Republic of women: the characters
 Australian author Merrill Findlay's critically acclaimed novel, Republic
of Women, spans several thousand years and several
continents. Its interweaving narratives explore the imagined
lives of over fifty fictional and "real-life" characters.
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Characters
in (sort of) alphbetical order
Abelard; Agamemnon; Alcibiades; Alfredo Germont; Alphonsine
Plessis; Anita Garibaldi; Anonymous
males -- Anonymous John of Sparta, Anonymous Carlos
of the Persian Empire, Anonymous Pete of Macedonia and
Thebes, Anonymous Alexie the Banker; Apolinario
Cruz; Armand Duval; Aspatia
of Miletos; Ceberano, Kate; Cleon; Clytemnestra; Daphne Downstairs; de
Perrigaux, Comte Edouard; de
Stackelberg, Baron; de Varville,
Baron; Demeter; Denis; Diodotus; Dumas,
Alexandre fils; Dumas,
Alexandre pere; Duplessis,
Marie; Elle; Flora; Garibaldi, Guiseppe; Gaston,
Vicomte de Letorieres; Giuseppina
Strepponi; Guilhermina Suggia; Haddad brothers; Heinrich; Iphigeneia; Lilith; Lillian; Louis Philippe,
Duc D'Orleans aka Tip; Marguerite
Gautier; Marie; Melba,
Nellie; Olympe; Pericles; Persephone; Piave,
Francesco Maria; Plato; Rachel
Chiesley; Scheherazade; Socrates; Sokrates; Sophie; Sydney;Thucydides; Ursula Upstairs; Violetta
Valery; Verdi, Giuseppe; White,
Mary.
Abelard. Lillian's neutered fictional Labrador
dog named for the Medieval philosopher, logician, and
theologian Peter Abelard (1079-1142), the
lover and covert husband of the scholar, Heloise. Abelard
retired to a monastery after he was castrated by thugs
employed by Heloise's uncle, the Canon of Paris.
Agamemnon.
The mythic warlord responsible for the sacking of Troy,
husband of the last matriarchal Queen of Mycenae, Clytemnestra,
and father of Iphigeneia, whom
he sacrificed for a wind to fill the sails of his fleet.
His heroics are immortalised in The Illiad attributed
to Homer.
Alcibiades.
An Athenian general who was central to the conflict between
Sparta and Athens which is the subject of the war game Heinrich and his fictional
mates are playing. Alcibiades' extraordinary career
is documented in The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides.
Alfredo (Germont). The lover of Violetta Valery,
the central character in Verdi's
opera, La Traviata.
Alphonsine (Plessis). The name Marie Duplessis was given at birth.
Anonymous
Alexie, Anonymous Carlos, Anonymous Pete,
and Anonymous John. Heinrich’s
fictional mates and fellow war-gamers.
Aspatia
of Miletos. A scholar, priestess, mother and resident
alien of Athens who taught both Socrates and Plato and wrote speeches for
her lover Pericles.
Ceberano,
Kate. An Australian singer, whose recording of 'Change'
by Jolley/Jolley/Harris is referred to in Republic
of Women. MCA Music 1998.
Chiesley,
Rachel. The Lady Grange of Edinburgh who was kidnapped
in 1732 and imprisoned on St Kilda island in the North
Atlantic, by the Jacobites. She became known as the Lady
of St Kilda. St Kilda, Australia, was named after a C19th
yacht bearing that name.
Cleon.
A wealthy citizen of fifth century Athens, whose speech
to the demos is documented in The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides.
Clytemnestra.
The last matriarchal queen of Mycenae, the mother of Iphigeneia and Orestes (who murdered her), and the wife of the warlord Agamemnon.
Cruz,
Apolinario (Pol). An Australian visual artist born
in the Filippines, but forced to leave during the Marcos
regime. One of his paintings, The Initiation, hangs
in the house of the fictional character Lillian,
and is central to one of Marie's contemplations
about masculinity.
 The
Initiation, by Apolinario
(Pol) Cruz.
