New challenge from prose writer Mira Meksi: The novel "The Wounded Icon"

By Floresha Dado

Directly or indirectly, history has often become a catalyst for the creativity of many authors. In some of Mira Meksi's novels, history enters with direct authority, both inspiring and a cause of provocation to grasp the meaning of the work. Of course, included in a specific structure of literature, it carries within itself a convention, which is repurposed to serve an ideological purpose... It is known that when events belong to a historical background they are not reproduced in their original course; they are born differently, being aware that the author can become "questionable" regarding their authenticity, doubtful in relation to reality. Theory has determined that an event is considered "historical" when it is tangible, sensitive in the process of its narration. This essential specificity is realized by the new novel ""The wounded icon", which It spans two centuries: the present and the 16th century, artistically shaping an extraordinary theme, untouched in our literature. Historical facts, iconic characters of our history, such as Donika Kastrioti... events of Skanderbeg's descendants... are miraculously intertwined in it.

Floresha Nanny

How did this artistic inspiration arise? The finding, in a scientific study, on the existence of a Byzantine Icon, property of Donika Kastrioti, which was kept in the Royal Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Valencia, Spain, stirred the mind of the prose writer Mira Meksi, introduced her to a world as complicated, as magical and exciting, and after endless readings of documents, studies of foreign and Albanian authors, an extraordinary artistic edifice was gradually formed in her imagination, which carries within it historical facts about phenomena untreated in our literature, and ideas of particular importance for the identity and greatness of the Kastrioti family. The passion for dealing with the history of this Icon of the Kastriots would encourage her imagination in illuminating the little-known figure, Donika, the wife of the national hero, to go even further, in the "artistic research" of the place where Skanderbeg's remains were reburied. Thus was born the novel "The Wounded Icon", a creation that demonstrates a new level in Mira Meksi's creative process.

"Trap" for the historian

How the literary system differs and coincides with historicity (which is very important for understanding the essence of the novel). Is this simply a historical novel? And, more fundamentally: is the relationship between historical truth and its treatment in this literary work problematic? These are issues that involve, above all, the understanding and distinction of the nature of history and literature, the relationship between them. The issue would primarily concern our historian.

History is not only that of concrete reality; it is also that of ideas, of feelings, of dreams... The difference between history and literature narrows, fills in when our interpretation does not see the work as a reflection of a purely historical process, but rather as discovery of history in the course of literary poetics. This means that understanding the historical character of the work requires its perception as confirmation of the literary system, which also means that the historical character should not be seen simply in the faithful correspondence of the work with historical reality. According to the well-known scholar Todorov, history is a convention, does not exist at the level of events in themselves….History is an abstraction, although it is always perceived and told by someone, it does not exist “in itself”. This thesis draws attention to a deeper conception of the meaning of history, when it restarts in a literary work. As a system created by symbols, the work is understood in the cognitive entirety of a story, but by seeking another way of reading. Even in the evaluation of this novel, fiction is an original mediator between fact and counter-reflection. The theorists of antiquity defined, with extraordinary intuition, the difference between history and literary discourse (I would say further: even when this discourse is related to history). According to Cicero, in history the criterion of judgment is truth, while in poetry - pleasure.

The story of the novel "The wounded icon"It should be judged more as a story that our identity culture tells about itself, and not simply and only as a set of provable facts. It is a specific relationship of the author with one of the important links of our history. This is not a relationship of mere identification, but a sublime intention for the reader to emotionally experience the past...

Naturally, the question arises as to how the construction of the literary system of this novel coincides with its historicity and where does it differ? That is, how would the historical dimension of the novel be perceived?The wounded icon" ? If we were to return to Shklovsky's view, according to which literature 'renews our understanding of life and experience'... we understand how important the confrontation between the 'historical fact' and the 'subjective' act of reflection by the author is in this work. The first has to do with the real circumstances and context, while the second is an ideal object (the author's perception) that can be re-identified by different readers. The value comes when the artistic discourse manages to establish the equivalence of the historical with the subjective experience. I think that the fundamental axis that explains this relationship, in M. Meksi's novel, is to accept that what is real, historical is what is felt, that goes back in time and not simply what exists.

