Andronikaconflit et identité (L’Archipel en feu de Jules Verne)

Abstract

The Greek war of independence occurred in the 19th century. In such a heated situation, people may experience serious identity conflicts and often have to make painfulchoices, especially from a personal point of view. Like any other real Greek womanmentioned and described in Archipel en feu, Andronika, the protagonist created byJules Verne, also embodies that spirit marked by this dysphoric moment of nineteenth-century history.Andronika is an elderly widow whose only son, who has become a pirate, has betrayedhis homeland. Outraged as a mother and as a woman, she decides to break with herpassive life as a housewife. After burning down her house so that she would nevershelter the traitor, she joins the Greek army in order to actively fight against theOttoman enemy, especially against her son.Her identity, as a Greek and as a woman, remains unaltered in Jules Verne’s novel. Wewill see that only death will be able to resolve the conflict of identities between thesestrange enemies that the war has apparently separated. Despite the tragic moment atthe end of the novel, the text seems to recover, it seems to us, a utopian note. Betweenmother and son, love seems a major force.