66 pages • 2-hour read
Broken April
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Chapters 5-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 5 Summary
Gjorg makes it back to his village. He spots a small tombstone, or mouranë, erected for the man he killed. Gjorg bemoans the grave, feeling: “Here’s what’s left of…of… (he meant to say, the other man’s life), but within him he thought, here’s what will be left of my own life” (157). Dread washes over Gjorg as he wonders if his life has amounted to nothing. He returns home and speaks briefly with his family. The last days of March pass in a haze. He lacks the desire to do anything, and he recognizes that soon, come mid-April, he will be either dead or stuck in a tower of refuge.
He considers leaving the High Plateau and finding work as a traveling woodcutter, a common profession for mountaineers who leave the High Plateau. Gjorg has only ever known the plateau, however, and decides against leaving. He tells his father, “Father, I’d like to go and wander around during the days I have left” (159). To Gjorg’s surprise, his father gives him a small purse of money and tells his son to have a good trip. Gjorg visits several inns, listening to the patrons as a fly on the wall. Rumors circulate about a carriage transporting a beautiful woman. Gjorg remembers Diana. He decides his inclination to wander was motivated by his inner desire to see her again. His previous encounter with Diana filled him with serenity, and he longs to experience that sensation again. Diana’s effervescence is too pure for the likes of the destitute inn, and Gjorg envisions going on a killing spree. In actuality, he leaves the inn quietly and sets out to find Diana’s carriage.
Gjorg wanders from place to place, eager for more rumors of the carriage. He encounters Mark Ukacierra, who has started traveling to prepare his report, and the two go on their separate ways without speaking. Everywhere he goes, Gjorg hears only rumors about Diana’s whereabouts. He deduces she’s still in the High Plateau, but where exactly he hasn’t the faintest idea. Days pass, with mid-April getting closer and closer, as Gjorg continues his desperate search for Diana in torment.
Chapter 6 Summary
Diana and Bessian continue their trip across the High Plateau. Bessian tries to read Diana’s mood but finds he can’t: “As for her expression, which even when she was angry or humiliated had always seemed understandable to him, he now found that he had no clue to what it might mean” (167). He wonders if she’s pregnant but then dismisses the idea because they haven’t slept together the entire honeymoon. Diana mentions it is April 11 and that Gjorg’s bessa will soon be over. Bessian tries to converse with her more, but Diana only gives short responses.
An old woman lays on the side of the road with a cramped leg. Bessian offers to take her to her village, which is nearby. The old woman expresses thanks. No one came to help her because so many families in her village are entangled in blood feuds. Many are dead or locked away in towers. Bessian and Diana drop the woman off at her home and resume their trip. After, Bessian wants to confront his wife and demand she tell him what’s on her mind, but he becomes self-conscious, worried that whatever she says will hurt his feelings. Perhaps she’s fine, and his fears are all in his head. Silence, he decides, will be okay. He hopes by staying at an inn they will feel less distant, and they stop for the night. After checking in, Bessian makes advances toward Diana in their room, but she rejects him, saying it’s too cold. They start a fire and then go visit the nearby Alpine lakes while their room warms up.
The couple admires the natural beauty of the lakes. Diana’s attention gravitates toward a nearby tower of refuge. Gjorg might be there. Watching his wife, Bessian “thought he detected something like a gentle yearning” (185). By chance, they come across Ali Binak and his colleagues, who have come to the Alpine lakes to settle another dispute. Bessian talks with the men, especially a doctor, who categorizes wounds to determine how much of a fine must be paid. Bessian and the doctor discuss the Kanun and debate about the blood feud and the role of art in the world. Mid-argument, Bessian realizes Diana is gone. He panics and searches for her and discovers she went inside the tower of refuge. Diana emerges a few minutes later, pale and silent. She doesn’t tell Bessian what she saw in the tower, which infuriates him. He worries she was assaulted but finds no signs of physical trauma. The two return to the inn and pass the next few days in silence in their room. It is April 17, the last day of their trip and the end of Gjorg’s long bessa.
Chapters 5-6 Analysis
Chapter 5 ramps up the tension of Gjorg’s storyline and is filled with dramatic moments. Gjorg, quiet and contemplative for most of the novel, lets out a passionate and angry fantasy because of his desire for Diana: “He killed them all, then killed those who came to their rescue, then ran out and fired again at his pursuers, at still others, at whole villages that were hunting him, at the Banners, at the Provinces” (163-164). For the first time, Gjorg fantasizes about killing others. His frenzied daydream shows how much Diana has taken hold of him. Thinking of her, and the peace he felt seeing her, gives Gjorg purpose for the short amount of free time he has left. Further adding to the tension, Gjorg’s contemplation at Zef’s tombstone continues to foreshadow his untimely end. Death closes in on Gjorg, making his pursuit of Diana even more urgent.
Chapter 6 raises the stakes of Diana and Bessian’s marriage. The occasional disagreement has now turned into prolonged silences. Bessian’s fear evolves: “Indeed, he felt that if something were to be saved, that could only happen while they were on the High Plateau, and that once they went down there would be no chance of remedy” (168-69). Even returning to the city might not be enough to save their relationship as the narrative reaches a boiling point. Before Diana enters the tower, Bessian detects her yearning for Gjorg, whom she has mentioned to her husband more than once. Bessian isn’t outright jealous or threatened, but his observation keeps tensions high and keeps the storylines relevant to one another. When Diana emerges from the tower, their relationship continues its downward spiral. Bessian’s rage peaks; he is furious Diana won’t explain what happened. He hurts her physically: “Then he seized her by the elbow, violently, harshly” (200). By the end of Chapter 6, their connection is broken, their relationship irreparably damaged. Earlier chapters planted the seeds for Diana and Bessian’s marriage to collapse, and Chapter 6 delivers on the buildup.
Additional supporting characters assist Kadare in crafting his cautionary message about normalized violence. The helpless old woman tells Bessian and Diana, “Yes, my village is quite big, but most of the men are cloistered in the towers. That’s why I was all alone, abandoned on the road, and almost died there” (172). The blood feuds create a tragic domino effect. The men die or hide away, and the remaining villagers suffer without their help. With the old woman’s story, Kadare shows how the blood feuds can cause a vicious cycle that will likely lead to the slow death of an entire village. During Bessian’s argument with the doctor, the doctor declares, “Perhaps you’ll accuse me of being cynical, but in our time, as with everything else, blood has been transformed into merchandise” (194). The doctor’s statement challenges Bessian, adding to the novel’s critical analysis of blood feuds. Like in previous chapters, Kadare uses his supporting characters to give his world, and the concepts discussed within it, more depth.
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