Scripta Mediterranea (E-Journal)

Akbari, Suzanne

English

Imagining Islam: The Role of Images in Medieval Depictions of Muslims

Mallol, Maria Teresa Ferrer i

The Muslim Aljama of Tortosa in the Late Middle Ages: Notes on its Organization

Weber, Michael C.

The Adoption of Al Farabi's "Mathematical Sciences" in the Medieval West: A Study of Cross-Cultural Borrowing

Wharton, Barrie

Chameleons of Compromise: The Monarchy in Contemporary Spain

Guasch, Maria

Alberti and the New Chronicles of America: A study of 13 bandas y 48 estrellas

Kun, Loredana

Loredana Kun 
THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN 
GRAECO-ROMAN SOCIETY 
The prevalent theme found within several literary masterpieces in 
Greek and Roman literature is the representation and status of women, 
which is both narrowly defined and rigid in nature. There is a tenden-
cy to depict women as weak, irrational and inferior beings, and a world 
of possibilities for them is in fact a world of limitations. They are repre-
sented as being dependent on men who exert their male authority and 
rule, imposing patriarchal restrictions that confine women within sub-
missive and marginalized positions. 
There was already controversy regarding the role of women since 
ancient times. The famed Greek philosopher Plato recognized women' s 
remarkable nature and wisdom; he believed that they are capable of 
participating in diverse matters as well as contributing to the enrich-
ment of society. Plato' s student Aristotle did not share this view. He 
viewed women in a negative light, seeing them as being mutilated or 
incomplete man, and claiming that they lacked vital heat and intellect. 
This perspective and the path of female subordination would become 
ever-present in patriarchal societies and especially in the society and 
culture of the Mediterranean. 
By examining the subordinate role and the position of women in 
Mediterranean society and its literary texts, 1 would like to emphasize a 
human drama-tragedy that is created by female protagonists in litera-
ture as they challenge restrictions by expressing their own wishes and 
choices despite the oppressive environment. The persona! experiences 
of women in the selected texts will provide an interna! view of the 
external historical reality, revealing the political, religious, and social 
circumstances that restrained and dominated women's life. 
For centuries, dominating men were controlling, punishing and 
abusing women in Mediterranean society. The specific morality and 
unwritten laws during that time required an intensive standard of 
female inferiority, innocence, modesty, obedience and suffering. 
Women were represented as being in need of a strong and harsh guid-
ance, which was always exercised by an older dominating male figure, 
such as father, an older brother, or husband. Male dominance was 
cemented, since men unlike women, men were considered to be ratio-
nal and capable adults. The revelation of women's unimportance and 
the confirmation of men' s powerful and dominating role were endless-
SCRIPTA MEDITERRANEA, Vol. XXVI, 2005, 21 
22 Loredana Kun 
ly made apparent everyday life of Mediterranean society. 
There is a continuous stereotypical gender representation in the 
context of society and literary texts. Women are primarily portrayed 
according to their traditional roles and are typically placed within a 
domestic setting. This reality is affirmed by the tendency to depict 
females as the housewife and homemaker, mother or girlfriend, thus 
perpetuating certain dominant representational stereotypes. Women' s 
role and their persona! autonomy were never equal to that of men, and 
consequently they tried to oppose this enforced inferiority. 
In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope demonstrates the enforced restricted 
position by being exclusively known as the wife of Odysseus and moth-
er of Telemachos. She is not considered in terms of her own individual-
ity, but her identity is instead dependent on the relation to her husband 
and son. Consequently, her significance is confined to the role of the 
faithful wife and loving mother while her activities are limited corre-
spondingly. Penelope is compelled to stay within her domestic setting 
and to remain faithful while patiently awaiting her husband's twenty-
year return. She is considered to be the heart of the oikos, and it is her 
responsibility to maintain a harmonious marriage and household. 
However, not only is Penelope constricted to this obligation through 
virtue and moral, she is even physically enclosed in this role by the 
overpowering palace on Ithaca. 
Penelope' s familial role is confirmed by Agamemnon' s opinion as 
he considers her to be the loyal wife and the key to the family unit. He 
expresses this to Odysseus, whom he finds fortunate in having " ... a wife 
endowed with great virtue/How good was proved the heart of blame-
less Penelope" (Homer 11. 193-194). Penelope is the faithful wife who 
respects her husband and the institution of marriage, always remem-
bering her eternal "philos" - her husband, friend, and love, Odysseus. 
Penelope' s virtuous nature is captured by her contrast to Agamemnon' s 
wife Clytemnestra who was responsible for his murder. Unlike 
Penelope, Clytemnestra is an adulteress, and her disloyalty and disre-
spect towards her husband is characteristic of women who cannot be 
trusted. Clytemnestra differs greatly from Penelope, as is demonstrated 
by the statement: "Not so did the daughter of Tyndareos fashion her 
evil/ deeds, when she killed her wedded lord ... to make evil the reputa-
tion of womankind, even for one whose acts are virtuous." (Homer 11. 
