women being treated as property, especially after marriage. Diana’s difference drives Ukacierra to refer to her as “a witch. Beautiful as the fairies of the high mountains but evil.” (p.134) This shows a genuine dislike towards the Western guest and in fact shows how women are marginalized in the region normally.
As mentioned in chapter two, the culture in the high plateau undermines the “normal” rights of women. This notion is extended here in chapter three where the “blessed cartridge” is brought up to discussion once again. Men are allowed to shoot their wives if she proved unfaithful. Women, on the other hand, are not allowed to shoot their husbands if their husbands proved unfaithful. The influence of tradition and culture are supported here because in today’s modernized world, especially in the western world, women generally have more rights than other women had centuries ago. In the bigger picture, even though a wife cheats on her husband, this does not give the husband the right to shoot his wife and vice versa. This is what is right in the “normal” world. However, up until chapter three, tradition and custom surpasses the questioning of its acceptance in the “normal” world.
What happens when the husband is unfaithful? Can the bride shoot him? (Unlikely.) How do the feuds affect the women? If all the men in a family die as a result, can they survive? Are women allowed to have jobs or do they just get married? It was mentioned that in one feud, where two houses were in shooting range, that the women and children also fired on the houses. Gjorg didn't seem to make too large a fuss about it, so is it expressly forbidden for women to take part in the feuds or just traditionally not done?
“Widows or unmarried women that have been dishonoured shall be set on fire alive on a dunghill. Or shall be put between two piles of burning wood and required to tell who their accomplice is, or else be left to burn to death between the two fires. If made to say who has disgraced them, then the accomplice is caught and they both are killed.”
Diana seems to gain many stares and what seems to be unwanted attention, however Diana and Bessian do not stay long and as they return back towards the inn in order to get to the castle of Orosh, they come across Gjorg who is on his way back after paying the blood debt. Gjorg, seemed to influence Diana dramatically as Bessian spoke about him saying “a man must have the will of a titan to turn toward death on orders that come from a place so far away” (p112). After meeting Gjorg, they finally make it to the Castle of Orosh, all the while Diana remembering the encounter with the marked man.
Diana, the young wife of Bessian, seems to be fairly happy about her new marriage, however it seems as though she needs some getting used to the idea of marriage as “her friends envied her and told her: you’ll be escaping the world of reality for a world of epic that scarcely exists anymore” (63). However as the journey presses on, the area around her begins to influence her greatly as “minute by minute she feels like something was collapsing inside her” (71). She is also influenced by meeting the character Gjorg, and “she said the name to herself and she felt that an emptiness was spreading inside her chest” (116). Gjorg also plays a role in this chapter, however he is mostely given life through the thoughts of Diana and Bessian. The emphasis on “emptiness” suggests that it is possible that Diana may have married the wrong man and her feelings may have become empty. The “emptiness” could apply to her feelings about the place as well, which she seems to suggest are not as positive and accepting as Bessian’s. It could also suggest that this place, the High Plateau, sucks the life out of a person in a way, as seen in previous chapters depicting Gjorg. Diana further confirms her hesitations and second thoughts through meeting Gjorg as she feels like she is “losing the defenses a young woman from the very idea of having strong feelings for another man” (116).
Gjorg, who is mainly depicted through the thoughts of Diana and Bessian, seems to play a key role in depicting the relationship that Bessian and Diana share. Gjorg, who has been on a trip to the Castle of Orosh in order to pay his blood tax, passes by the couple where sudden incitement emerges, particularly between Diana and Gjorg. This is suggested through Bessian’s insecurity when she says “perhaps that’s why he was so pale” (111). Gjorg then makes the mistake of thinking she said “beautiful,” rather than “pale” (these two words may sound similar in the original Albanian writing of the novel). However, Gjorg “dismisses the idea at once” (111) to regain the confidence he boldly maintains throughout their trip to the Castle of Orosh. Bessian describes Gjorg as a “Hamlet of our mountains”(110) as they discuss their encounter with Gjorg, showing how Bessian’s outlook towards everything around him is of relevance to literary essence. He also has the idea that the place has grandeur; “it is very sad…and has a grandeur” (69) suggesting that there is a sense of enormity about the High Plateau possibly because of the cycle of life and death that the Kanun has had intact.
Only a few [raindrops] splashed on the carriage window and these quivered on the pane like tears” (113) was one example where it seemed to not only show the feelings that Diana may have within her, but also to show the feelings of the people of the mountains in general with the representation of raindrops as “tears.” Another incident that helps in conveying the theme of death through the use of imagery was that “he wandered the mountains with that black ribbon on his sleeve” – “the sign of his blood dept” (116). Much of the diction used creates a cold atmosphere, physically and mentally/emotionally within the place and the people, such words include “cold”, “grey”, “pale”, “dark”, “hell”, and “icy”, “frozen”. Other words such as “shadow”, “mountains”, or “mountaineers” create the image of a grey, shadowy wasteland. The tower of refuge is a pure symbol of the Kanun as suggested in the chapter as well as previous chapters as this is the place where those who have performed a killing go in order to avoid their death and continuation of the blood feud.
When Diana spotted a mountaineer with a black ribbon, Bessian says, “the laws of death prevail over the laws of life…the mark of death is the same for those who mean to kill and those who are being haunted” (69).
Also, the main character in this chapter Mark Ukacierra’s fear of Diana’s doubt about the customs is exposed. He compares her to “a witch. Beautiful as the fairies of the high mountains but evil.” (p.134) It can be assumed that the power in Diana is unlike that possessed of the women in the High Plateau, and this difference is what brings him to insult her.
The imagery-prevalent description of the carriage that carries Diana compares to Gjorg’s own situation. Its “gloomy appearance,” the way that it “reminded him of a coffin” and references to “a funeral cortege and solemn organ music” (all p.163) reflect how death is now a predominant part of his life
Fate and chance once again play a role in the chapter. Gjorg’s aimless wandering is halted when he overhears a group of people at The New Inn talking about a carriage “lined inside with black velvet” (p. 162) This results in his sudden realization that the reason behind his journey was to find the carriage and see Diana again. Gjorg visualizes killing a roomful of people that are talking rudely about Diana, imagining that he’d “kill them all, then killed those he came to their rescue” (p. 163-164 ), “while in fact he did nothing more than get up and leave” (p. 164 ). These two occurrences reveal that Gjorg thinks about doing things but doesn’t put them into action. This can be interpreted as Gjorg wanting to break free from the binds of tradition but not having the courage to do so. In essence, Gjorg is a man of reflection rather than action.
He wanders for several days before realizing that the purpose for his journey was “to see that woman again” (p. 162), referring to Diana. He continues wandering around, now with a sense of purpose: to find the carriage that Diana was riding in. Diana, on the other hand, looks out the window because she is looking for something, or someone, in particular. After she has briefly met Gjorg, she seems to be beguiled by his presence and has tried to search for him ever since, “Two or three times in these last days she had turned her head to look at the young mountaineers that they had passed on the road.” (171). Moreover, for Diana, looking out a window symbolizes that she is missing something substantial in her life.
Even though the initial metaphor of a ‘broken April’ was intended for Gjorg, in this chapter, we get a sense that April has also been broken for Diana as well, because she will never get to meet Gjorg. This can be seen in the repetition of Diana’s questions of the date, “What day is it…the eleventh…” (170). Aside from that, Diana also keeps on asking when Gjorg’s truce would end, “The truce he (Gjorg) had been granted was to end around mid-April wasn’t it?” (170). Even though she tries to cover her worry and sorrow, Bessian can sense them, “For no good reason…those words seemed to him to be dangerous as a ring with poison in it.
Kadare, however, subtly implies throughout the book that Gjorg might have been the cause, “Why did you go there, he cried out within him…to look for that mountaineer, That Gjorg…” (201). Bessian, however, is scared to find out the truth from Diana and what she is really feeling, “No, it would be better that she keep silent all through this dreadful trial…that he never hear her say to him the things that would give him pain” (176).
“But there was something else in her eyes. In some way her look was empty at its center and only the edges were still there.” (p167) This change in Diana has been caused by the impact that this bloody culture has had on her, specifically by her encounter with Gjorg, a man awaiting his own death. One of the main conflicts in this chapter is when, on page 196, Diana goes missing. Bessian realizes that she entered the tower of refuge, where murderers who are not protected by the bessa stay for protection. Diana enters the building because she believes that “If the truce that was granted to that mountaineer we saw—you know, the one we talked about today—if the truce ended in the last few days, he would certainly have taken refuge in a tower of that sort…” (p186). In other words, she wishes to see Gjorg again. Diana is the beautiful but simple-minded wife.
Gjorg sees redemption and a second chance at life, “That glance, while it aroused desire, had some quality that took hold of you, carried you far away, beyond life, beyond the grave, to where you could look upon yourself with serenity.” (163). The way that the two characters see Diana very differently outlines very clearly their personality and what each of them means to Diana. It is not very hard to see however, who is more important to her.

