Abstract
Greek mythology (myth about the Argonauts) have made character of Medea of Colchis the indivisible part of world cultural heritage. For centuries character of Medea has maintained its significance and comprised source of inspiration for the representatives of various spheres of fine arts.[1] Of course, regarding the contexts of the epochs (conceptual and esthetic position) and author’s intent, some motifs of the Argonauts’ myth and character of the woman of Colchis have been changing.
In this respect, novel „Megi, Georgian Girl“ by Georgian modernist writer, Grigol Robakidze is of interest. Text, first published in 1932 in Germany[2] was translated into Georgian in 2012 and it is not properly studied till now.
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Introduction:
Greek mythology (myth about the Argonauts) have made character of Medea of Colchis the indivisible part of world cultural heritage. For centuries character of Medea has maintained its significance and comprised source of inspiration for the representatives of various spheres of fine arts. Of course, regarding the contexts of the epochs (conceptual and esthetic position) and author’s intent, some motifs of the Argonauts’ myth and character of the woman of Colchis have been changing.
In this respect, novel „Megi, Georgian Girl“ by Georgian modernist writer, Grigol Robakidze is of interest. Text, first published in 1932 in Germany was translated into Georgian in 2012 and it is not properly studied till now.
Within the scopes of this report we shall attempt to find out, what is Robakidze’s worldview motif when returning to Medea’s character; clarify conceptual relation of Grigol Robakidze’s Megi, on the one hand, to mythological tradition of Medea’s character and on the other – Euripides’s tragedy „Medea“; find out what is the symbolic meaning of the international character of woman of Colchis for Georgian cultural tradition and what is its role with respect of national identity determination.
In early 20th century, for the purpose of expansion of cultural awareness and worldview-esthetic renovation, the process of introduction of modernist trends in Georgian literature has commenced. Georgian modernism was regarded as integral part of the European modernism and shared all its conceptual and esthetic innovations.
Both, in the world and Georgian modernist discourse the novels with powerful mythological course – so called mythographic texts have appeared, their creative structure, poetic world, sensual-emotional load are based on archetype models of mythos thinking and the style of mythic-symbolic composition acquires the form of creative method. Introduction of mythographic novel in Georgian literary space is associated with the name of Grigol Robakdze . According to Konstantine Bregadze’s observation: „Georgian modernism was able to create new and unique artistic-literary values through introduction of the original metaphoric paradigms, mythical archetypes, myth narrative and mythical metaphoric system, making universal the purely national themes and national problems, mythical-expressive artistic interpretation of Georgian reality, introduction of the new cultural and landscape spaces and themes“ (Bregadze 2016: 85-86).
It should be noted that the initial title of Grigol Robakidze’s Mythographic novel “Megi Georgian Girl” was “Medea’s Plaits”. The author explained the conception of this book as follows: “My novel, “Megi”, is an attempt of reviving mythical woman of Colchis, Medea in real girl”.
In his novel, Grigol Robakidze indeed takes into consideration Medea’s mythical experience though in his artistic transformation of the character of Colchian woman he deviates from the traditional line of the fable development and creates substantially new character from the modernist worldview position.
In the novel the action takes place in single space – Colchian Lowlands – “in the country of eastern sunny fields”: this is the area where the lonely sad melodies of the shepherd’s pipe are heard, the sky is gold-plated with sunrises and purple with sunsets – the world sunk in the boundless space, full of metaphysic sadness of the native land” (Karman 1996: 386). Selected location / landscape creates the new semantic field and determines the attitude, world perception of the novel characters to great extent. Colchis is interpreted as some kind of micro model of the mythical existence of the mankind, sacral area, center where there is “absolute reality”. Mircea Eliade, in his book “The Myth of the Eternal Return” he explains: “it is sacral: as only sacral can be absolute, act effectively, create and grant long existence to everything.” (Elade 2017: 31)
Unlike the antique tradition, in the novel the line of betrayal of the father / native country is absent. Character of Aeetes is substituted by Amazon mother – Tsitsino: “Tsitsino was not like the other women, she had the blood of Colchian Amazons and therefore, she could not be a lover of anyone... she did not open her heart to anyone and she did not belong to anyone. She had the tenacious power that disarmed and paralyzed men and this was the secret of this woman.” (Robakidze 2012: 52-53)
In interpretation of Medea’s mythical character, there are different opinions among the researchers of antiquity. “Some antique authors show Medea as a bearer of divine hypostasis... together with divine Medea, there is significant tradition of describing Medea as a magician” (Nadareishvili 2011: 113), polemics among the researchers dealing with the ambivalent substance of Medea still continues with respect of Euripides’s Medea. Georgian scientist, Ketevan Nadareishvili has specially studied this issue. According to her observations, in literary studies, on one hand, Medea is regarded as a magic prophet, irrational power of supernatural abilities and on the other hand – as actual character loaded with human emotions. As the researcher regards, in the tragedy the “magic wisdom is substituted by intellectual one” (Nadareishvili 2011: 117).