Artistic structure - interweaving of three intriguing planes

AThe search for the Icon protected by Our Lady of Kastrioti, an important relic holder…

B. The valuable personality, not very well known, of Donika Kastrioti; movements between Valencia and Naples, the history of the location of her grave... The descendants of Gjergj Kastrioti...

CThe site of the reburial of Skanderbeg's remains in Pirg e Arbërit, near the Hylandari monastery on Mount Athos.
This complexly intriguing structure includes cities from four countries: Vlora, Naples,

Valencian, Mount Athos.

Is this an architectural metaphor…?

A. The search and mystery of the Kastriots icon

The key to the entire semantic structure!

The information about the existence of the unknown holy icon, fanatically preserved by Donika Kastrioti, becomes the key to opening a difficult journey, of an extraordinary research-artistic passion. With the tracing of the icon, called Saint Mary of the Shelter of Sinners, in the Royal Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Valencia, the complex and develop artistically, through of fact and creative imagination, both interesting and important issues of the history of the 16th century. The signs of the violation of this icon with a knife, by Ottoman or Orthodox inquisitors, for a great secret that it could keep within the inner layer, have prompted the author to name it 'The Wounded Icon. “ …"I placed the palm of my hand on the surface of the icon. What I felt and experienced at that moment created the foundations of the narrative structure that I would later create," the author writes in the preface that accompanies the beginning of the novel.. p.XI. This special sensitivity to the essence of the icon, which appears as a very important symbol in some of the author's works, drives her imagination towards the conviction that there must be a secret within it. 'The existence of the Kastriot Icon could be linked to a coded message, a symbol, the hidden sacred.. This inner sensitivity, also linked to the artistic rediscovery of other phenomena, has determined the difficult, courageous journey of this prose writer, who does not stop at imaginative research and discoveries. Arbri's assertion, a fellow traveler in this search, that 'This icon, like others that represent the highest iconographic art, serves to introduce its admirer, through the visible image, to the invisible, the transcendent, the unattainable... In other words, to lead the one who knows how to read the icon to the message or sign it holds hidden, or to decipher the code that is embodied in it. ' p.23 ignites the passion of searching for this mystical object, to which, according to Nora, another character-fellow traveler, : 'A message or a symbol or a sacred object, but also a document or something very important material, can be hidden in her body. p.24 But this stimulating essence of further research, includes information about the location, the journey to Naples and Valencia in Spain, complicates the circumstances of the icon's persecution, brings out real sources about the Palatine church where the icon happened to be... and everything is filled, brought to life by the narrator's imagination. Given the fact that 'During the European Renaissance, religious objects were reliquaries.' and that 'Madam Donica Castriota was very attached to the icon in question, she kept it as a precious treasure. and "The Wounded Icon must be from the time after Skanderbeg's death."" p.126, 127, the author develops, through the actions of her two researchers, a very interesting, provocative, but also provocative line of scientific awareness. The information that 'In a manuscript by Friar Geronimo Sanchez, I found evidence that proves the fact that the Icon of Donika Kastrioti was miraculous and that in the 16th century a Brotherhood of Devotees of the Icon was created. p.217, discoveries in the archive of the monastery of Valencia, historical facts of the close relationship between Donika Kastrioti and Queen Juana III of Naples, the discovery of the miniature of the Icon, etc. lead the passionate couple Arbr-Nora, after this accidental discovery, to find and touch the Icon, closely linked to the figure of the great lady of Arbër as well as the location of her remains in Venice. On the other hand, the pursuit of the risk of robbery of of the secret of the icon, which preserves an important secret, creates such a relationship where, at first glance, it is difficult to distinguish between truth and artistic fiction. Literature gives liveliness, color, emotion to historical and documentary facts. The reasoning of the two researchers, their relationship with the discovered facts, as well as with the environment, the description of the being and movements of the lady of Arbri, in the combination of historical facts with artistic fiction, the fruit of the author's creative imagination, create a special relationship with the reader. The narrative fantasy keeps the sensitivity in suspense when 'The secret of the Icon had appeared in all its grandeur before their eyes, leaving them speechless. Nora touched the first part of the parchment sheets, one above the other, starting from the bottom of the icon... There was their greatest dream: it was a map. They could not believe their eyes...' The radiography of the Icon deepens the clarity and extraordinary interior of this relic-bearing object, testifying to the great secret: the map of the Arbrit Peak, in the Hilandar Monastery, on Mount Athos, where on top of a chapel, with a magnifying glass, the coat of arms of the Kastriots can be distinguished... The author's exciting imagination, which actually has a historical basis (which is well explained during the narrative) PROVOKE, for the first time, the recognition of the place of reburial of the remains of our national hero. Experienced figured, as a major discovery for the history of the Albanians, the novel builds an approach that is both interesting and provocative for the history of the Kastriots. However, the narrative becomes 'believable' for the reader, because it is prompted and built on research of documents, specified publications, data, and serious observations of two characters passionate about discovering the truth that this icon (which is still located in the Royal Monastery of Valencia), hides within itself.