“A study of the presentation of Diana Vorpsi and its significance on the life of Gjorg by Ismail Kadare.” * A statement about the topic connecting women in Albania and custom.

* General portrayal of women: * Women lived indoors * Quotes * Diana Vorpsi presented as * Elegant * City bred * Educated * Refined * Physical beauty of Diana. * IK cast her with Bessian Vorpsi. * Irony of situation: Honeymoon is supposed to be happy, but the couple chooses a place like the high plateau of Albania where death of people takes place frequently. * Mental and Physical condition of Gjorg before meeting Diana. * Connectivity between Gjorg and Diana. * Change in Gjorg’s feeling after Diana enters his life. * Did Diana play a role in the death of Gjorg? * Did Diana leave a mark on the life of Gjorg? * The black ribbon marks Gjorg. * Black ribbon is regarded as a brand, where we can distinguish with people who are involved in the blood feud. Black is associated with death. * The effect of the black ribbon on Diana. * Would Diana have the same feeling towards Gjorg, if he didn’t have the black ribbon.

“The gleaming eyes of his little sister, who leaned against his left shoulder, seemed far away, like two stars beyond hill.” (pg.11)
“He was drinking coffee his mother had made for him” (pg.11)
“And a good thing , too. At least we’ll have twenty-four hours without bloodshed,” a hoarse voice breathed from behind a shutter. (pg.14)
“On the doorsteps of the kullas, on the first floors where the women lived,” (pg.17)
“ his mother had finally washed” (pg.22)
“Even if the bride is dying, the wedding party sets out, if necessary dragging her along to the bridegroom’s house.” (pg.29)
“ and the women at the windows of the kulla had understood.” (pg.32) – Caging of women.

The culture in the high plateau undermines the normal rights of the women. The “blessed cartridge” is an example where men are allowed to shoot their wives if she proved unfaithful. Women, on the other hand, are not allowed to shoot their husbands if their husbands proved unfaithful.