199-202) Although Penelope is seen as a loyal wife, the figure of 
Clytemnestra creates the impression that women contain potential for 
evil and mistrust. The juxtaposition of Penelope and Clytemnestra cre-
ates the contrast between extreme goodness and extreme evil, revealing 
the distinction between the virtuous and dishonorable wife, since the 
former maintains the family unit, while the latter destroys it. 
The prevalent characterization that conforms to a traditional per-
The Status of Women in Graeco-Roman Society 23 
spective is further interconnected to the depiction of women as domes-
tic and domesticated creatures in Greek and Roman society, which 
replicates the normative or ideal social order of the nuclear family. As a 
result, female characters are made to suffer bath socially and individu-
ally if they <lare to transcend the fixed gender roles. These two inter-
woven notions are exhibited in Sophocles' tragedy Antigone. Since 
women in Greco-Roman worlds were responsible for upholding family 
values, it was Antigone' s traditional and domestic obligation to conduct 
Polynices' burial rites. Laudably, Antigone reveals her perpetual devo-
tion to family values by appealing to "the great unwritten, unshakable 
traditions" (Sophocles, 374) that uphold her allegiance as philia and by 
unceasingly acknowledging her familial duty and respect for her oikos 
when firmly stating "I will bury him myself" (Sophocles, 363). 
However, Graeco-Roman societies expected women to be docile and 
submissive like Antigone' s sister Ismene and encouraged them to act 
according to their fixed social placement. Therefore, Ismene obediently 
bowed to Creon's edict forbidding Polynices' burial and attempted to 
dissuade Antigone from her act of rebellion since she knew the harsh 
consequences and suffering that awaited a woman who dared to sur-
pass her predetermined role. Although Ismene respected Creon's rule, 
Antigone adhered to her domestic duty yet suffered in the end. Her suf-
fering was caused by her defiance to the established social position as 
dictated by Creon' s rule and by her transcendence of this societal role 
through her manifestation of manly courage. This courage is represent-
ed by Antigone' s firmness, determination, and devotion to her beliefs; 
treasuring physis or 'natural laws' and following divine law, she 
remains fearless in the face of authority and punishment. 
The representation of women as highly emotional and unstable 
beings who are prone to losing self-control, versus male dominance and 
rational control over the life-world is a notion further reinforced by the 
texts in which females are depicted as being illogical and irrational 
while males are depicted as possessing bath logic and rationality. This 
restrictive qualification is represented in Euripides' Medea by the pro-
tagonist herself. Following the divorce, Medea undergoes an emotional 
transformation that is classified by a progression from suicidal despair 
to sadistic fury. Her instability and impulsiveness are captured by her 
destructive reaction to Jason's betrayal that includes a series of murders 
and even the horrifie murder of her own children. 
Medea' s irrationality is embedded in the pleasure she derives from 
watching Jason suffer the loss of their children, one that outweighs her 
own remorse at killing them. This is revealed by her exclamation, "How 
did they die? You will delight me twice as much again if you say they 
<lied in agony." (Euripides, 98, 1134-35) This unfavourable portrayal 
creates the binary opposition to the depiction of men as exhibited by 
24 Loredana Kun 
Euripides' characterization of Jason. Instead of being represented as an 
emotional, irrational, and destructive Barbarian, he epitomizes the 
quality of an admirable Greek, rationality. 
The irrationality of a woman is also reflected by Clytaemnestra and 
her revenge in Aeschylus' tragedy Agamemnon. Clytaemnestra is venge-
ful, planning to kill Agamemnon upon his retum. The desire to kill him 
is driven by her anger for having sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia ten 
years earlier when he was leaving for battle. This was done in order to 
appease Artemis' anger, as the goddess sent contrary sailing winds in 
order to prevent Agamemnon and his companions from arriving at 
Troy. In order to ensure success, Agamemnon, :"With no thought more 
than as if a beast had <lied, when his ranged pasture swarmed with the 
deep fleece of flocks, he slaughtered like a victim his own child (51)." 
Considering the fact that Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter, and 
then proceeded to retum home with the concubine Cassandra, it can be 
seen why wrath and fury were fueled to an even greater level within 
Cassandra. Deciding to take matters into her own hands, and acting like 
a man, she challenged the established patriarchal order and acted upon 
her own free will. She fought for justice on her own terms. 
She murders her husband and the slave girl, Cassandra, practically 
rejoicing in the details of the murder scene. This is exhibited by her 
description of the episode, "Thus he went down, and the life struggled 
out of him, and as he <lied he spattered me with the dark red and vio-
lent driven rain of bitter savoured blood to make me glad," (1. 1387-
1391). Clytaemnestra attempts to justify and reason her husband's mur-
der as being the will of gods, but the pleasure she appears to have 
derived from this action does not coïncide with it being an action 
inspired by divine sanction alone. Driven by hatred, Clytaemnestra 
committed the murders without considering the consequences, thus 
executing them with no feelings of guilt or remorse. 
What is beyond any reason is that after murdering her husband, 