Daphne
Downstairs. A fictional seventy-three year old woman
who lives in the flat immediately below Marie,
in Fitzroy Street, St Kilda. Their block of flats could
be any of the many walk-ups lining this (in)famous St
Kilda street.
Denis.
A fictional St Kilda resident, Marie's
friend, Heinrich's lover, and
a former sex worker and intravenous drug user.
Demeter.
Meter is Greek for 'mother', and De is Delta, the sign
of birth, death and erotic paradise. Demeter therefore
represents the trinity of life, death and rebirth. Many
of the rituals her initiates practiced in ancient Greece
were reportedly sexually explicit and involved the eating
of flesh and the drinking of blood. The central contemporary
characters in Republic of women, Marie, Elle, Lillian, Sophie and even Denis can be interpreted as aspects of Demeter's complex trinity.
de
Stackelberg, Baron. Marie Duplessis'
eldery patron.
de
Varville, Baron. The rival of Armand
Duval and one of Marguerite Gautier's lovers in Dumas'
fiction, La Dame aux Camelias.
de
Perrigaux, Comte Edouard. A French nobleman and Marie
Duplessis' lover, whom she married in a Kensington
Registry office on 21 February 1846. The couple seemed
never to have formally lived together, and even after
her marriage, Duplessis maintained her own business and
her independence.
de
Varville, Baron. The rival of Armand
Duval and one of Marguerite
Gautier’s lovers in Dumas’La
Dame aux Camélias.
Diodotus.
A citizen of fifth century Athens, whose speech to the
demos is documented in The Peloponnesian War by
Thucydides.
Dumas,
Alexandre fils. The author of La Dame aux Camélias, who was born in Paris in 1824, the illegitimate son of
the already-established writer Dumas pere. The young Dumas claimed he had an affair
with Marie Duplessis in 1844
and based his first novel on her life. As he grew older,
he became more austere, conservative, anti-feminist and
messianic. He died in 1895.
Dumas,
Alexandre pere. The author of The Count of Montechristo, The Three Musketeers, and Memoirs of Garibaldi,
whose son Alexandre, wrote La
Dame aux Camélias.
Duval,
Armand. The lover of Marguerite
Gautier in Dumas’ fiction, La
Dame aux Camélias.
Elle.
A fictional twenty-something resident of St Kilda, post-graduate
student, single mother, rock musician playing in a women's
band called Lip Service, and close friend of Marie and Lillian. She was born in Turin
where her Sicilian parents worked at the Fiat factory,
but she spent most of her youth in Ballarat, Victoria,
where her fictional parents have a fruit and vegetable
store. She now lives with her fictional daughter, Sophie,
in a converted stable behind St Kilda's Esplanade Hotel.
Flora.
A character in Verdi's opera, La
Traviata, and the friend of the heroine, Violetta
Valery.
Garibaldi,
Anita, nee Anna Marie Ribeira da Silva de Jesus. The daughter
of Maria Antonia and Bento Ribeiro da Silva de Jesus,
born in a village in Brazil in about 1821. Giuseppe
Garibaldi fell in love with her while he was in exile
in South America and she accompanied him back to Italy.
Garibaldi,
Giuseppe. The lover of Anita, and
an Italian freedom fighter and hero, who played a significant
role in the unification of Italia.
Gaston,
Vicomte de Letorieres. The character in La Traviata who introduces Alfredo Germond to the heroine, Violetta Valery.
Alfredo becomes her lover in the opera.
Gautier,
Marguerite. The central character in Dumas'
first novel La dame aux camélias, based
on the real-life sex worker Marie
Duplessis. Violetta Valery,
the central character of Verdi's opera La Traviata,
is based on Dumas' fictional Marguerite. In Republic
of Women Marie Duplessis, Violetta and Marguerite
each have their own interlinked narratives.
Haddad
brothers, George, Michael and Tony. The proprietors
of Leo's Spaghetti Bar in Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, one
of Melbourne's most famous cultural institutions, where
much of Republic of Women was written.
