In the novel Broken April by Ismail Kadare, the reader witnesses a
relatively static attitude
Q. Compare and contrast the attitudes of Bessian Vorpsi and his wife,
Diana, to the Kanun. Explore whether their attitudes remain static or
eventually change, and explore how their respective attitudes affect
their relationship.
Ans. In the novel “Broken April” by Ismail Kadare, the reader
witnesses a relatively static attitude of adulation toward the Kanun
from Albanian writer Bessian Vorpsi, in stark contrast to the
constantly changing attitude toward the Kanun from Diana, his wife,
who towards the end, fears and loathes the Kanun. This has a
tremendous impact on the relationship between Bessian and Diana,
because Diana’s disgust of the Kanun contrasts with the worship that
Bessian constantly heaps upon the Kanun, and this eventually leads to
Diana being estranged, and distracted. She soon falls for Gjorg, and
this leads to a rather distasteful experience for the honeymooning
couple. As the novel progresses, the reader notices these changes in
Diana’s attitude, both towards the Kanun and Bessian, and the reasons
behind her subsequently strange behaviour.
Bessian Vorpsi is introduced to the reader in Chapter 3 as an Albania
writer, visiting the Northern High Plateau for the first time and yet
more knowledgeable than most about the Kanun. Diana is his newly-wed
bride who was notably younger than Bessian. She “was happy”, and is
excited about “escaping the world of reality for the world of legend”
(Pg 63). Diana notes the interest Bessian showed about the Kanun, as
the author mentions, of this “part-imaginary, part-epic world”, that
“he talked about [it] for days on end”. (Pg 64) Initially, Diana
shares Be...
... middle of paper ...
...ey may choose to
put this behind themselves, go on another honeymoon, and move on.
There is no clear evidence of the possible outcome; however, based on
Diana and Bessian’s interactions with each other throughout the novel,
the more likely outcome is tragic, rather than ‘forgive and forget’.
Thus, the Kanun, the High Plateau, Gjorg and Bessian’s arrogance
contributed to the damage caused to the newly-wed couple’s
relationship. Bessian’s adulation of the Kanun remains static
throughout the novel; it could be argued and speculated, however, that
he may take, or may have taken a dislike to the Kanun towards the end
of the novel, because of what it did to his wife, albeit indirectly.
Diana’s attitude, as the reader witnesses, turns from one of excited
admiration to fearful disgust, and it is partially because of this
that she becomes estranged from Bessian.
the commander of the Rebel army, General Robert E Lee. General Lee is skeptical too of
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