Clytaemnestra also proceeds to murder the slave girl, Cassandra, whom 
Agamemnon had taken against her will as his mistress during his jour-
neys. There is no reasonable explanation for the murder of this innocent 
girl who had no say in what Agamemnon chose to do with her. 
Aegisthus, Clytaemnestra' s lover, is in fact the mastermind behind 
Agamemnon's murder. Although he does not commit the act of murder 
itself, he has great hatred for Agamemnon as a result of his father, 
Atreus, feeding his brothers to his father, Thyestes (56-57). Aegisthus' 
reasoning behind his decision to murder is misguided in that 
Agamemnon holds no responsibility whatsoever for the horrid decision 
that his father decided to commit against his brother in the past. The 
queen's motives are compounded when Agamemnon retums with his 
concubine, Cassandra. The capabilities of a resentful woman are clear as 
The Status of Women in Graeco-Roman Society 25 
Clytaemnestra is presented as cunning, manipulative and dangerous. 
She is deceitful as she addresses him and the people of Argos by first 
announcing her love for him, while in her mind, it is only part of an 
elaborate scheme for his murder, "I take no shame to speak aloud before 
you all the love 1 bear my husband," (1. 856-857). When Clytaemnestra 
is found standing over the two dead bodies of Agamemnon and 
Cassandra, she explains that she has been dissembling, waiting, and 
plotting her revenge. Clytaemnestra seems to enjoy describing the 
details of the murder "Thus he went down, and the life struggled out of 
him, and as he died he spattered me with the dark red and violent dri-
ven rain of bitter savoured blood to make me glad," (1. 1387-1391). 
Once again the spiteful nature of a wronged woman is seen to put 
revenge above all else. The Chorus is shocked by her words and behav-
iour, "We stand here stunned. How can you speak this way, with mouth 
so arrogant, to vaunt above your fallen lord?" (1. 1399-1400). 
Clytaemnestra' s pride, lack of remorse, and thirst for revenge detract 
from her argument that Iphigenia's death demanded her husband's "by 
my Child's justice driven to fulfillment, by her Wrath and Fury, to 
whom 1 sacrificed this man," (1. 1432-1433). Clytaemnestra tries reason-
ing that her husband's murder was the will of gods, but judging from 
the pleasure she derived, she did not act out of divine sanction alone. 
Furthermore, there are the prophecies of Cassandra that foreshadow the 
murders, "We two must die, yet die not vengeless by the gods," (1.1277-
1279). Clytaemnestra's brutal actions and reasoning were inspired by a 
mind clouded by hate and pride. They were committed without con-
sideration for the consequences of her actions; by murdering her hus-
band and his concubine Cassandra she had furthered the curse on the 
house of Atreus, and showed her "male" actions in the hands of 
woman. 
Agamemnon' s arrogant behaviour leads to his downfall and is par-
tially a reason for his eventual murder. Saying that his will is everything 
and has to be exercised and shown without soft thoughts and deeds, he 
triggers Clytaemnestra's brutal reactions. His hubris or excessive pride 
cost him his life. 
Linked to this emotional and irrational representation is the por-
trayal of women in Roman literature as disabled and dysfunctional 
beings. Dido, a figure of both passion and volatility, captures this rigid 
depiction in Virgil' s Aeneid since love for her is practically a madness or 
disease. When in love, Dido is not familiarized with measure; instead, 
she is acquainted with extremes, loving her Aeneas madly, passionate-
ly, irrationally, and obsessively. She is not just in love; she is consumed 
and overpowered by this insane and violent force. Even Virgil's lan-
guage depicts how love's power is like a sickness and a preoccupation 
beyond her control "Flames devoured her soft heart' s flesh; the wound 
26 Loredana Kun 
in her breast was wordless, but alive." (Virgil, IV, 66-7) Almost border-
ing on insanity following Aeneas' rejection and betrayal since she is 
incompatible with his Roman destiny, Dido madly finds herself 
writhing between fierce love and bitter anger, a fury that erupts into a 
savage and deranged emotion. This is confirmed by the statement 
"Filled with madness and prisoner of her pain, she was determined to 
die." (Virgil, IV, 474-5) Although she is originally depicted as being sane 
and possessing rationality by being the leader of her nation, love ren-
ders her dysfunctional to the extent that she never resurfaces to her dig-
nified state and ends her misery by suicide. 
Literature at times is a reflection of existing social roles, ideals, and 
ideologically normative power relations. Mirroring the values and 
beliefs of the Mediterranean society, it becomes a literary recreation of 
the existing and surrounding social reality. The female protagonists of 
the selected masterpieces capture this notion, as they are portrayed 
according to the values of the Graeco-Roman society. 
York University 
Works Cited 
Aeschylus, Agamemnon. Greek Tragedies: Volume I. Edited by David Grene, and 
Richmond Lattimore. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1947. 
Euripides, Medea. Translated by R. Wamer Chicago: The University of Chicago 
Press, 1992. 
Homer, Odyssey. Translated by R. Lattimore . New York: Harper Collins 
Publishers, 1967. 
Kun, Loredana ,The Poetics of Symbolism. Split-Geneva: HSD, 2004. 
Sophocles, Antigone. Greek Tragedies Vol I, edited by D. Grene and R. 
Lattimore. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1991. 
Vergil, The Aeneid. Translated by Frank O. Copley. New York: Macmillan 
Publishing Company, 1965. 


