ABSTRACT
Ismail Kadare felt a closeness as well as an intellectual and emotional ambivalence towards Enver Hoxha. In 1965 Enver Hoxha quoted Marx's tribute to Prometheus as the 'noblest saint and martyr' in European culture. Prometheus, the rebel and saviour of mankind, remains determined by his relationship to Zeus, king of gods and holder of supreme political power. The aspect of Hoxha as patriot and wartime partisan leader had appealed to the young Kadare. While Kadare can be seen to have fashioned Hoxha into a positive hero of socialism and to have painted a broad epic canvas of the events of 1961, the novel ends on an ambivalent note as the economic, cultural, and social consequences of the break in relations begin to affect everyday life. Kadare revised the manuscript, as required, and submitted it for discussion by the Party and committees.
