If I talk to you in fables and parables: representations of the Greek 1940s in Greek fiction for young readers (1974-2014)

Evangelidou, Elissavet (2020). If I talk to you in fables and parables: representations of the Greek 1940s in Greek fiction for young readers (1974-2014). University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This study explores the representation of the Greek 1940s in the fiction for young readers published between 1974 and 2014. This is a subject that has remained completely unexplored until now, despite the existence of a vast body of literature on the relationship between history, memory and cultural representations of the turbulent Greek 1940s.
Covering the period from the restoration of democracy in 1974 until 2014, the corpus of literary texts under scrutiny comprises forty one novels and short story collections written for a young audience. The study is divided into three Parts, each of which examines the representation of certain aspects of the 1940s (foreign occupation, wartime collaboration, Resistance and Civil War) in the narratives published during 1974-1981, 1982-1989 and 1990-2014, respectively. The last chapter explores the construction of the literary image of the Jew and the representation of the Greek Jewish experience of the Holocaust. I argue that young people’s fiction has served as a privileged site for the perpetuation of official national (re)interpretations and changing popular perceptions of this turbulent period. Consequently, I go on to demonstrate that the authors’ decision to include or exclude certain material from their fictional representations of the 1940s is linked to the prevailing politics of memory during the particular periods under study.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):