The Status of Women in Graeco-Roman Society

Masters and Servants: The Spanish Civil War in Equatorial Guinea

Redford, Donald

The Tjerker

Harrison, Timothy P.

Timothy P. Harrison 
INTRODUCTION 
Recent scholarship has begun to emphasize the formative role Cyprus 
and the Aegean worldjlayed in the development of the small territo-
rial states that emerge in the eastern Mediterranean during the early 
centuries of the first millennium BCE. Central to this discussion has 
been the contribution of the Sea Peoples, who conveniently have as-
sumed a role as the 'Vikings' of the Mediterranean world, responsible 
for destroying the venerable Bronze Age civilizations of the ancient 
Near East, and ushering the region into a historical 'Dark Age' during 
the ensuing centuries of the Early Iron Age (ea. 1200-900 BCE). 
Ancient textual sources do indeed portray a turbulent world at 
the end of the thirteenth century, marking the transition from the Late 
Bronze to Early Iron Ages that coincided with the collapse of the cen-
tralized state bureaucracies of the preceding era, with fheir extensive 
commercial networks and rich cuneiform scribal traditions. How-
ever, increasingly, syntheses of the archaeological record have begun 
to note the evidence for cultural continuity, and to articulate a more 
gradual process of consolidation and transformation during this pe-
riod, characterized by the emergence of regionalized settlement net-
works and the formation of smaII, ethnically defined territorial states. 
Concurrently, and perhaps ironically, excavations are uncovering an 
ever expanding material cultural assemblage with strong links to the 
Aegean, the presumed homeland of the Sea Peoples. Whether these 
remains are the cultural signature of a distinctive socio-ethnic group, 
of multiple groups, or should be seen as the by-product of expanding 
inter-regional commercial activity during this period, predictably, has 
become the focus of intensified scholarly debate. 
However, while the Sea Peoples are increasingly acknowledged 
to have played an important role in the development of Early Iron 
Age society, particularly in the context of the biblical Philistines, the 
archaeological evidence for an expanding presence remains surpris-
ingly under-explored. To date, Aegean-style pottery (specifically 
Mycenaean IIIC:l) has been reported at a growing number of Early 
Iron Age sites, mostly in the southern Levant, but also increasingly 
at northern Levantine and Cilician/southern Anatolian sites. It seems 
likely, therefore, that the evidence of contact with the Aegean world 
during this formative period remains under-represented in the ar-
chaeological record, and was considerably more widespread than has 
been recognized thus far. 
The literary accounts of the Sea Peoples, which include the an-
nals (and wall reliefs) of New Kingdom Egyptian pharaohs, the bibli-
cal narratives of early Israel, particularly as portrayed in the Book of 
Judges, and even the Homeric epics of classical Greece, also convey 
SCRIPTA MEDITERRANEA, Vol. XXVII-XXVIII, 2006-2007, 5-7 
6 Timothy P. Harrison 
important historical insights. While historians have questioned the 
veracity of these accounts, read broadly, they clearly constitute the 
formative expressions of corporate self identity, and therefore provide 
revealing glimpses of the competing cultural and ethnic identities in 
play during this dynamic era. 
Particu1arly intriguing has been the suggested possibility that 
there were distinct cu1tura1 zones distributed a1ong the eastern Medi-
terranean seaboard, and that these might reflect the territorial settle-
ment of specific sub-groups within the broader Sea Peoples cultural 
movement. Concerted archaeological investigations along the south-
ern coast of Israel, for example, have outlined the distinctive mate-
rial cultural signature of one such group, typically identified with the 
Peleset, and it is now widely accepted that this group should be equat-
ed with the biblical Philistines. Until recently, however, very little em-
pirical evidence could be linked confidently to other groups named in 
the ancient sources, such as the Tjekker, the Sherden, or the Denyen, 
despite the fact these groups are often associated with specific regions 
of the eastern Mediterranean (the Tjekker with the central Levantine 
coast, the Sherden with Cyprus, and the Denyen with Cilicia and the 
northern Levant). The expanding scholarly interest in this period now 
renders a broader, inter-regional approach to the study of fhe Sea Peo-
ples both possible and timely. 
As a result, in 2006, an international conference was convened at 
the University of Toronto on the subject of "Cyprus, the Sea Peoples 
and the Eastern Mediterranean." The primary aims of the conference 
