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Metaphorical Transgression and Transfiguration of Loss through Language in Alexandros Papadiamantis’s “Under the Royal Oak Tree”
- Journal of Modern Greek Studies
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 32, Number 1, May 2014
- pp. 111-131
- 10.1353/mgs.2014.0030
- Article
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The present contribution offers a close reading of Alexandros Papadiamantis’s first-person short story «Ὑπὸ τὴν βασιλικὴν δρῦν» (“Under the Royal Oak Tree”), published in March 1901. Behind its euphoric atmosphere and carefree façade, which relates a child’s attraction to a majestic tree, this less-than-realistic tale conceals a poignant struggle between sexual desire and parental and religious prohibition. The tree’s transformation into a ravishing young woman during the main character’s sleep—the focal point of the story—along with the free associations of the dreamer reveal a blend of oedipal fantasies and recurring Papadiamantian themes. Furthermore, the extremely rich and overdetermined vocabulary of the text transforms the oak tree into a pluralistic symbol.