Mira Meksi is known for the values ​​she knows how to see in our history, centuries-old and close, in the realistic and subtle approach to each period, in the continuity it aims to build between them, in the values ​​and weight it recognizes in the Albanian language since ancient times. The studies of the great-grandfather of the researcher, Arbri, the father of Isaia, the scientific theses, the boxes of old historical documents, manuscripts, parchment tubes, which are kept in the Vlora house... bring an extraordinary story, among other things, about the cultural tradition of this area, which has not been written about before.

Around this fundamental axis, two other axes are developed, closely linked:

B. Donika Kastrioti and her suckers, between document and fiction

Is the perception of the character an emotional plane? Why does it have an effect on our experience? This issue becomes even more complicated when the character emerges from the story, such as the figure of Donika Kastrioti. As the supporting axis of the entire narrative, she presents to the reader, especially to the historian, the dilemma of defining the dividing line between real being and her shaping as a character. At different levels of the narrative, these two relationships sometimes merge, sometimes alternate. The relationship of distance between this character and real events constitutes the real challenge. The novel makes us believe that we have already seen the great lady Donika, who, although little known in our knowledge, realizes itself within the structure of the novel. Of course, the process of shaping, reconstructing and characterizing her is not easy, because it puts the narrator before the naive 'judgment' of what is true and how far the fiction goes. But, for the reader, this is not of fundamental importance, he is eager to know the essence of this historical figure, connected to the great hero of our national history, because through the mastery of artistic construction this character carries the historical reality of the Kastriot family. Donika's essential feature is gentleness, finesse, wisdom, spiritual devotion to the Almighty, noble loyalty to the mission of her husband and the fate of Arbër, humility towards the fate of her children... Within her lies the synthesis of truth with artistic fiction, because it is known that the shaping of characters goes to common, acceptable and unnatural specifics...