were to explore the role of the Sea Peoples during this formative pe-
riod from fhe perspectives of the principal cultural traditions and re-
gions involved, and to better articulate the range and diversity of their 
material cultural expression in the archaeological records of these re-
gions. It was also hoped that such a gathering might help transcend 
the geographical and political barriers that have often impeded inter-
regional co1laboration in the eastern Mediterranean, while identifying 
new avenues and opportunities for interdisciplinary research. 
Over the course of the day-long event, sixteen scholars presented 
papers organized around four thematic sessions: (1) Cyprus and the 
Aegean Connection, (2) Textual and Iconographic Perspectives, (3) 
Southern Anatolian and Northern Levantine Perspectives, and (4) The 
Southern Levantine Perspective. These conference presentations, and 
ensuing discussions, have provided the primary content for the edited 
papers that appear in this volume. Several papers submitted follow-
ing the conference have also been included. 
As the papers in this volume demonstrate, the conference identi-
fied a number of important trends, or themes. In particular, they give 
witness to the rapidly expanding evidentiary knowledge base on this 
subject, and to the surprisingly widespread distribution of Aegean-
style material culture throughout the eastern Mediterranean. As sev-
eral of the authors in this volume report, this distinctive cultural ex-
Eression is well-represented not only on Cyprus and in the southern evant, but in Cilicia and the northern and central Levant as well. At 
the same time, the assembled cultural record betrays a remarkable 
Introduction 7 
diversity and significant regional variation, suggestive of a consider-
ably more comp1ex and heterogeneous developmental trajectory than 
most have assumed. The resuft has been a growing disillusionment 
with the mono-causal explanations that have long held sway, and a 
breakdown, or a 'fragmenting', of scholarly consensus, to invoke the 
lead title of Ayelet Gilboa's perceptive paper. 
In light of this, as several authors emphasize, future research ef-
forts will need to focus on developing more detailed, or nuanced, 
'local histories', if we are to achieve a deeper understanding of the 
complex socio-cultural experience of this era. To accomplish tfos task, 
excava tions will need to continue developing detailed stratigraphic 
sequences and greater chronometric precision. As several authors ar-
gue, field research strategies must also incorporate a multi-scalar ap-
proach to the archaeological record, while employing multi-disciplin-
ary analytical methods and techniques that more thoroughly exploit 
the rich and diverse archaeological evidence available. Clearly, there 
is considerable research still to be done, and many exciting discover-
ies still to be made. It is hoped this volume represents a modest step 
forward in that endeavor. 
The conference was hosted by St. Michael's College of the Uni-
versity of Toronto, and sponsored by the following institutions and 
organizations: the Canadian Institute for Mediterranean Studies, the 
Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Cyprus, the 
Consulate of Israel and the United Jewish Agency, the Department 
of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Pennsylvania State 
University, and the Royal Ontario Museum. Major funding was/ro-
vided by the Connaught Fund of the University of Toronto an the 
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. I wish to 
acknowledge and thank each of these sponsors and funding agencies. 
The conference would not have been a success without their support, 
and the encouragement of my colleagues on the Board of the Cana-
dian Institute for Mediterranean Studies. 
I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers who gen-
erously read each paper and provided constructive critical feedback. 
This volume has certainly benefited from their input, though they do 
not bear any responsibility for whatever errors might remain. The 
production of this volume has also benefited from the help of numer-
ous individuals. In particular, I wish to acknowledge the dedicated 
editorial assistance of Stanley Klassen and Heather Snow. Their con-
tribution has been indispensable. Anthony Percival and Jorge Guer-
rero were instrumental during the early stages of the editorial process, 
while Stephen Batiuk and Taber James provided invaluable assistance 
formatting images and producing page layouts. To each I owe thanks. 
Finally, I wish to voice appreciation for my colleague John S. Holladay, 
Jr., and his unflagging support, patient ear, and good counsel through-
out the production of thi s volume. I will be forever grateful. 


