Margaríta Karapánou Criticism
Margaríta Karapánou, a Greek novelist born in 1946, is best known for her novel Kassandra and the Wolf. This work is celebrated for its distinctive narrative style, vividly capturing the unsettling experience of childhood through the eyes of a young girl. As praised by Jerome Charyn, the novel's intense portrayal of childhood is both unique and unsettling, engaging with themes of violence and sexuality in a manner that challenges traditional narratives. Michael G. Cooke highlights Karapánou's use of child-narration and allusions, noting the novel’s fragmented structure as both a point of critique and innovation. Kimon Friar interprets the blend of hallucination and reality as a critical lens through which the novel examines adult hypocrisy, offering a moral critique that simultaneously forgives and condemns a flawed world. Furthermore, Susannah Clapp discusses the novel’s ambitious fusion of realism and fantasy, which allows the young protagonist Kassandra to navigate complex emotions and themes without adhering to conventional depictions of childhood innocence or malice. Through these analyses, Karapánou's work is revealed as a profound exploration of the boundaries between childhood and adulthood, reality and imagination.
Contents
-
Jerome Charyn
(summary)
In the following essay, Jerome Charyn praises Margaríta Karapánou's "Kassandra and the Wolf" for its unique, vivid narrative style and its unsettling portrayal of childhood, while acknowledging some criticisms regarding its repetitive and unsettling exploration of violence and sexuality through a child's perspective.
-
Michael G. Cooke
(summary)
In the following essay, Michael G. Cooke analyzes Margaríta Karapánou's novel "Kassandra and the Wolf," highlighting its use of child-narration, allusions to other works, and themes of adult sexuality and transformation, while critiquing its fragmented structure and repetitive elements.
-
Kimon Friar
(summary)
In the following essay, Kimon Friar explores how Margaríta Karapánou's "Kassandra and the Wolf" combines hallucination and reality to offer a moral critique of adult hypocrisy as seen through the amoral eyes of a child, ultimately forgiving yet condemning the depraved world.
-
Nursery Notions
(summary)
In the following essay, Susannah Clapp examines Margaríta Karapánou's "Kassandra and the Wolf," highlighting its ambitious portrayal of childhood through a blend of realism and fantasy, where the character Kassandra navigates complex emotions and adult themes without conforming to typical representations of innocence or malice.