The figure of Donika takes on surprising meaning during the reading, due to the way the narrative opens... In the work there is a magical combination between the fact that the text reveals her figure and the perception of the reader, who has a special attention to this historical figure. The relationship is such that this figure is not simply a characterization, but evocation, A extraordinary effect in the reader's imagination. This makes the character Donika not simply "seen", but completed, illuminated. This means that within a system of tools, details, and points of view of the narrator we imagine the physical and moral image, we become captives of the 'real illusion' around her. The reader has an inner desire to see in Donika Kastrioti the embodiment of a sacred historical ideal. This makes the magic of this figure, our sympathy for her greater than what documentary knowledge gives us. (M. Meksi's passion for bringing bright women-personalities in history to literature is known, as was the figure of Teuta of Illyria. It is her merit that she configures distant characters of history, little or not at all known, enriching the reader with their images). Regarding the figure of Donika, the definition of the relationship between the process of 'seeing' and the process of 'perceiving' is specific. Her portrait appears as a sculpture carved from the combination of light, noble movements, thoughts and spiritual sensitivity. I think that in this novel the phenomenon of perception has priority, which includes aspects of internal cognition, such as Donika's thoughts and judgments, that is, which is more related to her inner world. This process includes movements, combinations, different choices, the queenly ability to cope with situations, the admirable balance between emotional experience and rational attitude... 'With a dark silk scarf that fell from her hair to her feet, Donika Kastrioti stood kneeling before the altar of the only nave of Santa Chiara. She lit a candle and with her eyes on the light of Jesus Christ she prayed for her bloody and enslaved country, she prayed for her Arbëror who had taken to the roads of the world persecuted by the Ottomans, she prayed for her family, for her son who was fighting the wars of the Aragonese king, with her mind on Arbëria and for his family, together with her two grandsons, she also prayed for the remains of Gjergj Kastrioti'. p.60And then:'The moon-colored silk headscarf hid the woman's heavy hair that covered her shoulders and reached down to her waist. The first frost of an early winter appeared here and there in the tufts of chestnut hair that escaped the headscarf. A ray of sunlight shone on her white face at that moment and John thought he saw the Madonna herself' f.86

The ways of conceiving a character can belong to several levels: the background where it is projected, the role it plays in the action, the way it behaves, its identity in a social situation, in a psychological aspect, through the connection with a historical color, etc. In the novel “The Wounded Icon” The figure of Donika Kastrioti takes on a little light from each, through the intertwining of internal concerns and external attitudes, the noble silence of preserving the secret of the Kastrioti icon, the internal relationship with the fate of Arbër, where she hopes to return one day, the relationships she builds with her son and grandson, but especially through the attitudes that, historically, the kings and queens of Naples, prominent Neapolitan noble families, nuns of the famous Monastery in Valencia have towards her, from the reputation beyond the borders of Arbër, Naples or Valencia, but also from the cultural level she inherited from her family, from the education, the broad culture she received under the care of her father, George the Arian Komnenos. The shaping of this figure in these plans constitutes the most magical parts of the author's descriptions and a touching rediscovery of Donika Kastrioti's personality. In modesty of the play (this is the author's profound point of view), Donika constantly approaches the reader's imagination, radiating wisdom, dedication and nobility. Had we known this historical figure like this? Perhaps the greatness of her husband, our national hero, somewhat left aside this great Lady, who came from one of the most important clans of Albanian nobility in the 16th century. Literature complements historical knowledge, in a sense expands the boundaries of perceptions that she, for her own specificity, conveys sparingly. The reader's encounter with this character, although historical, is primarily emotional, is a magical discovery that spiritually enriches every reader.

The novel also attracts curiosity with the few details related to the life of the young Gjon Kastrioti: on the family and personal level, in the drama of the sacrifice of love in the marriage for alliance with the daughter of King Ferrante-I, with the 'fading' of this figure after the death of her son, Alfonsi at the age of 15. Among the most interesting lines is Donika's relationship with her nephew, Alfonsi, whose tombstone M. Meksi discovered himself in the chapel located in the Royal Monastery of the Holy Trinity, in Valencia (there are real photos taken by her), where the much-sought-after Icon of the Virgin of the Shelter of Sinners, from 1502, is located. Both lines, of the son and the nephew, give the novel color and lyrical voice, imbuing the story with reports of human sensitivity. Although historical aspect is weak, the relationship between the two characters, in their fictional plan, serves to complement the softer human side of Donika Kastrioti. The use of fiction, (love letters, conversations with their devoted mother, etc...) gives life, light to the work, naturally placing it on the throne of literary fiction.