Introduction

Ecinar, Angeles

Angeles Encinar 
Technical and Thematic Aspects of 
Juan Marse's Un dia volvere 
The past few years have witnessed many diverse trends in 
Spanish fiction. 1 This fact has not hindered the emergence of a 
common factor in many Spanish novels, which could be 
summed up as a desire for narrativity, and the search for a tale 
to tell, a feature which Forster considered to be the most funda-
mental aspect of the novel (Forster 42). This characteristic has 
been a constant element in all of Juan Marse's works. As early 
as 1970, in an interview with Federico Campbell, Marse assert-
ed that having an "interesting, cataclysmic story, fun to tell" 
and doing it properly made up the essential fabric for weaving 
a good novel (220-225) . Un dia volvere, published in 1982, par-
takes fully in these propositions. Besides the narrative compo-
nent, there are elements of the detective novel, a genre that a 
number of Spanish authors have cultivated in the past few 
years. To this we must add a narrative world that delves into a 
deeper and more ambitious panorama: a social and existential 
subject that takes on relative importance in the discourse. The 
goal of the reflections presented in this article will be to com-
ment on all of these characteristics. 
The plot of Un dia volvere could be summarized as follows: 
Jan Julivert Mon, a one-time anarchist gunman, after having 
spent a number of years in prison, returns to what had been his 
mother's house in the Guinard6 quarter, where his sister-in-law 
Balbina and her son Nestor now live. Everyone in the neighbor-
hood awaits Jan's return with great anticipation, especially his 
nephew and the latter's friends, who dream of the possible 
events this ex-political activist and boxer might set in motion. 
Yet the passing of time shows just the opposite, and Jan Julivert 
seems to have repudiated his past and now leads a quiet life. 
Things are kept on a more or less even keel until Jan decides to 
work as a guard in the home of Luis Klein, who had been a 
42 
judge during the infamous years of repression and had been in 
contact with the ex-prisoner. This occurrence will lead to a 
number of suspicions on the part of Jan's old friends and fight-
ing companions, who had preconceived plans with respect to 
the distinguished judge. Nevertheless, Jan's behavior will once 
again disappoint his onlookers, who at the last moment misin-
terpret his conduct to the point of provoking his death. 
A feature that is present in all detective novels is an abun-
dance of facts and dates that are supposedly significant to the 
protagonist. This type of detail appears right from the begin-
ning of Marse's work, thereby allowing us to have a glimpse of 
the events taking place in Jan Julivert's world. Thus, for exam-
ple, we are inundated with the following data: "9 de junio"; 
"hacia las 3 de la tarde"; "en 1930, a los 20 afi.os pesaba"; "una 
mafi.ana de abril de 1936"; "no volverfan a verse hasta 1947"; 
"quince afi.os despues en 1975" ("June 9"; "at around 3 in the 
afternoon"; "in 1930, at the age of 20, he weighed"; "one April 
morning in 1936"; "they would not meet again until 1947"; "fif-
teen years later in 1975"). 
Besides this data there is an air of mystery which permeates 
the entire structure of the novel. A conventional division of the 
book into four parts, divided in turn into four or five chapters 
with subsequent sections, allows us, for the purposes of this 
article, to track the waves of suspense that the writer injects 
gradually into his story. The plot that drives the action and 
keeps the reader in suspense is provided by the expectations-
which on occasion coincide with those of the reader-of the 
various characters as regarding the activities the protagonist 
carries out in this new stage of his life of freedom. The climactic 
points of this tension are found strategically distributed at the 
beginning or end of each section. In the fifth chapter of the first 
part, Julivert finally accompanies Nestor to inspect the home of 
Judge Klein. Similarly, the last chapters of the second and third 
parts, as well as the first chapter of the fourth part, represent 
possible decisive moments: Jan, in his role of night watchman, 
(re-encountering) Luis Klein; the decision to admit the latter to 
a psychiatric clinic; and, finally, the plans to kill him. 
The characters who seem in some ways to be rudimentary, 
upon critical examination turn out to be artistically interwoven 
43 
through the use of perspective. The reader, actively involved in 
this type of novel, must put together the trail supplied to him 
by the three narrative focuses in order to get a total view of the 
protagonist. There exists an adolescent world, and through its 
eyes we see the transformation of the mythical figure in the 
imagination of the boys who knew this man only through refer-
ences. The imagined impression of boxer-bandit-political revo-
lutionary clashes constantly with the actual passivity of the sup-
posed hero. The dreams and frustrations of this juvenile myth 
are narrated with a succesful and often lyrical nostalgia and its 
distorsion is highlighted by the violence of the vulgar street jar-
gon used by the group of youths and the people of the neigh-
borhood. A second perspective is presented through dialogue 
and the evocative reminiscence between the "viejo Sau" and 
Polo. Their situation, as opposed to that of the protagonist, will 
