Dissertation committee:
Αναστασία Αντωνοπούλου, Καθηγήτρια, τμήμα Γερμανικής γλώσσας & φιλολογίας ΕΚΠΑ
Όλγα Λασκαρίδου, Επίκουρη καθηγήτρια, τμήμα Γερμανικής γλώσσας & φιλολογίας ΕΚΠΑ
Παρασκευή Πετροπούλου, Αναπληρώτρια καθηγήτρια, τμήμα Γερμανικής γλώσσας & φιλολογίας ΕΚΠΑ
Αικατερίνη Μητραλέξη, Καθηγήτρια, τμήμα Γερμανικής γλώσσας & φιλολογίας ΕΚΠΑ
Αικατερίνη Καρακάση, Αναπληρώτρια καθηγήτρια, τμήμα Γερμανικής γλώσσας & φιλολογίας ΕΚΠΑ
Stefan Lindinger, Επίκουρος καθηγητής, τμήμα Γερμανικής γλώσσας & φιλολογίας ΕΚΠΑ
Κίρκη Κεφαλέα, Καθηγήτρια, τμήμα Κοινωνικής Θεολογίας & Θρησκειολογίας ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
The travel texts of German-speaking female writers who visited Greece during the period 1849-1914, as well as female writing and travelling activity during this period, are the focus of the current research, which was conducted from the perspective of Gender Studies.
This thesis consists of two parts. The first part, which constitutes the basis for the analysis and understanding of the travel texts, presented in the second part of the thesis, analyses the social background of the reference period (with emphasis on women and journey), as well as the narration of the female travel experience.
The history of travel, the position of women within a male-dominated society, the means women used to travel and the attempts to harass their travel plans are presented in detail. Thus, the difficulty of the women's journey is highlighted during this period, as travel was considered a serious violation and a deviation of the woman from the role she had been assigned. The required permission from the father or husband, the financial difficulties and the acquisition of travel documents were insurmountable difficulties for many female travellers. As a consequence, they resorted to strategies such as hiding their real destination or travelling at an older age to fulfil their family obligations. Many of the women travellers opted for the security of organised travel, which began to experience significant development in the second half of the 19th century, while many travelled with letters of recommendation that allowed them to contact important representatives and institutions of the German community in Greece, such as the Schliemann House.
The motives behind the decision to travel were investigated in detail. The desire for change and escape from their imposed daily routine, childhood experiences, the fulfilment of childhood dreams, health reasons and professional reasons were some of the most important motivations of the female writers. In any case, however, the journey was a transgression and a liberation of women from the narrow boundaries within which they necessarily moved, while at the same time providing them with the opportunity to get to know the other/foreign.
Issues of women's writing and the literalization of the travel experience were also thoroughly analysed, as not only the journey but, more importantly, the publication of female travel texts had several difficulties. The gendered 'apologetic' prefaces, in which women writers attempted to justify their writing by assuring that they made no scientific claims through their texts and that they were content to describe their impressions (since theoretical reflection was the exclusive prerogative of men), or even the adoption of pseudonyms, were important strategies, which contributed to the achievement of their goal: the publication of their texts.
The second part of this thesis analyses the travel texts of Anna Forneris, Ida Pfeiffer, Maria Schuber, Rosa von Gerold, Mathilde Weber, Rosa von Förster, Sophie Döhner, Bernhardine Schulze-Smidt, Cattina von Seybold, Isolde Kurz and Gräfin Olga Meraviglia, most of which have been of limited interest until nowadays. Apart from being documents of female travel writing, these texts are also documents of the image of Greece, as they record many aspects of social and everyday life of this period.
Although the perspective of female writers often differed from that of male, the exploration of ancient Greece was a point of convergence for both sexes. The female writers, most of whom had a great knowledge of Greek mythology, literature and history, showed a special interest in antiquity, visiting museums and archaeological sites, which they described in detail. Special mention is made in most of the travel texts to the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and his discoveries.
At the same time, however, the female travellers also showed a keen interest in the everyday life of their contemporary Greeks, especially the position of women, their physical appearance, the educational system in Greece and the upbringing of children, issues that are rarely addressed in men's travel texts. In many of the texts examined, comparisons are made with German-speaking countries in many aspects of social life. Some of the authors (especially Mathilde Weber) even dare to criticise patriarchal society, even in antiquity, as the beginning of a civilisation that marginalised women, a view that clearly deviates from the generalised archaic enthusiasm of the time.