In the process of shaping the characters, M. Meksi uses with rare skill the description, which, in a way, seems like a voice own place dignified among the gallery of characters, historical or fictional. The amazing descriptions of the environments, in Naples or Valencia, of the architecture of churches and monasteries, of the colors of nature that give a special charge to the feelings of the characters, or warn of the tragic end, or metaphorically warn and convey dramatic moments… (the burning of the Arbor Tower in Athos…) constitute great values ​​of her narrative. It seems that in this novel the inspiration picturesque has reached the highest level in all her prose (surpassing even the novel "The Curse of the Priestesses of Illyria").

C. “Discovery” at the Monastery of Hylandari, on Mount Athos

It is the end of the mission of discovery of the The secret of the Icon! Research in Valencia as well as the manuscript of Reposh Kastrioti, move the narrative towards the research on Mount Athos (actually carried out by the author's son...). 'that blessed icon was made on Mount Athos...In the Monastery of Hilandar'- had partially revealed the secret of the Icon to her nephew, the Great Lady. Documents (Acts) that prove that Skanderbeg's father, in the example of the leaders who closed the historical mission, bought 'in 1428 the Tower of St. George, (later called the Tower of Arbrit) under the jurisdiction of the Monastery of Hilandar, together with the vineyard, olive groves and surrounding lands with the right of usufruct, as well as four adelphates, for himself and his four sons, paying 80 florins', clarify the idea that in that area of ​​the monastery, purchased by John Kastrioti for himself and his children, (there is the tomb of John Kastrioti and Reposhi) could be located the great secret. This whole line is built on a combination of the fact, real observation and imagination creative, where, behind the 'facilities' created in the Monastery for the continuation of the search, hidden efforts to prevent the discovery of the great secret, preserved for centuries, are hidden. The map, found on the Icon's body, leads the character to the church of The Arber's Peak, where the remains of Skanderbeg, preserved from Ottoman vandalism, may have been reburied… Behind every episode, every surprise on the way to this church, loyalty and disloyalty, truth and desire, and above all - the extraordinary passion to find the great historical truth, left in suspense for 5 centuries. It is a shocking key, which has been kept hidden. 'Which Serbian scholar or historian, or who knows, who has written about Hilandar, has mentioned the tomb of Skanderbeg? Nobody. Why? Because it is very important for us, for our nation, it is our historical being, our identity....' p.335, the research character claims. The novel has facts and fiction, much drama, anxiety, mystery, fantasy, emotion… The tragic fate of the burning of Pirg i Arbri, in conventional connection with the dream of Donika Kastrioti who, while waiting for the bones of Skanderbeg to be brought to her, had seen in a hallucination the burning of Ljesh, creates, artistically, the metaphor of the centuries-old efforts to hide the reburial of the bones of our national hero. But the author opens again the enigma of the secret, the bones must not have been burned, because the imagination continues: ' It was Cirili. What he said struck them like lightning in a clear sky, which does not kill, but clarifies the world with the purifying fire of divinity: "The remains of Gjergj Kastrioti have not been in the church of Pirgut i Arbri for years, next to his father, Gjon Kastrioti. They are in the sarcophagus of Stefan Nemanja in Hilandar..” p.351

The Enigma returns! An artistic illusion, or a shocking truth? Mira weaves the intrigue in a way that leaves everything open, an unfinished quest, a artistic provocation about the truth that history hides, a rekindling of the passion to seek...