allow the antagonistic views they have of Jan to be judged. The 
old painter of cinema posters reconstructs the humanistic and 
committed image of the man who marched in the Durruti col-
umn. Counterbalancing this positive memory, Inspector Polo 
emphasizes the life he led as a gunman and thief. Clearly the 
final option is the one the reader himself is able to deduce, 
thanks to the periods of omniscient narration and to the read-
er's position as an observer in the development of the action, 
that is to say, using Booth's terminology,2 through the narrative 
alternation between "scenes" and "summaries" used by this 
more reliable narrator. 
The role of active reader must be constantly performed in 
order to assimilate and fully understand Marse's novel. It seems 
appropriate to define it as an enigmatic book that stirs up many 
unanswered questions (Thompson 81). It is quite evident that 
the text is plagued with question marks. Is Nestor the son or the 
nephew of Jan Julivert? Is the death of the policeman Polo a sui-
cide or a murder? What happened to the money stolen by the 
protagonist? What kind of relationship existed between Jan, 
Luis Klein and his wife, Virginia Fisas? What was the meaning 
of the hair clip or tie pin belonging to the Kleins? The answers 
to some of these questions is only found at the end of the novel, 
when the reader has access to more detailed knowledge of dif-
ferent events that occurred in the lives of the main characters. 
44 
Somehow this proliferation of questionings allows us to reach 
the conclusion that we are dealing with a work based on "eter-
nal t.extual return" (Thompson 94). 
As in earlier novels, Un dia volvere emphasizes the social 
problems of the post-war world and the stifling Franco dictator-
ship. The intertextuality present in the work of this Catalan 
writer is an element that has been underlined many times, and 
has even been termed "intratextuality", when all the novels are 
considered as a continuous work (Sherzer 57-67). The repetition 
of scenes (urinating on Fascist political symbols), anecdotes 
(burying a pistol underneath a tree), characters (Balbina, Palau, 
Sendra), and the subjects themselves are manifest proof of the 
presence of this element in the world of Marse's novels. 
The subject of the Franco period is dealt with imaginatively 
and lyrically (Villanueva 53). The political struggle, the repres-
sion, the various factions and other matters are wisely diluted 
in a narrative in which action and subjective value are under-
lined. The range of impoverished characters that move about 
before our eyes illustrates the available options for living dur-
ing those years. An existence which, in the majority of cases, 
was fatally determined by poverty or the repressive situation 
(e.g. Balbina's case). There is also a focus from another perspec-
tive, the opportunistic choices of people such as the doctor, Mr. 
Folch or "Mandalay", who knew how to take advantage of 
adverse situations. The world of poverty is juxtaposed by the 
victorious wealty class, the Kleins, who, settled in their villa-
paradise, form part of the group of people who could ignore 
this unpleasant and bothersome aspect of reality were it not for 
its potential attribute of danger. 
Social criticism is polarized in the protagonist, Jan Julivert. 
This man, whose image questions the need for a myth in old 
age and childhood as a survival weapon, at a deeper level raises 
the possibility of an empty existence, alien to any current devel-
opment since the truth is that one does not live but only sur-
vives in a world where change is not possible, in which every-
thing stays the same. The existentialist subjects of alienation 
and failure are expressed accurately through the living prism of 
Julivert. The confrontation between the ex-revolutionary indi-
vidual and party aims, and the social circumstances that pre-
45 
vent their being attained, does not refer exclusively to the social 
condition of Spaniards, but also seems to go beyond these lim-
its, expanding into the state of modern man's alienation and 
disenchantment. Existential nausea and vomit, products of a 
conscience threatened by the oppresion of facts, are shown with 
tremendous dramatic intensity in the following excerpt: 
Y aun asi, aun aferrandose de forma implacable a esta atrafagada cade-
na de cometidos triviales pero llenos por lo menos de sentido practico, 
inmediato, aun asi volvi6 a experimentar subitamente en su animo el 
tir6n hacia abajo, el mismo vertigo que sintiera el primer dia de cau-
tiverio en una fria celda del penal de Burgos,aflos atras, cuando algo le 
hizo comprender de pronto que su vida se descolgaba de la vida, que 
perdia pie, que ya nada volveria jamas a tener sentido, ni siquiera los 
recuerdos. 
Se levant6, abri6 la puerta corredora de cristal y vomit6 en la ter-
raza, bajo la lluvia. (196) 
(And even then, even clinging relentlessly to this engrossing 
chain of tasks, trivial but at least full of practical, immediate sense, 
even then in his spirit he suddenly felt that downward pull once again, 
the same vertigo he had felt his first day in captivity in a cold cell at 
the Burgos penitentiary, years before, when something made him sud-
denly understand that his life was slipping away from life, that he was 
losing his footing, that now nothing would ever make sense again, not 
even his memories. 
He got up, opened the glass sliding door and vomited onto the 
balcony, in the rain.) 
