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Chapter 7
Themes and Colors
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Broken April, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Revenge and Cycles of Violence
Ismail Kadare’s Broken April is about blood feuds on the High Plateau of Albania, where families keep elaborate records of grudges against other families, all in accordance with a local code of customs called the Kanun. The novel begins with Gjorg killing Zef, a member of a rival family, in order to avenge the death of his brother Mehill, whose bloody shirt has been hanging in the Berisha home for over a…
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Tradition vs. Modernity
Broken April captures the unusual condition of Albania in the early 20th century, when it was part of a modern Europe but also had regions governed largely by local traditions and customs, like the Kanun, that differ from traditional governmental structures. The people of the High Plateau have a leader called the prince who lives in a castle-like structure called the Kulla of Orosh. Although the prince isn’t part of an official royal family…
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Hospitality
At the heart of Broken April are the Albanian traditions around hospitality, which can be generous but which come with a complicated set of expectations (outlined in the Kanun). In many ways, the high esteem that High Plateau residents hold for guests is a positive and noble trait. It’s part of what attracts Bessian to honeymoon in the area with Diana, where they often stay in the homes of strangers who accept them…
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Family and Duty
Kadare’s Broken April centers around two family relationships: Gjorg’s relationship with his father and the marriage between Bessian and Diana. In each case, the relationship imposes a sense of duty onto the characters, but the characters sometimes struggle to fulfill the duties that they feel obligated to perform. Gjorg has little personal desire to avenge the death of his brother, Mehill, whose bloody shirt still hangs by the family home, but he…
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