Agata

About a book

DENISA

FULMEKOVÁ

Agatha

Original title: Agáta

Genre: novel

Slovak edition: Slovart

Foreign editions: KSIĄŻKOWE KLIMATY - 2022 (Polish)

CONTENT

You will not leave the witch alive. Denisa Fulmeková, an author fond of historical themes, this time reconstructs the story of women from the early modern era. Women, one of whom reaches the border with the power of words and accusations.

The year is 1602, and in a small town near what was then Prešpork (Pressburg), now known as Podunajské Biskupice, then Pyspeky, lives a young woman who irritates many with her unconventional marriage. Moreover, she is the daughter of a mother who left her husband and children for a lover, which brought great shame to the whole family. And there is one more thing: even though people practice herbalism and folk magic quite commonly, it is Agatha whose name reaches the ears of a person who wants to shine in front of the authorities with a successful witch hunt. Denisa Fulmeková reached for the story of the first burned witch in Prešpork. Although it took place in the early modern age, its power and relevance have not been weakened even by the centuries that separate it from the present.

REVIEWS

“When reconstructing the story of the first burned witch in Prešpork (Pressburg), the author mainly relied on the work of Professor Richard Horna, but it is not a historically faithful fiction. Good thing she doesn't claim it. Thus, the "psychological" line of narration stands out more in the space of the narration. What only human nature can reveal, which in its essence has not changed even until the beginning of the 21st century.

The author convinced me of her storytelling talent in the work Lily of the Valley. And although Agatha's prose does not overshadow it, I found many reasons to reach for it. I will not focus on the plot it can be easily looked up. The annotation significantly determined the way of reception and point of view for me. In what sense can this story be relevant even today? And is it even possible?

I found it there, I just wanted the same thing. If I were to abstract the most important motive, I would say that the author reconstructs what was said among people long ago and, above all, how the nature of man completed it. I am fascinated by expanding the context with characters to monstrous dimensions, creating an overall picture of a person based on conjectures, external features, coloring reality. The heroes of the work don't do it out of hatred, they improve their own image with this trashy fiction. A pattern of behavior that is still with us. The truth bends according to the light in which a person wants to show himself, how he wants to be perceived. The characters look and think through a peephole, a small opening through which only what they want to see and what they are willing to believe can penetrate.

Fulmeková revolves around three women - Agatha and sisters Zuza and Zofia. The first is naive, the sisters are cunning - their sense of happiness depends on whether they manage to outwit someone. The other characters help them in this, knowingly and unknowingly. Feints lead Agatha to the border of hell.

A cultured, rather leisurely pace of narration winds through the entire work. The author skillfully managed to structure a world in which it was not easy to live. Oral tradition was extremely strong in 1602, when the story takes place. Everything depends on her. People gathered in the forecourts, talked. The word was proof. Especially for the church. When Agatha is being tortured, we learn of the accusations, which we could not guess from the text or from the hints. That blind dogmatic faith is terrifying.

The rural color is brought to life by a layer of words or entire expressions that deepen the space and diversify the reading experience. Some do not belong to this period, for example Hviezdoslav šerudit sa (to hang around), others return us precisely to the time of the fight with witches (felčiar, fiškus, monarchia, zápražie, úplata). Together they create a mature, complete work, although some characters deserve to be known more closely by the reader. For example, executioner Peter Henker or Agatha's husband Gabriel Borlobáš. The author does not explain where and why Gabriel disappeared or how the executioner copes with his loneliness. The conceit of human nature, which I write about in the review, has a negative character. By leaving some motifs open, or sketched out or shrouded in mystery, the novelist invites further ideas, but creative ones."

Beata Beláková, Knižná revue

EXTRACT

The first storm came two Sundays before St. George's Day. In the early evening, black clouds gathered over the Pyspeks and the wind picked up, so everyone rushed to safety, closing doors and shutters. Agatha was caught by the first cold drops in the garden, where she was just planting quack plants. She took as smartly as she could and ran inside. Outside, within a short time, a wild storm broke out. Agatha lit the white wheat candles, put bread in the bow and retreated in prayer to the bench. When the cat snuggled up to her, she took it on her lap and caressed its soft, warm fur absentmindedly. The storm lasted a long time, and in the meantime, it got quite dark outside. It wasn't until the cat flopped down on the ground and went to her bowl that Agatha realized that the thunder was gradually receding, although the violent blows of the rain on the wooden shingle roof did not stop yet. The dying storm filled her with a strange anxiety, so she decided to go to sleep. She was about to blow out the candles when there was a distinct knock on the door. Agatha grew taller. Who can conquer her like this in the evening? She hesitated whether to open the latch, but here, in addition to knocking again, a pleading female voice was heard: "Agatha! Are you there? It's me!" Agatha didn't recognize the voice at first, but she was relieved to see a woman behind the door. When she opened the low door to her house, she saw a wet and emaciated Anna Varga on the doorstep.