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Il-Ħrejjef ta' Barraminnhaw'
Il-Ħrejjef ta’ Barraminnhaw’ huma ġabra ta’ tliet ħrejjef li ppubblika Ġużè Ellul Mercer fuq il-ġurnal “Il Ħmar”.
Il-Ħrejjef ta’ Barraminnhaw’ huma wieħed mill-ewwel xogħlijiet ta’ Ġużè Ellul Mercer, żagħżugħ ta’ 31 sena, kif qatt ma qrajnieh u kif qajla nikkonċepuh: wisq inqas imliġġem fl-espressjoni tiegħu, b’attitudni radikali u ta’ sfida lejn soċjetà ipokrita u asfissjanti, u b’interess kbir fis-senswalità u fil-ħanba tad-dinja ta’ żmienu aktar milli fl-investigazzjoni psikoloġika kiebja ta’ Leli ta’ Ħaż-Żgħir.
Din is-seniela ta’ kitbiet, li kellha tieqaf ħesrem minħabba ċ-ċensura tal-Knisja fl-1928 u każ il-Qorti, setgħu dehru li tmewtu qasir il-għomor, u forsi anki għal dejjem. Imma t-tifkira mċajpra tagħhom tul is-snin terġa’ tingħata l-ħajja f’din l-ewwel edizzjoni ta’ tliet rakkonti serjalizzati fuq il-gazzetta Il-Ħmar fi żmien kruċjali għall-iżvilupp tan-nazzjon Malti u tal-moviment Soċjalista.
Il-Ħrejjef ta’ Barraminnhaw’ huma wieħed mill-ewwel xogħlijiet ta’ Ġużè Ellul Mercer, żagħżugħ ta’ 31 sena, kif qatt ma qrajnieh u kif qajla nikkonċepuh: wisq inqas imliġġem fl-espressjoni tiegħu, b’attitudni radikali u ta’ sfida lejn soċjetà ipokrita u asfissjanti, u b’interess kbir fis-senswalità u fil-ħanba tad-dinja ta’ żmienu aktar milli fl-investigazzjoni psikoloġika kiebja ta’ Leli ta’ Ħaż-Żgħir.
Din is-seniela ta’ kitbiet, li kellha tieqaf ħesrem minħabba ċ-ċensura tal-Knisja fl-1928 u każ il-Qorti, setgħu dehru li tmewtu qasir il-għomor, u forsi anki għal dejjem. Imma t-tifkira mċajpra tagħhom tul is-snin terġa’ tingħata l-ħajja f’din l-ewwel edizzjoni ta’ tliet rakkonti serjalizzati fuq il-gazzetta Il-Ħmar fi żmien kruċjali għall-iżvilupp tan-nazzjon Malti u tal-moviment Soċjalista.
179 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1928
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August 5, 2023
Ġuże' Ellul Mercer is best known for his psychological novel "Leli ta' Ħaż Żgħir" (1938). As a young author, he had penned three stories, entitled Il-Ħrejjef ta’ Barraminnhaw’ (“The Tales of the Fiend” – Barraminnhaw’ or “out of the world” being a common euphemism for devil). The stories were issued in instalments in the socialist satirical newspaper Il-Ħmar (“The Donkey”) between October and November 1928, before the series was abruptly brought to an end after protests from the Church and court proceedings for obscenity against the editor and publisher of the newspaper. The court case was won on appeal, but the series never continued as the editors were not keen on drawing the wrath of the Archbishop.
To be clear, the Church’s complaints had nothing to do with the references to the devil or the occult. After all the “demon” who is the protagonist of Ellul Mercer’s stories is a cartoonish figure, a dwarfish being, lame and funny, who hovers above the narrator’s shoulder and whispers observations about society which are devilish only for being candid and frank and for casting doubt on the bourgeois morality which held sway in conservative Malta. So, what drew the Church’s ire? Before the series was stopped in its tracks, Il-Ħmar had featured a brief introduction (Ħrejjef tax-Xitan, or “Tales of the Devil”), and three stories, each of which is characterised by biting satire. Il-Mara tal-Galbu (“The Gentlewoman”) speaks of a middle-aged spinster who is highly critical of the permissiveness of the younger generations, but is revealed to be jealous, sexually repressed and voyeuristic. Sirena (“Siren”) echoes Flaubert and Maupassant in its depiction of a high-class, attractive woman, who is jilted by her adulterous husband, pushing her into a scandalous extra-marital relationship. The story starts with an uncomfortable scene by contemporary standards in which the woman, in a swimsuit at the beach, attracts the lascivious attention of all the men in the vicinity, including the narrator. This might sound misogynistic, but the story itself could be considered proto-feminist, highlighting the unfairness of the fact that the women is condemned for her infidelity, unlike her husband who is the real rogue. The straw which broke the proverbial camel’s back, however, was Bniedem (“A Person”). Ellul Mercer tells the story of a highly-regarded man, a pillar of society, who must therefore remain unnamed (the “person” of the title”), and whose acts of charity are merely an excuse to abuse the weak. This “person” uses a young mother’s dependence on his help to obtain sexual favours from her, turning his attention to her daughter as soon as she comes of age. The sexual undertones of these “tales”, and their unmasking of the hypocrisy of seemingly honest or even religious individuals, prompted the criminal proceedings which brought the series to a premature end.
