bly affect the course of the�r personal l�ves, that �s “b�ograph�cal t�me-space”. In between these two adjacent moments they get �nvolved �n a ser�es of adventures �n an abstract-al�en world wh�ch lack any b�ograph�cal s�g-n�ficance, that �s “adventure t�me-space” (Beaton, 2000:182). As for Soutsos’s novel, at the outset the hero finds h�mself on h�s home ground �n an emot�onal deadlock: though deeply �n love w�th Aspas�a, he �s unable to marry her because of h�s firm loyalty to h�s best fr�end N�k�stratos. The protagon�st’s b�ograph�cal t�me-space �s thus from the very beg�nn�ng equated w�th an �ntense romant�c spleen. Correspond-�ngly, when the ex�le at the end of the novel returns from adventure t�me-space to a world that accord�ng to the �ntertextual model �s supposed to be a safe and fam�l�ar env�ronment, he �s plunged aga�n �nto a sad real�ty full of personal m�sfortune, for h�s beloved Aspas�a �s about to take her last breath. T�red of these success�ve d�s�l-lus�ons, the hero ult�mately w�thdraws from h�s b�ograph�cal t�me-space and l�ves on as a herm�t �n h�s parental home �n Constant�nople. By cons�stently attr�but�ng an �d�osyncrat�c semant�c connotat�on to the b�ograph�cal sphere of the adventure chronotope, Soutsos themat�ses the romant�c avers�on to everyday real�ty by evok-�ng an ongo�ng confl�ct between the hero of the novel and real�ty as conceptual�sed w�th�n the fict�onal world of the text.




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In a prev�ous attempt to escape from h�s �n�t�al emot�onal spleen, moreover, the protagon�st entered adventure t�me-space, wh�ch �n Soutsos’s vers�on const�tutes a stat�c, al�en but also str�k�ngly concrete fict�onal world. For contemporary Greece �s symbol�cally transformed �nto an adventure chronotope that �s ma�nly ruled by chance and �n wh�ch noth�ng ever changes, not even after such truly h�stor�cal events as the murder of Ioann�s Capod�str�as or the v�ctory of the const�tut�onal�sts over the army of h�s brother and successor Avgoust�nos. Constantly be�ng pursued by the Capod�str�an author�t�es on the bas�s of h�s confl�ct�ng pol�t�cal conv�ct�ons, the ex�le obv�ously does not feel at home �n th�s al�en env�ronment e�ther and eventu-ally dec�des to abandon ma�nland Greece. Thus, w�th�n the boundar�es of adventure t�me-space the hero’s romant�c spleen �s temporar�ly replaced by genu�ne pol�t�cal Weltschmerz.8 In v�ew of the novel’s b�furcat�on �nto a trag�c love story and a (some-t�mes com�c) h�stor�cal d�mens�on, the dev�ce of express�ng the romant�c polar�ty between text and context through a m�n�mal but �ngen�ous mod�ficat�on of the or�g�-nal adventure chronotope �s further emphas�sed by the often sat�r�cal dep�ct�on of the contemporary pol�t�cal s�tuat�on.

The �nev�table conclus�on that Soutsos �n an �d�osyncrat�c manner jo�ned two romant�c key concepts (emot�onal spleen, pol�t�cal Weltschmerz) by means of the narrat�ve structure of the adventure novel, �s finally underscored by the suggest�on of a double causal connect�on: whereas the hero’s escape from h�s �n�t�al amorous �mpasse br�ngs w�th �t pol�t�cal d�s�llus�on, h�s va�n comm�tment to the const�tut�on-al�st oppos�t�on subsequently turns out to be the major cause of Aspas�a’s �mm�nent death:

Έπεσεν εις τους πόδας της ο Εξόριστος, και με σπασμώδεις κλαυθμούς, “εγώ, είπεν, εγώ είμαι ο αίτιος των συμφορών σου όλων. Αυτός ο προς την πατρίδα υπέρμετρος έρως μου κατέστρεψε την τύχην σου, και σε καταβιβάζει νέαν εις τον τάφον” (204.18–22).

The ex�le fell at her feet and started to lament �n great d�stress: “I, he sa�d, I am the reason for all your m�sery. Th�s �mmoderate love of m�ne for my fatherland has destroyed your good fortune, and br�ngs you as a young g�rl to your grave” (my translat�on).

By tak�ng �nto account the �ntertextual relat�ons w�th the h�story of the Greek novel, I hope to have shown that The Exile of 1831 unden�ably deserves a more pos�t�ve evaluat�on than �ts current reputat�on as a fa�lure lack�ng any coherence whatso-ever.

8 As there �s no po�nt �n condemn�ng a pol�t�cal reg�me that has already been overthrown, Soutsos’s pol�t�cal Weltschmerz should not be taken l�terally, but seems to symbol�cally express h�s general pes-s�m�st�c att�tude towards the pol�t�cal future of Greece.



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