The novel 'bets' with the reader, a reading model for history

It is known that literature is a code that conveys new meanings, it is a new human universe, through which knowledge about realities is transmitted... It is an experience of the writer's efforts, through a specific language, not to convey this knowledge and meaning as a direct copy of real events... In this respect, the novel "Icon of the wounded"can provoke discussion about what kind of meaning is the one on which the whole edifice is built, where historical characters are brought to life? The question it poses to the reader is in what way artistic narrative is different from the characters and their actions HISTorIcaL ? Of course, in a literary work, real events cannot speak for themselves, they cannot be conceived as narratives that tell their own story, because we would have a historical text. In this novel, the reader will understand that it is not only the story narrated in some limited aspects of it, but also the plan that lies behind the narrative, the truth of the motives and behavior of the characters, that move between reality and fictionWhat gives value to the work is that it manages to create unity. naturalistic illusion with literary illusion. Therefore, this novel should be understood as an image with the complexity of the author's ideas, as a narrative not simply a succession of events, not a horizontal extension, but a vertical penetration, in depth, which would highlight the essence of its value. From this point of view, the work is an act of faith for what constitutes its essence. In a way, the prose writer's fiction becomes a reception for the reader, through the illusion that gives life to each episode... We can also see it as a test of the author and the reader, faced with an emotional and dilemma-filled expectation.

What will attract the reader the most: historical facts, or fiction ?

The novel is a harmonious fusion between two discourses: historical discourse, which has a referential character, and literary discourse, which is shaped through metaphors and other self-reflective figures. In the fusion of these two discourses, the author has aimed to achieve the balance between fiction and truth, the tendency to give fiction meaning. Meanwhile, we know that artistic fiction appears as the combination of truth and its violation, but, nevertheless, we enter the illusion of a real world, which excites us with artistic intrigues. Intuition and interference of historical knowledge with its meaning! Here criticism can discuss whether the fictional nature of the novel has caused reality to lose its value as a point of reference?

How important is the accuracy of the relationship between truth and fiction for the reader? Should one look for the novel as a realistic work? In philosophy, the realistic meaning is based on the mind-independent existence of the world of objects, on the belief in truth as a communication between language and the world, and on the conviction that there is only one true description of the world. While in literary theory, realism refers to the ability of signs and images to convincingly, carefully reflect reality. However, it is known that this concept has been further complicated by modernist and then postmodernist literature, which brought about the upheaval of the realistic principle of creation. They confirmed the transition from the objective reflection of reality to a individual perspective of reality. According to L. Hutchon 'on a formal level, the novel holds in tension the agreement between history and fiction, foregrounding the conflict between truth and fiction, facts and beliefs'. , the truth and illusion...'

It is known that the Albanian novel, and that of M. Meksi, has renewed the forms of recreating reality. The novel "The Wounded Icon" reminds us that reality in history is not part of the real content of literature. History is made in it discourse structure that realizes the fiction.

The novel can also provoke the reader to ask the question: who is in the foreground: history or the author's reflection? Although the facts, archival and scholarly documents known to Mira are numerous, I think that it is the emotional-imaginary reflection that prevails. As the theorist Adorno asserted: 'art is the image of reality'. Even the novel "The Wounded Icon" should be read as an image of a bud of 16th century history.

Movements of the soul

Literature can fascinate with the possibilities of the movement of the soul, over human reason and passions… In this respect, the description of facts and actions, the narration of actions and events are also instinctive observation of behavior and spiritual states. The novel is such, even when it offers the sure image of a recognition, of a knowledge. The development of characters, the continuity of scenes and events are subordinate to this instinctive action, combined with the consciousness of the narrator. Therefore, we see the problem of 'reconstruction of history', as authorial consciousness, on the one hand, and the emotional act of the author, as a simultaneous co-development; this makes M. Meksi's novel a effect that is experienced.

The enlivening of reality with dreams, hallucinatory moments, fantasy that creates 'visible' visions... have value because they achieve an understanding between the truth and fiction…Dreams come as warnings of tragic fates… In the work, the phenomenon of development occurs that the historical discourse intertwined with the artistic one, does to the author's desire, gives freedom to the soul, to her inner instincts, creating a “deception” on real events or characters. In the character's expression to his fellow traveler, Nora, it seems as if the author M. Meksi has spoken to herself: 'Everything you have read materializes in visions, dreams, states of an excited brain..' p.45