Previously unpublished, Il-Ħrejjef ta’ Barraminnhaw’ have now been issued in one volume by Sensiela Kotba Soċjalisti. They are worth reading not only for their instrinsic worth, but also for their historical interest as (censored) early works of a major Maltese author. The stories are accompanied by a series of essays. Mark Vella contributes an introduction which places the stories in their historical and social context. Evarist Bartolo provides an essay about Ellul Mercer’s political views, and how these are reflected in the three stories Immanuel Mifsud writes about the Devil in literature – while this is rather tangential to the stories (given the playful/comedic nature of the mingħul or fiend who appears in them), I found this contribution intriguing especially its references to the role of the devil in the Book of Job. The volume is complemented by facsimiles of the original newspaper pages featuring the stories, and illustrations of the period. This is, all in all, a particularly well-presented and interesting volume which should appeal to enthusiasts of both literature and history.
This is a slightly abridged version of the full review found at https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...
To be clear, the Church’s complaints had nothing to do with the references to the devil or the occult. After all the “demon” who is the protagonist of Ellul Mercer’s stories is a cartoonish figure, a dwarfish being, lame and funny, who hovers above the narrator’s shoulder and whispers observations about society which are devilish only for being candid and frank and for casting doubt on the bourgeois morality which held sway in conservative Malta. So, what drew the Church’s ire? Before the series was stopped in its tracks, Il-Ħmar had featured a brief introduction (Ħrejjef tax-Xitan, or “Tales of the Devil”), and three stories, each of which is characterised by biting satire. Il-Mara tal-Galbu (“The Gentlewoman”) speaks of a middle-aged spinster who is highly critical of the permissiveness of the younger generations, but is revealed to be jealous, sexually repressed and voyeuristic. Sirena (“Siren”) echoes Flaubert and Maupassant in its depiction of a high-class, attractive woman, who is jilted by her adulterous husband, pushing her into a scandalous extra-marital relationship. The story starts with an uncomfortable scene by contemporary standards in which the woman, in a swimsuit at the beach, attracts the lascivious attention of all the men in the vicinity, including the narrator. This might sound misogynistic, but the story itself could be considered proto-feminist, highlighting the unfairness of the fact that the women is condemned for her infidelity, unlike her husband who is the real rogue. The straw which broke the proverbial camel’s back, however, was Bniedem (“A Person”). Ellul Mercer tells the story of a highly-regarded man, a pillar of society, who must therefore remain unnamed (the “person” of the title”), and whose acts of charity are merely an excuse to abuse the weak. This “person” uses a young mother’s dependence on his help to obtain sexual favours from her, turning his attention to her daughter as soon as she comes of age. The sexual undertones of these “tales”, and their unmasking of the hypocrisy of seemingly honest or even religious individuals, prompted the criminal proceedings which brought the series to a premature end.
Previously unpublished, Il-Ħrejjef ta’ Barraminnhaw’ have now been issued in one volume by Sensiela Kotba Soċjalisti. They are worth reading not only for their instrinsic worth, but also for their historical interest as (censored) early works of a major Maltese author. The stories are accompanied by a series of essays. Mark Vella contributes an introduction which places the stories in their historical and social context. Evarist Bartolo provides an essay about Ellul Mercer’s political views, and how these are reflected in the three stories Immanuel Mifsud writes about the Devil in literature – while this is rather tangential to the stories (given the playful/comedic nature of the mingħul or fiend who appears in them), I found this contribution intriguing especially its references to the role of the devil in the Book of Job. The volume is complemented by facsimiles of the original newspaper pages featuring the stories, and illustrations of the period. This is, all in all, a particularly well-presented and interesting volume which should appeal to enthusiasts of both literature and history.
This is a slightly abridged version of the full review found at https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...
Displaying 1 of 1 review