Integrity

Overview: A reflective statement on Ismail Kadare's novel, Broken April. In reflective statements, we are to explain how our understanding of the culture and context within which a certain text was written has deepened as a result of Interactive Oral presentations on the text.

Written: October 27th, 2015.

From Interactive Oral presentations on Ismail Kadare’s novel Broken April, I have come to a deeper understanding of early twentieth century Albania. Specifically, I now see the connection between Kadare’s view of freedom on the one hand, and the text and its consummation on the other.

On my first read-through of the novel, Gjorg’s choice to risk death by looking for Diana did not have any deep significance. Indeed, it seemed like nonsense. However, as a result of discussion on Kadare’s personal beliefs, I have come to appreciate that the author believes suicide for love is the greatest expression of an individual’s freedom (a view he came to after observing military suicides in Communist regimes). For this reason, Gjorg’s choice of death is probably the most significant element of the text. The way I see it, Gjorg lives his whole life under the all-embracing Kanun, a totalitarian master that dictates how he is to speak, how he is to sleep, how he is to marry, and how he is to die. In a life like this, our main character has only two options. The most obvious option is to go from one protected road to another until he finds some Tower of Refuge where he can waste away indefinitely.

Or he can do something far more profound with his final hours. He can stand up, walk out into the light, and seek out the last thing that means something to him. Gjorg chooses the second path. I now see that his choice reflects Kadare’s conviction that some things are more important than even life itself. Gjorg decides that rather than accept his fate, he will commit one small act of rebellion: choosing love over life. This is what those military officers chose in the face of a political system that stripped them of their freedom, and this is what Gjorg chooses in the face of a legal code that dictates for him what his purpose in life will be. By seeking Diana, Gjorg, for the final time, demonstrates that he will decide for himself what his purpose will be. As a result of IO discussion, I have come to appreciate that perhaps the greatest virtue is a willingness to pay the ultimate price for that which you believe to be ultimately important. Really, this is nothing more than integrity.

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