Women on Kazantzakis: biography and fiction

Vathrakogianni, Aikaterini (2009). Women on Kazantzakis: biography and fiction. University of Birmingham. M.Phil.

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Abstract

Nikos Kazantzakis had the advantage and honour of having a number of biographies written about him, despite the fact that biography has not been particularly developed as a genre in Greece. Four of these biographies were written by women writers who were more or less intimately related to him: Galateia Kazantzaki, Lili Zografou, Elli Alexiou and Eleni Kazantzaki. If we take it for granted that there is no such thing as absolute objectivity and that every text (including biographical accounts) should be considered as fiction since a certain degree of reconstruction as well as personal involvement are involved, in this dissertation I will attempt to judge the levels of objectivity achieved by each of these four biographies according to a number of criteria which I shall elaborate. Further remarks will be made on the extent to which these biographies are in agreement or diverge from each other on several aspects concerning Kazantzakis. In addition, bearing in mind that one aspect of Kazantzakis’ writings which has been widely discussed - and at times even intensely criticized - is his relationship with women as well as their representation in his texts, a secondary aspect of the dissertation will be an exploration of Kazantzakis’ own relationships with women in real life, as described by these four women writers combined with a close reading of the portrayal of female characters in four of his major novels, which will allow us to reach certain conclusions as to how justified it is to attach the indictment of misogyny to Kazantzakis.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Masters by Research > M.Phil.)

Award Type:

Masters by Research > M.Phil.

Supervisor(s):