While windows are technically supposed to show the viewer the outside world, in Broken April they are used to give the reader a glimpse into the inner feelings of the main characters. When "Bessian puts his head close to the glass" and "remains in that position for a long time," (p. 167) he is looking at the mysterious land of the Kanun; something that in his mind is wonderful. This “tragically beautiful or wonderfully tragic” vision (p.68) represented his fascinated state of mind. But when Diana, "her pale face, looks at the road in silence, or almost", (p. 167), she is looking at the desolation of the mountains which for her represents the desolate state of her heart. The surrounding environment makes her claustrophobic and causes emotional turmoil inside. Such cases are representative of the novel's approach, which extends the association between intuition and windows to a variety of characters. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In one important case, when Gjorg sees Diana "framed" in the window of the velvet carriage (p. 109), he feels as if a look from her could "take him, take him away, beyond life, beyond the grave, where he could look at himself with serenity." Looking at that '(beautiful) auburn-haired woman', Gjorg 'breathed with a sweetness and emotion that he had never felt in the presence of any other being in the world' (p. 163). He fell in love with her instantly. That sight was like an image from a fairy tale to him. But unfortunately for Gjorg, he can't do anything about his feelings. Forced to participate in an ancient feud, he had killed a member of the Kyreqyqe family five days earlier. And although at present he is safe under the protection of the bessa which lasts thirty days; he only had a limited amount of time before he was inevitably hunted down and killed in revenge. Therefore, the Kanun had left him in a helpless situation. And in these desperate circumstances, that window had become a little square of hope for Gjorg. Faced with impending death, "he felt that his heart had left his chest and, so open, he was vulnerable, sensitive to everything, so much so that he could rejoice in anything, be dejected by anything." In that state of mind, when he saw Diana, she struck him in a strange and beautiful way. Without him knowing it, Gjorg had associated everything good and beautiful in his life with Diana and looking into those eyes, 'at once distant and close, understandable and enigmatic, impassive and understanding' (p. 193 ) once again, had become his last wish. In this way, Diana being the sign of beauty in his life, seeing her through that window had become a symbol of hope and Gjorg was not willing to let it go. That feeling was so strong that even on the evening of April 17, the day his bessa died, Gjorg continued to wander the mountains hoping to 'see his fairy' (p.214). On the other side of the carriage window, Diana was exploring a world her husband wanted her to see. But she looked at him in a very different way than he looked at him. According to Bessian, the Kanun was "one of the most monumental constitutions born in the world" and "the aspect of death bestowed on the life of the Gjak was something eternal, for its very greatness raised them above the wretchedness of things and petty meanness of life" (p. 71-72). On the other hand, Diana felt empathy with everything and everyone she saw outside the window. For her, several aspects of the Kanun were "terrible, absurd and fatal" (p. 77). and the idea of people walking around with black ribbons meant "that they were looking for death or that their death was looking for them" (p. 34),'horrible' (p. 69). These people "awakened sympathy" within her. And so, contrary to Bessian's disdainful view of Gjorg as a simple example, evidence of the studying Kanun, Diana was actually intrigued and concerned by the sight of the pale youth near death. For her, that window was a perspective on a compelling tragedy in which Gjorg was a larger-than-life hero. Although the window individually represents a symbol of attraction for both Diana and Gjorg, it ultimately serves as a barrier between them. The blue tint in the glass and Diana's breath repeatedly fogging the window (pages 109-110) are both signs that Diana and Gjorg are never meant to be together. Despite this, they both desperately try to hold on to that small window of possibility. As Diana continues to wipe the fog off the glass (which was distorting her vision), Gjorg continues to stare at his square of hope, stunned. But like almost everything in the book, it does nothing about it. The carriage leaves and Gjorg is brought back to his futile reality with only the memory of "his fairy". While this window first introduces the developing crack in Diana and Bessian's relationship, the author uses another metaphorical window to show that crack widening into a fissure. After a long day of travel through the mountains, when the Vorpsis finally reach their room in the Kulla of Orosh, they find a dimly lit chamber with a "heavy oak bed" covered by a "red wool blanket with a deep nap" ( page .122). But unlike most other newlyweds, this welcoming environment doesn't excite Bessian. Instead, the first thing he does is "(go) to one of the windows" (p.122). And through that window he sees an area of vast darkness. But the part that attracts him is a 'glimmer' of light right near the bottom of his field of vision (page 124). He is curious about it (he motions to the servant asking "What is that over there?") (p.122) and is even fascinated by it (describing it as a "glimmer in the darkness, like a candle shining on death") (p. 124). But when Bessian calls Diana to look at the view she has admired, all she sees is "darkness" "suspended over an abyss" (p.123). Bessian wants to show her the light he is fascinated by. 'There,' he says, 'can't you see the light over there?' (page 123). But Diana sees nothing, "she is penetrated by the immensity of the night and trembles." After repeatedly trying, by her own volition, to find that light her husband keeps talking about, she finally sees a 'faint reddish glow on the edge of the abyss' (p. 123). But that light is neither warm nor lively, it is 'flickering and pale, on the verge of being swallowed up by the night' (p.126) and ironically comes from the darkest place, from the famous Gjaks gallery where all the murderers of the Rrafsh waits to pay the blood tax. This window and the view outside it are a metaphor for the Kanun and the Vorpsis' experiences with it. In fact it tells their complete story. Dissatisfied with his comfortable life in Tirana (and here, in his room in the Kulla of the Prince of Rrafsh), Bessian is fascinated by something far from him to which he has no actual connection, the Kanun. And ignoring its 'darkness' and tragedy, he instead sees a glimmer of light (its sinister beauty and 'greatness') (p. 124). Because of this obsession, he takes his new wife on a honeymoon to the land of his dreams, "The Cursed Mountains" (p.62). During their journey, Bessian tries to point out to his wife all the things that fascinate him in the Kanun (his precious 'light'), but she cannot see it. Instead, she is overwhelmed by all the darkness and death surrounding her. The 'frozen coldness' of the region 'runs through' it as it did the"..
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