Carmen del Puerto Varela (Madrid, 1961) holds a Doctorate in Information Sciences and is a journalist specializing in science and technology. Her desire to share knowledge has also led her down the path of literary creation. In this interview, she discusses her most recent novel, ‘Memories of a Hetaira’, which she presented in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
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Last week you described the launch of Memories of a Hetaira in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria as a «synaesthetic presentation», what does such an event entail?
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I often say that my novels evoke fantastic synaesthesias in me, where the senses are intertwined: hearing colours, seeing sounds, tasting words… This happens with movie soundtracks, like in the iconic shower scene in Psycho. My stories also have their own soundtrack, and I would like my readers to listen to the music I refer to, read the books I mention, watch the movies I cite, and admire the paintings I describe. I started doing synaesthetic, audiovisual presentations with my novel The Wandering Finn. The Illicit Life of Jan Salakari. And once again, it was a synaesthetic presentation that I gave of Memories of a Hetaira at the Agapea bookstore in Las Palmas alongside the journalist and lawyer Laureano Cabrera. For example, to illustrate the music as content, I screened a video on how a barbiton, an instrument played by one of my characters, sounded. And I played several more musical pieces that had accompanied me in the creative process. I also showcased many works of art linked to the stories I narrate. I believe that these types of presentations can, on one hand, encourage reading, and on the other, facilitate its understanding. People often tell me they are like another book.
Two protagonists who share the names Helena and Elena, but who are very distant in time. Tell us about the first one: Helena of Corinth.
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As I mention in the prologue, in addition to their name and gender, these women share vital attitudes, emotions, and feelings. They embody the maxim attributed to Marguerite Yourcenar: «Beyond pain and joy, the dignity of being», individual freedom in the face of the power that enslaves us. Helena with an H is a renowned hetaira from Corinth or ancient Ephira, the beautiful city between two seas that, according to Greek mythology, was founded by the villainous Sisyphus, and the great Greek polis famous for the narrow strip of land – the isthmus – that connected continental Hellas with the Peloponnese. Helena, a fictional character, has been forced from a young age to practice prostitution, a profession that in ancient Greece was handed down from mothers to daughters. But she will betray her hetaira oath by falling in love with an astronomer. Her story takes place in the 4th century BC.
Hetairas of that time received a very comprehensive education, is that correct?
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Yes, they had access to culture, first through their education and then by having the privilege of attending Greek symposia or banquets, where the most cultured men of the time would gather. They also managed their own financial affairs, were influential, freely roamed the streets, and could attend plays, ceremonies, and speeches. Initially, they were not mere objects of pleasure, but rather represented an external sign of wealth, and therefore accompanied men of public notoriety, which allowed them to travel. They enjoyed the best social position that women could aspire to. The Greeks never dedicated temples to wives, only to prostitutes.
Travelling to the present day, specifically to Tenerife, we have Elena Sanmarino, a young researcher. What is her role?
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The second story unfolds specifically in La Laguna, separate from other settings, and at the beginning of the 21st century. Elena Sanmarino Chinea, the Elena without an H, is a doctoral student from La Laguna who is researching the role of women like Helena with an H in the symposia and is tempted by her best friend to enter into a lucrative high-end prostitution business. She also falls in love with an astronomer.
To differentiate between both stories, which intertwine, you use different typography, but how do you connect both times and narratives literarily?
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I alternate differentiated typography so that they can be read independently if desired. Although both stories are connected and complement each other when read linearly, I offer readers that other reading order, as Julio Cortázar did in his Hopscotch, because the two plots are autonomous. The literary styles of each are also different. The language of the Greek story is more rhetorical, with more metaphors, while the contemporary one is formal and academic. My novel is experimental in several ways: besides two languages, I juggle a large volume of very diverse information, and perhaps that is why it may seem a bit complex.
From the streets of ancient Greece to contemporary Tenerife, the documentation process must have been complex.
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Yes, very complex and lengthy. The genesis of “Memoirs of a Courtesan” was an academic project that I started in 2002 at the University within the subject “Methods, Techniques and Auxiliary Sciences for the Study of Antiquity”. I chose the theme of eroticism and sexuality in the ancient world, specifically in the context of classical Greece. I focused on the presence of courtesans in the symposia. Since I became interested in these Greek luxury prostitutes, I conceived of portraying them in a novel. Moreover, various events over all these years, including my professional obligations, the production of other books, and attending to my family, forced me to abandon this literary project on many occasions. Certainly, turning an academic work into a work of fiction has been quite a challenge, combining apparently distant settings in space and time, while also respecting chronologies and the necessary historical accuracy.
What attracts you to ancient Greece?
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Absolutely everything. History with a capital ‘H’ is one of my great passions. I have also had magnificent professors at the University of La Laguna. Although I am interested in any historical period of humanity, Ancient History has always fascinated me. It could be said that I have been a Greek mythology geek since I was a child. And in this book, myths abound.
I read that this is a historical and feminist novel, what other topics does it address?
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In a way, it is also an erotic novel that talks about sexual uninhibition, rape, and certain risky sadomasochistic practices like bondage. At the same time, it reflects on feelings of love, betrayal, and treachery. “Memoirs of a Courtesan” contains philosophical ideas and religious questions, as well as abundant descriptions of iconographic art. Tangentially, other topics appear, from social and familial intolerance towards homosexuality to the consequences of alcohol and drug consumption. Of course, there is Astronomy: it couldn’t be missing considering I worked for almost forty years as a science journalist at the Institute of Astrophysics in Canarias. But, especially, it addresses the debate on prostitution, which is always relevant.
You have done several presentations of this novel in Tenerife and Madrid. After the one in Las Palmas, at Agapea, do you have any others planned?
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Yes, I will continue with these synesthetic presentations. On Thursday, 4th of July, I will do one at the Museum of History and Anthropology of the Tenerife Council. The writer and multidisciplinary artist Mayte Henríquez will accompany me. I will also do one in La Palma and, of course, wherever I am requested to.
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After “Memoirs of a Courtesan,” do you have any other literary projects?
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Yes, just out of the press, published by Círculo Rojo, is “These Children DO NOT Exist,” a volume of short stories that I have written based on images created by my daughter Laura using Artificial Intelligence software. I am also working on a new poetic anthology about artworks, a continuation of the previous two: “Ultramarine Blue” and “Yellow Suns,” by Ediciones El Drago, and I am preparing a collection of tales about anxiety. Additionally, I would like to create a theatrical adaptation of a novel by Irène Némirovsky. As a journalist, I enjoy researching and sharing what I discover or learn. And with literature, which follows a similar construction process in all its forms, I not only feel culturally and personally enriched. Writing is undoubtedly therapy.