This viscous and obstructive atmosphere, typical of an exis-
tential picture, is also perceptible in the other social sphere, the 
world of the Kleins. It is the judge himself who speaks to the 
protagonist of his intuitions regarding the unpleasant odor of 
the past: "Igual que una charca pestilente" (228) ("Just like a 
fetid pond"). 
The determining past that dragged Jan Julivert to the situa-
tion of the present narrative is parallel, although antagonistic, to 
the past of another important character, Luis Klein. The com-
parison between the two figures, of opposite signs, could be 
taken as a constant in the reading of the work, since the circum-
stances of their lives led them to come into contact on decisive 
46 
occasions. The actual moment of forgetting, willful in one case 
and accidental, but accepted, in the other, is a new point of con-
tact. This parallelism in their lives seems to serve as well as a 
means of revealing their personalities. The definition of Jan pro-
vided by the judge is the sharpest and most realistic definition 
in the realm of the the novel: "Una mezcla de pensador y de 
hombre de acci6n. Pero tenga mucho cuidado: el hombre que 
actua siempre se ve mal interpretado por el que piensa" (230) 
("A mixture of a thinker and man of action. But be very careful: 
the man who acts always finds himself misunderstood by the 
man who thinks"). This advice prophesies the end of the novel. 
Jan's reflex action was negatively interpreted by the real instiga-
tors of the attack. 
The theme of guilt is another constant in Marse's writings 
that emphasizes their intertextual nature. Feelings of guilt are, 
in the majority of cases, closely tied to the problem of alienation 
(Sherzer 189-195). In this novel Balbina's character clearly pro-
jects the link between the two elements. To the external alien-
ation provoked by the difficult situation she faces in the world 
that surrounds her, which never hesitates to take advantage of 
her unfortunate circumstances, we must add her own weak-
ness, which makes her more inclined towards less demanding 
positions. Her resignation towards being a waitress and a pros-
titute is a cause for the feelings of guilt she has on judging her 
life and it's possible influence on her son, as she herself express-
es: "Soy una fulana, cunado. Podria haber sido otra cosa, pero 
no pude o no supe" (52) ("I'm a hooker, brother-in-law. I could 
have been something else, but I wasn't able or didn't know 
how"). 
In Un dia volvere Balbina also higlights another primordial 
element in all the novels by this author: sexuality. Although it is 
not as clear as in earlier works, it is easy to discern the presence 
of a significant erotic component. As Marse himself confirmed, 
he likes to "show, demonstrate the characters to the reader, to 
physically profile them" (Freixas 55). Thus the narrator of Un 
dia volvere on various occasions dwells on physical descriptions 
of Balbina that highlight her sensuality, especially in situations 
in which the possibility of a rekindling of affections between Jan 
and herself is revealed. 
47 
From a structural point of view, the linear mode of the narra-
tive and its simple language permit this book to be studied on a 
less demanding level. The systematic abandonment of compli-
cated metaphors and frequent comparisons however, does not 
exclude the presentation of certain decidedly lyrical passages. 
In contrast to these fragments, one must underline the predomi-
nance of language that reveals the social condition of the differ-
ent characters. The use of street jargon, rich in sexual and aggre-
sive expressions is notable: "minga", "pajillera", "birl6", "guan-
tazos", "me cago en su padre", "vete a tomar por el saco", etc. 
Moreover, the narrator tends to adapt to the reality of the scene, 
and on occasion takes on the discourse of other characters or 
groups.3 
Un dia volvere should be included within a current trend in 
which history, as a basis for the story, becomes a fundamental 
element of attraction that satisfies the expectations of all good 
reading material. With this novel Juan Marse brings us a well-
structured creation with a fluid narrative, imbued with a more 
profound, transcendent subject matter. 
Saint Louis University, Madrid Campus 
NOTES 
1 For a specific study of the different trends see the the special issue 
of lnsula 464-465 (July-August 1985). 
2 The difference between telling and showing may be studied in 
chapter 1 of Booth's book. 
3 This fact could be analyzed in detail from the point of view of het-
eroglossia, see Bakhtin 310-325. 
WORKS CITED 
Bakhtin, Mikhail M. The Dialogic Imagination. Austin, Texas: University 
of Texas Press, 1981. 
Booth, Wayne C. La ret6rica de la ficci6n. Barcelona: Antoni Bosch, 1974. 
Campbell, Federico. lnfame turba. Barcelona: Lumen, 1971. 
Forster, E. M. Aspectos de la novela. Mexico: Universidad Veracruzana, 
1961. 
48 
Freixas, Ramon. "Entrevista con Juan Marse". Quimera 41 (1984). 
Insula 464-465 (July-August 1985). 
Marse, Juan. Un dfa volvere. Barcelona: Plaza & Janes, 1982. 
Sherzer, William M. Juan Marsee entre la ironia y Ia dialectica. Madrid: 
Fundamentos, 1982. 
Thompson, Currie K. "Returning to the Text: Juan Marse's Un dia 
volvere". Ana/es de la literatura espafiola contemporanea 10 (1985). 
Villanueva, Dario. "La novela". Letras espafiolas 1976-1986. Madrid: 
Castalia, 1987. 


Technical and Thematic Aspects of Juan Marsé's Un día volveré

Not a member yet