 The
view from the author's favourite table at Leo's Spaghetti
Bar, Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, Australia. Much of Republic
of Women was written at this table. Photo by Merrill
Findlay, 1999.
Heinrich. Marie's fictional neighbour and Denis'
fictional lover, who works as an accountant and plays
war games in his spare time.
Iphigeneia.
The daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. In Greek mythology
she was sacrificed to Artemis by her father and snatched
from the flames by the goddess to become the high priestess
of Artemis’s temple in the Taurus mountains.
Lilith.
The Great Mother of Sumero-Babylonian mythology who refused
to 'lie down' for the biblical Adam when he insisted on
the male-dominant missionary position. In the Bible Lilith
is replaced by the more docile Eve, whom the Hebrews'
patriarchal deity, Yaweh, created as Adam's second wife. Marie and Elle affectionately call Lillian Lilith.
Lillian.
A fictional retired professor, close friend of Marie and Elle, surrogate grandmother to
Elle's daughter Sophie, and an acclaimed author of scholarly
feminist texts. She is currently writing a ficto-criticism
called The Death and Resurrection of Hypatia. Marie
and Elle affectionately call her Lilith,
in honour of the Sumero-Babylonian Great Mother. Lillian's
lover, Sokrates, calls her Lily
after the flower that represents the goddess' genitals
-- although we can't be sure that Sokrates is familiar
with this interpretation of the name 'Lily'!
Louis
Philippe, Duc d’Orleans. (Also known as Tip or Tippon.)
The exiled grandson of the last king of France and pretender
to his throne, and Dame Nellie Melba’s
lover until both her estranged husband and the duke’s
father both intervened to end their relationship. Louis
Philippe later married Archduchess Maria Dorothea of Hungary
and made a reputation as an explorer and adventurer, especially
in Africa and the Arctic. He apparently maintained contact
with Nellie Melba throughout his life, and died in Sicily.
Marie.
A fictional twenty-something resident of Fitzroy Street,
St Kilda, born and raised in Ballarat, a regional city
in Victoria, Australia. She trained as an architect and
is now tutoring in that discipline at a Melbourne tertiary
institution while she develops her expertise as a 'green'
designer. She also plays the cello. Marie’s relationships
are central to the interweaving narratives of the novel.
The contemporary female characters, Marie, Elle, Sophie and Lillian,
can be considered aspects of the complex virgin/ mother/crone
trinities of some of the world's most ancient religions,
with Denis as the sacrificial male.
Marie
Duplessis (Also known as Alphonsine Plessis.) A French
woman and acclaimed beauty, who was born in Normandy in
1824 and died of tuberculosis in Paris in 1847. In her
twenty-three years she established herself as one of the
most successful sex workers in Paris. In 1846 she married
her lover, Comte Edouard de Perrigaux,
and added the title La Comtesse to her name. She is buried
in Cimetiere Montmartre. Alexandre Dumas fils claims he had an affair with her and later
wrote a fictionalised account that was published in 1848
as La Dame aux Camélias. Verdi's
opera, La Traviata, is based on Dumas' fiction.
Melba,
Dame Nellie. The internationally acclaimed Australian
soprano who sang the role of Violetta.
She was born in Richmond, Melbourne, in 1861 where she
was christened Helen Porter Mitchell. She died in Sydney
in 1931 and was buried at Lilydale, Melbourne.
Olympe.
A character in Dumas’ fiction La
Dame aux Camélias, and friend of Marguerite
Gautier.
Pericles.
An Athenian general and progressive politician for whom
his lover, Aspatia of Miletos,
wrote some very famous speeches. He was born around 493
BCE to Agariste, the niece of Cleisthenes the lawgiver,
and to Xanthippus, the victor of the battle of Mycale,
and was educated by the best teachers available, including
the philosopher Anaxagoras. Pericles died in 429 BCE in
a plague that killed one third of the Athenian population.
His death left Athens without a strong leader.