The 'real' images that the characters see in their brain flashbacks (Nora, Arbri, Donika, ...) Nora's hallucinations 'I traveled in time', the scenes of the 'vision' of a burning castle, the mysterious concretization of the 'vision' of hands bleeding from the rope of a burning ship, the vision that envelops Donika Kastrioti, etc. are scenes where the hallucination becomes real, believable, the boundaries of history me the present of the characters merge. And this has the meaning of the spiritual experience of the fates of Arbëria throughout its history. In the metaphysical view, the character's soul passes through many times, when the difference between body and soul overcomes real imagination. Philosophically, the novel aims to affirm that the eternal appears now, then, and always, that the human mind cannot grasp the mystery of historical life. Through the character Arbër it is affirmed: 'Let's not overthink things and seek a logical explanation for everything, an explanation with the logic we know so far and which we know is completely flawed' f.51

In the structure of this novel there is no single timeline, the connection between the events is more complex, involving two major time planes: the present of the actions of the two researchers and the past of the 16th century, in four different spaces, Vlora, Naples, Valencia and Athos, which creates a new organization in spatial logicThe space is thematized, conceived as a interactive place. In Nora's almost hallucinatory experiences comes 'the occasional transformation of time and place into other times and places, outside of her will, false fantasies,...her complicated role sometimes as Nora Mollosaku who looked at events, characters, everything from the outside and sometimes as Eleonora Muzaka who experienced them not as memories, but essentially' f.114

How do the 16th and 20th centuries come together?

Although from an external point of view, events in any work can be arranged in a sequence, the chronology in the novel "The wounded icon" has nothing to do with the course of natural development. The relationship of the researchers with time, where they aim to discover history, comes inverted in the order of events, because the author does not focus on the two research characters, but on the 16th century, in which some important mysteries are hidden. So the extension, as I said before, is not horizontal, but vertical. The two characters intensely experience some dilemmas, which takes them back to the past but also towards the future...

The universe speaks to the character! The universe is the space-time that encompasses everything everywhere and at all times. In this philosophical conception, the researching character seems to pass from reality to the universe of another time: Mira Meksi's philosophical concept is revealed, according to which the soul is the most powerful force, which defeats or shocks the character, which recreates abnormal moments of relationship with other characters or events, which shocks his being and slightly 'confuses' the reader. This universe seems to identify the character Nora with Eleonora of the time of the young John, makes her appear in different dimensions of time, to be subjected, beyond her will, to an unusual emotional experience. The non-existent becomes existing! The relationships of the time-space dimension pass into different philosophical perceptions. In Nora's artistic conception, times are united: she seeks the unknown of the history of the Kastriots and at the same time becomes the soul theirs. Something mystical led him and Arbrin to believe in finding the icon, something mystical made him experience the nightmare and warning dream of Donika Kastrioti, something mystical made him see in Eleonora, the lover of the young John, her portrait, something mystical enlightened his mind to find the connection of her surname Mollosaka with the family Muzaka… This hallucinatory approach is not a coincidence, or a mere whim in the semantic structure of the novel, whose philosophy is based on the idea of historical continuity, of the sacred international mission… This is the reason why the environments, the monasteries where she moves, seem 'familiar' to Nora. History and fantasy go together. In Aristotle's definition, according to which the language of poetry (literature) is more philosophical than that of history, it is given Safety to understand the metaphorical forms of a particular word, symbols or specific expressions, of the entire artistic fiction. The metaphor of the names of the couple Arbër-Nora carries a symbolism in the semantic bed of the novel.

Also, the symbol of the gold ring of the Kastriots'with white pearls scattered on both sides of it, while the ring stone was a beautiful double-headed gold eagle, with diamond eyes, carved on a lapis lazuli field, with a red ruby ​​between the two heads of the eagle. p.172 which appears in a hallucinatory, strange way from Eleonora of the young John to Nora of the novel, expresses the philosophy of continuity, of love, of the fusion of eras. With this symbol of loyalty The author's imagination gives a special weight to the entire narrative flow, the axis of ideological meaning. Nora and Arbri's mission is connected with this loyalty, to bring, with every effort, the value of time and the characters of the family of our National Hero. Nora is the mission, she is Muzaka, she is continuity, she is the soul and undeniable identity of Arbëria. Metaphorically, her departure at the end expresses the realization of the mission, of loyalty, of finding, certainly in an artistic plan, a truth, covered by the dust of centuries.