In Grigol Robakidze’s modernist novel, similar to Euripides’s Medea, Megi is a character with potentially tragic power though the author clearly isolates himself from the magic layer of the Medea’s myth, the new trends appear: pagan and Christian motifs. Megi, on one hand, can be seen as proud, unbreakable descendant of the Amazons, the mythical ancestors “living in absolute isolation and burning away the right breast in young age” (Robakidze 2012: 72-73), and on the other – as the virgin of divine origin. Her portrait - image brings expectation of miracle and makes people pray devoutly: “it seemed that Megi, this perfect, innocent virgin expected that the divine light would cover her. In such moments, her face had unearthly and harmonic reflection in blue heaven.” (Robakidze: 2012: 57)
Thus, Grigol Robakidze, through original synthesis of various layers creates new, mythical image of Medea, the contradictive, many-layer character containing Robakidze’s idea of Georgian woman: “Georgian woman, as a woman, is undoubtedly a problem. I think, in her nature, there are many pieces of the ancient Amazons, the ones that rushed over the men in live... she knows nothing about love confession (she is proudly close-hearted) or sexual flourishing (she is asexual, due to the remnants of the Amazons’ fierce): Georgian woman knows nothing about romantic relations (Robakidze 2014: 398). The author clearly stated the character’s national identity in the title of the novel – Megi Georgian Girl. This hint of the writer acquires decisive significance in interpretation of the character of the maiden of Colchis.
From the modernist worldview position, Grigol Robakidze interprets also the cause of Megi’s/Medea’s tragedy. While Euripides’s Medea is a woman led by the disastrous powerful emotions and in the process of formation of her tragic character the decisive is the act of murder of her children, In Robakidze’s text Megi is a mother murderer of her children as well the basis of the character’s tragic nature is breaking of the original harmony and “fear of ego that had collided with the metaphysic limit” (Robakidze 2012: 29)
In the beginning of the novel Megi is a character with mythical consciousness. The text commences with the scene of Megi’s “birth”: a girl comes out of water as though she was just born of Adam’s rib” (Robakidze: 2012: 24) this is the condition where individual has not separated from the depths of his ego. First meeting with Abkhazian (prototype of Jason – Astamur Lakerbaia) is beginning of the contradictive process of coming out of the mythical being and moving to the historical time. A stranger – the Abkhazian is the metaphysical threshold appearance of which causes fear of sensing of her “self” in Megi. “Deadly combat begins between a woman and man (Robakidze 2012:70) and this forms Megi’s final coming out of her mythical being. Long way of seeking her identity in new reality starts: individual human “self” is too little and human mind is too weak to be able to fully acquire the projections returned to hum from the world (Jung 2013: 132).
Idea of eternal returning established in the modernist discourse under the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche, becomes particularly active in the mythographic texts. This conception provides basis for the novel under consideration as well. Though to determine the character of Megi-Medea, understand her essence, we should be guided not by Nietzsche’s but Robalidze’s interpretation of the idea of eternal return. Each principle contains the main principle and eternal is represented in the individual and if the individual feels the fertilizing impact of the eternal, thus it is the share of eternal; than the mortal limit is not fatal danger for him and his “self” collided with the metaphysical limit can survive” (Robakidze 2012: 38).
Idea of eternal returning determines the conceptual sense and structural paradigm of the novel: the character is identified with her mythical model and the events are integrated into the mythical actions’ category. When the magician nanny retells her the myth of Argonauts, Megi intuitively feels inevitability of revival of her mythical ancestor Medea in her: “Is not that seducer woman, full of talent of love, Medea of Colchis revived in this girl? The same idea comes to Megi but as soon as she realizes this, she starts to tremble and her face flushes” (Robakidze 2012: 45)> Megi can exist in the “historical being” only as a result of understanding of the idea of eternal returning. According to Zurab Kiknadze’s reasonable remark, “Grigol Robakidze can see liberation from the terror of the history only in prostrate return of a child in father’s depths” (Kiknadze 2017: 11).
Thus, in mythographc novel “Megi Georgian Girl” Grigol Robakidze created the modernist character determined by the national identity, substantially different image of Medea depicting the author’s conception of the idea of eternal return.
