Medieval Parables in Communist Albania

Abstract

A compelling aspect of Ismail Kadare’s career, is that this author managed to write fiercely anti-totalitarian novels while evading the censorship of Albania’s communist dictatorship. This thesis analyses how Kadare evaded said censorship using allegory in two of his historical novels, namely, The Siege and The Three-Arched Bridge. Firstly, the thesis investigates how Kadare traces his conceptualization of freedom back to Homer’s critique of hegemony in favor of solidarity and common responsibility. The Albanian author’s subsequent conflation of the orient with tyranny is informed by the cultural legacy of the Albanian National Renaissance (also known as the “Rilindja”), which rebelled against Ottoman rule in this country. For this reason, the Ottomans are used to allegorize Hoxha’s regime in The Siege. Moreover, Kadare’s self-censored mode of communication evokes a timeless message unattached to any specific regime. His use of allegory is congruous with New Censorship Theory, which posits that censorship is an essential part of communication which transcends any particular regime or institution. The thesis then focuses on The Three-Arched Bridge. In this novel, a murder is disguised as a noble sacrifice used to appease the folkloric creatures of Albania. After this act, the invasion of the tyrannical Ottomans commences. Thus feudalism is used to allegorize the ways in which Enver Hoxha used his country’s folklore as propaganda, as well as the ways in which his regime justified violence. Ultimately, Kadare’s fiction transcends regulatory censorship (external censorship imposed by various institutions). In addition, the Albanian author’s insistence on the Homeric value of common responsibility, counteracts internal, structural forms of censorship which create discourses normalizing abuses of power.