There is an interesting feature of this novel: I think that metaphorically the two characters simultaneously build the author's complete personality: on the one hand Arbri (her grandparents' house on the coast of Vlora, the cultural and documentary heritage of her grandfather, Isaia...real facts of Mira's childhood), on the other hand Nora (with the author's own assumption of distant descent from the Muzakaj tribe as well as the extraordinary passion for immersing herself in our history and 'building' its values). Mira Meksi is divided into two active consciousnesses in the novel, artistically completing her mental and spiritual world.

The prose writer M. Meksi is known for her imagination that is connected to deep emotions, certainly directed and controlled by her will. Her passion and extraordinary will towards comprehensive knowledge enriches her emotional aspect. Even in this novel, the essential feature of imagination clearly appears, which is not isolated in itself, but a consequence, development of a series of other cognitive processes, from informative readings to perceptions, or the author's real contacts with the external aspects of the 'real' and spiritual world that she recreates. Imagination comes as an extraordinary enrichment of the line of research, discoveries, mysteries, which are not given as an end in themselves, but as food for a certain philosophy.

Extraordinary "gallery" of historical and cultural information

It has already been pointed out, the extensive research work that precedes and nourishes Mira Meksi's prose. It has been said that her passion and creative intuition begin with historical, mythological, cultural, ethnographic, religious information, with knowledge of legends, mythological motifs and figures, with information about symbols of the Middle Ages, etc.... Research in archives, endless readings, knowledge of studies related to her creative object, unceasing visits to the places and environments where the events of the novel will take place (no matter how far away they may be), the extensive literary-artistic culture acquired since childhood... give her creativity the appearance of a very rich and interesting gallery. The novel "The Wounded Icon"" comes with an even higher level of this important feature. The numerous readings of studies and information about the Kastrioti family after the death of the National Hero; knowledge of medieval and contemporary historians, of Jewish philosophy (Kabbalah, etc.); descriptions of the widely unknown history of Vlora and the islands along its coast... provide support for the inspiration for this novel. The work is made particularly interesting by the descriptions of Naples, the description of the Basilica of Santa Chiara and the historical situations of the kingdom of Naples, the knowledge of the noble families of this kingdom, information about Virgil, facts about the movements of Mrs. Kastrioti, after the death of her husband...

The novel is an exciting curiosity with descriptive 'discoveries' of the city of Valencia. The history of the city's construction, its unique architecture, the largest silk trade center, banking center, etc. create images of historical Valencia, where the description of the Jewish area is also quite interesting... The reader not only learns the unknown about the history and culture of the city, but manages to 'see', with the eyes of the imagination, the architecture of buildings, castles, monasteries, churches, the extraordinary architecture of the gigantic royal library (Castel Nuovo), extensive information on the Royal Monastery of the Holy Trinity, streets related to ancient history, where one can 'meet' with prominent personalities of the 16th century... knowledge of the mentality and culture, principles, luxury of the Spanish rulers, etc.

But the most interesting information for the reader comes from Mount Athos. The author has found the right person (her son) to enter this forbidden and mystical 'kingdom'. The detailed notes and observations, reflected in the novel, bring extraordinary views and facts about the Monastery of Hilandar, extremely important for the fate of the Kastriots after death, the research in the archive and library, the discovery of great value of the manuscript of Reposhi, brother of Gjergj Kastriot, buried in that monastery. The curiosities and unknowns are exciting, the author, through the interweaving of data with her fantasy, has built an existence, both real and mysterious, offering the reader a curiosity with very special and not easily recognizable images.

What does the search for historical documents and their artistic treatment mean to Mira Meksi?

It is the search for truth, for the whole, for our history with its ancient values, for continuity, for our national IDENTITY!