Persephone. Demeter's daughter, and one aspect
of the complex virgin, mother, crone trinity. In the version
of her story recounted in Republic
of women, Persephone is raped and abducted by
her Uncle Hades and taken to the Underworld from where
her mother negotiates her release.
Piave,
Francesco Maria. Italian nationalist and Venetian poet
who wrote the libretti of ten of Verdi’s
operas, including La Traviata. He died in Milan
in 1876.
Plato.
Athenian philosopher born around 428 BCE. Plato
witnessed the complete collapse of the Athenian empire
in his lifetime. Over twenty dialogues are attributed
to him, including the Republic, and the Symposium,
both of which are drawn on heavily in Republic of Women.
Most of Plato's works feature his teacher Socrates.
Scheherezade.
The central story teller in the collection of ancient
Muslim fictions known, in English, as The Arabian Nights or The Thousand and One Nights. The Russian composer,
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov named his Symphonic Suite (Opus 35, composed in 1888) for this fictional woman.
In 1948 Jewish refugees, Masha Frydman and Avram Zeleznikow,
celebrated New Years Eve in a nightclub in Paris named
Scheherezade for Rimsky-Korsakov’s suite, and ten years
later called their new café in Acland Street, St
Kilda, after that nightclub. St Kilda's Scheherezade has
since celebrated its fortieth anniversary, which makes
it, along with Leo’s Spaghetti Bar in Fitzroy Street,
St Kilda, one of the oldest cafes in Australia.
Socrates.
The Athenian philosopher (c. 470-399 BCE) who was the
central character in the writings of his most famous student, Plato.
Sokrates.
A fictional classics scholar of Greek descent, who lives
in Alexandria, Egypt, and is the long-term lover of Lillian.
Sophie. Elle's fictional six year old daughter
and Lillian's surrogate grand-daughter,
named for Sophia, the Gnostics' Great Mother, and the
spirit of female Wisdom symbolised by the dove (and dolphin)
of Aphrodite.
Strepponi,
Giuseppina. The Italian soprano who created Abigaille
in Verdi's opera Nabucco and soon after was forced
to stop professional singing because of damage to her
throat. She became Verdi’s live-in
companion in 1849, and married him ten years later. She
died in Busseto in 1897.
Suggia,
Guilhermina. The musical prodigy who became an internationally
known cellist. She was born in the Portuguese city of
Oporto in 1888, and died there in 1950. She studied with
the Catalan cellist Pablo Casals, and later married him.
Augustus Johns painted a startling portrait of her, a
copy of which belonged to Marie's
fictional grandmother. This imaginary print now hangs
in Marie's fictional bedroom in St Kilda.
Sydney.
The fictional man Marie has a brief
liaison with, including a sexual encounter she describes
as 'rape'.
Thucydides.
The Athenian naval commander and author of The Peloponnesian
War, who was born in Attica about 460 BCE and died,
probably in Thrace, in about 401 BCE. The words ‘Or so
Thucydides says’ are repeated throughout Republic
of Women like a mantra.
Ursula
Upstairs. A fictional singing teacher who lives in
the flat above Marie's in Fitzroy
Street. She plays Verdi's opera La
Traviata over and over again, especially when she's
drinking sherry alone at night.
Verdi,
Giuseppe. The Italian nationalist composer born in 1813
at Le Roncole, near Busseto, in Parma. His operas include Nabucco (1841), La Battaglia di Legnano (1848), La Traviata (1853), and Les Vepres Siciliennes (1854), all of which are mentioned in Republic of Women.
He was Giuseppina Streponni's
lover for many years, and eventually married her. By the
time he died in Milan in 1901 he was acclaimed as one
of the world's great composers.
Violetta
Valery. The central character in Verdi's
opera La Traviata, based on the stage adaptation
of La Dame aux Camélias, by nineteenth century
French writer, Alexandre Dumas fils.
White,
Mary. A fictional Aboriginal resident of St Kilda's public
open spaces, and Queen of Fitzroy Street.
Copyright Merrill Findlay 1999
Content last
revised March 2004. This page created 21 January 2008. |
