Callirrhoe Parren

The Sensible Apostle of Woman Emancipation.

Callirrhoe Parren.

Life and Works.

The second half of the nineteenth century was an era of reconstruction for the newly established, independent Greek State. In the midst of the multiple practical problems which were confronting it, the modern Greek nation was also enmeshed in a process of redefining modern Hellenism by a two-directional course: to westernize its culture and, at the same time, find its fundamental Greekness in local customs and mores. In the same period of time, the irredentist ideology of Megali Idea, the liberation of the still enslaved Greek territories beyond the borders of the free country, was formulated, gradually becoming part of the consciousness of the nation. The woman question, which raised the feminist awareness of the Greek society toward the end of the nineteenth century, was intertwined with the country's ongoing struggle to define its ethnicity and secure its national viability. Within this socio-historical context, Callirrhoe Parren (1859-1940), born Siganou in the small Cretan village of Platania in the Rethymnon Prefecture, became the first successful female reporter and editor of the Efimeris ton Kyrion (Ladies’ Newspaper) for thirty years (1887-1917), and the acknowledged leader of the feminist movement in Greece at the turn of thenineteenth century.

Under the pressure of developments of national importance, such as the annexation of Eastern Romulia by Bulgaria in September 1885, which displaced about two million Greeks, and the continuous terrorization and bulgarization of the Greek populations in Macedonia and Thrace, the new ethnic demands to shape and strengthen Greek identity, both within and beyond the national borders of the country, became even stronger felt from the end of the 1980s onward. Greek intellectual leaders realized the important role women could play, as mothers and school-teachers in the process of identity building. Cultural discussions began promoting a new messianic role for Greek women. Thus, toward the end of the 1880s, women began being considered as the cornerstones of the country's ethnic/national regeneration.They were praised as the depository of Greek traditional values and as fundamental agents in the passing on of the Greek language to future generations. Their role as active agents in the formation of ethnic identity was emphasized and promoted.

Literature began reflecting this new role of women as achievers of national ideals while Palamas, the greatest poet of her times, who was among the most fervent supporters of women, acknowledged the importance of their ethnic role in several of his poems. It is worth remembering Poem #95 in “Ekato Fones” of Asalefti Zoe (Still Life), dedicated to Callirrhoe Parren and published in The Ladies' Newspaper (May 23, 1904), which illustrates this new tendency:

Hail, Woman, You, Athena, Maria, Helen, Eve'.

Your time has come. Try your beautiful wings and rise

And as you are weightless and slave no more,

Head toward the future holy land first,

And prepare the new life, you, weaver of the new joy

And then, embrace, lift and take there the male,

And create, you, o Love, the original harmony,

You, Beauty, you, Wisdom, Persuasion and Virginity.

Responding to the new social demands, women all over the country began organizing "Ladies Associations" which addressed practical problems in Greek society whereas young teachers dared teach Greek School in the occupied territories under harsh conditions, often risking their own lives. It is not accidental that Callirrhoe Parren, a qualified teacher herself, who had taught in Odessa and Adrianopolis for a few years, chose that time to start the publication of The Ladies' Newspaper (Efimeris ton Kyrion), which became the forum for promoting social change and feminist positions for thirty years (1887-1917). Parren was among the leading figures who engaged in the "woman-question" discussions that pushed Greek society towards a feminist awareness at the turn of the nineteenth century. Through her weekly, she mobilized women and organized fundraisers to support the philanthropic institutions she and her collaborators founded. In 1911, Parren founded the Lyceum of Greek Women for the preservation and promotion of Greek national dances, an institution, which is still active.

Representing Greek women at International Women's Conferences (Paris/1889, Chicago/1893, etc), and fighting for their rights to education and the work place at home, Parren decided to fictionalize her vision of the “new woman.” To this end, between 1900 and 1903, she wrote three novels, which comprise a trilogy on "the woman question." She cleverly combined the "messianic" role women were expected to play in Greek society with the traits of the “new woman” in the heroines of her trilogy, appropriately named “The Books of Dawn.” The trilogy was followed by a play, based on the first two novels of the trilogy and named The New Woman, which was performed in Athens (1907), Kairo (1908) and Constantinople (1910). There followed another three novels, all dealing with the “new-woman” expectations of young women within Greek society. Entitled Without a Name, (1905-06), The withered Lily (1907-10), The White Rose (1915-17), the three novels, along with short stories, travelogues and history works, were all serialized in the Ladies’ Newspaper.

Prof. Anastasopoulou’s book gives a sweeping view of Parren’s times, her life and works.

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