Konrad and Alexandra (pdf) - Rolf Gross

In the evening, alone with Dahl and Vladimir over a glass of wine, Konrad brought up
the subject of the Sufi and their dances. Vladimir listened intently. Dahl referring to the
discussion on the Sufiya in Munich and Bredow’s excitement asked whether it would it be
possible to attend such a dance as an outsider.
It had not been difficult at all to get Dahl interested in this adventure! Konrad smiled. "I
have been invited to a sema, and I think I could take you and Vladimir along. Let me talk to
Henri and the Sheikh, a woman named Persephone, as you may recall. But I should warn you,"
Konrad laughed, "a sema is considerable more mystical than a Georgian baptism."
"What happened in Shavnabada?" asked Alexandra full of curiosity on the evening after
the sema. Her parents had gone to the theater with Niko and Claudia and they were enjoying a
glass of wine with the Dahls and Vladimir. Konrad made a polite gesture to let Dahl give the
report.
"It was an unforgettable experience. I am afraid I will need some time before I will be
able to comprehend what I saw. At this moment I am trying to understand the psychological
aspects of this dance which seems to have a powerful effect on the participants."
Dahl glanced uncertainly at Alexandra. "But of course, the biggest surprise was to find
your Frau Mutter acting as the dance master. When you told us in Munich the stories of
Persephone, Henri the goldsmith, and your mother’s Easter play, I considered them versions of
a Georgian Thousand and One Nights. It is confusing to find you, Konrad and now your mother
involved in these stories."
He laughed briefly. "These experiences are beginning to effect my sense of reality. You
are all perfectly real people, who are acting according to perfectly normal, universal principles,
drive cars, enjoy nature, discuss literature and art. You, Alexandra, have an exceptionally
sharp mind complimented by a great intuitive sensitivity, and yet I cannot rid myself of the
feeling that the society you live in is unreal—at least to my understanding. Why? It cannot be
that the Georgians are fundamentally different from people in the West."
Alexandra guessed what Dahl was driving at, but knew it would be difficult to explain the
female secrets of Georgia to him.
"I owe you a description of the manifestations of ‘matriarchy’ in Georgia, and of the role
of the woman in the our society."
Dahl inclined his head in her direction. "Alexandra this would be very kind of you. I
asked your father for an explanation of your strange allusions, but he evaded my question. I do
suspect that this may be part of the mystery of Georgia which I fail to grasp."
Alexandra smiled at him. "The nature of the subject makes it impossible to describe it in
psychological terms, but I could try to use my own experience and the Greek myths to give you
an idea."
Dahl nodded. She gave him a beguiling smile. "You have to understand, we don’t talk
about this women’s knowledge. That is one reason why men—who have to talk and to create
myths and religions to explain the world—have such limited understanding of what the woman
knows. The secrets of women are handed down from mother to daughter. They are ways of
dealing with the world, with death, love, and childbirth, and with the ignorance of men. And
even between mother and daughter these things are not discussed in words. They are learned
by doing. They constitute the ultimate, esoteric knowledge."
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