Veronica Veen, the author of The Maltese Cinderella and the Women’s Storytelling Tradition, is exhibiting a collection of her work based on her book at the Xewkija Windmill in Gozo.
Veen is also a cultural anthropologist and art historian, and the roots of this project lie in her discovery in 1992 of a Gozitan tale, il-Germudija, or the ‘Sooty One’.
In Veen’s words: “It was the end of 1991 when I met the last genuine storyteller of Malta: Marija of Xewkija, as I called her. She was the last one in a family line of storytellers and must have had at least as many stories in her repertoire as her father had published. However, since then about half of the folklore studies happen to be based on his collection.
“She told them from a female point of view. Her dearest story was called il-Germudija by her, the Sooty One, or the Maltese Cinderella. This is for sure a very special variant, also cleverly constructed, and with a very strong main character.”
Completely different from the famous Cinderellas, the heroine is an energetic and self-conscious maid, who is capable, without the usual ‘helping animals’ or a godmother/fairy, to ‘conquer’ the heart of a somewhat timid son of the house, not a king or prince. The story, with its independent and wise heroine, conveys a clear message to women today.
Since there is self-evidently no pictorial tradition yet of the Gozitan il-Germudija, the exhibition will focus on her place in the context of her famous classical sisters.
Veen will be present at the venue on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons during the length of the exhibition. Her book will be on offer and signed by herself.
Other activities to be organised include a workshop inviting visitors to write their own fairy tale.
The exhibition will be open from December 19 to January 26.
Read about a previous exhibition by Veen: ‘Fairy tale exhibition unveils oral traditions’.
