το δουλάκι του δεύτερου [= ορόφου]

[Theseus]

I love what I can understand of this short story but am just making a query about a sentence in the first paragraph:

Μπιτ ξεμυαλισμένο είναι, π’ ανάθεμά το, αυτό το δουλάκι του δεύτερου!
Does it mean "she is totally unbalanced, damn it, this slave to each second that passes" [does this refer to time?]

 

[Neikos]

Hello, Theseus. It doesn't refer to time, "του δεύτερου" means "of the second floor".

 

[SBE]

Also δουλάκι is a maid, not necessarily a slave. People used to call like that young girls (sometimes as young as eight) who worked as servants.

 

[Neikos]

And here's a sad story about a real "δουλάκι".

http://www.efsyn.gr/arthro/i-sklava-tis-oikogeneias-moy-i-istoria-tis-lola

 

[AoratiMelani]

"This maid of the second floor is so flippant, damn her!"

(in the phrase "π' ανάθεμά το" the pronoun "το" is neutral because it refers to "δουλάκι")

Δούλα / δουλάκι: 1. (μειωτ., παρωχ.) υπηρέτρια. / YΠΟKΟΡ στη σημ. 1, δούλα νεαρής ηλικίας

Ξεμυαλίζω: 2. (μππ.) για κπ. που συμπεριφέρεται επιπόλαια και ανόητα, που έχει χάσει τα μυαλά του.
.

 

[Earion]

Also π’ ανάθεμά το is now understood and written in one word: πανάθεμά το.
Πανάθεμά με/σε/τον/την/το/τους/τις/τα.


Όταν —νεαρός— ο Καζαντζάκης επισκέφτηκε το Άγιον Όρος, ρώτησε ένα γέ­ρον­τα: «Πάτερ, γιατί, στο τέλος, να μη σωθεί ... και ο διάβολος;»

Και ο γέροντας Μα­κάριος —κατά την περιγραφή του Καζαντζάκη— του α­πάν­τησε:

— Πρόσεξε νεαρέ, γιατί το «εγώ» θα σε φάει. Ο Εωσφόρος, που εσύ υπερα­σπίζεσαι και θέλεις να τον σώσεις, ξέρεις πότε γκρεμίστηκε στην Κόλαση; Όταν στρά­φηκε στον Θεό και Του είπε: «Εγώ»! Ναι, ναι, άκου και βάλ’ το καλά στο νου σου. Ένα μονάχα πράμα κο­λά­ζε­ται στην Κόλαση: το «εγώ». Το «εγώ», πανάθεμά το!

Και τότε εγώ (συνεχίζει ο Καζαντζάκης) τίναξα το κεφάλι πει­σμωμένος και του αντιμίλησα:

— Μη το κα­κο­λογάς, πά­τερ Μακάριε, το «εγώ». Με το «εγώ» αυτό ξεχώρισε ο άνθρωπος από το ζώο.

— Όχι, νεαρέ μου. Με το «εγώ» αυτό, χωρίστηκε ο άνθρωπος από τον Θεό, διόρ­θω­σε ο πατήρ Μα­κά­ριος.

Και ο Καζαντζάκης καταλήγει ομολογώντας: «Έφυγα λέγοντας με το μυαλό μου: “Έχεις καιρό να βρεις τον Θεό!” Εξάλλου μέσα μου δεν είχε ξεθωριάσει η λάμψη ... του Εωσφόρου!...».

(Αφιέρωμα στο Άγιον Όρος, περιοδικό Νέα Εστία, 1963).

 

[daeman]

And here's a sad story about a real "δουλάκι".

http://www.efsyn.gr/arthro/i-sklava-tis-oikogeneias-moy-i-istoria-tis-lola

Here's that story in full from this month's issue of The Atlantic: My Family’s Slave: A story of Slavery in Modern America
and the original article in May: The Enslaved Woman They Called Lola. Heartbreaking.


Also, the story of 14-year-old Σπυριδούλα Ράπτη which shocked Greece in the '50s: http://eglima.blogspot.gr/2007/02/i.html

Her name was borrowed by one of the best Greek rock groups ever, Σπυριδούλα, a founding member of which was our own Costas.

---

Πωλείται συνείδηση - Σπυριδούλα

Πωλείται κορμί από πρώτο χέρι
χωρίς μυαλό, εργασία προσφέρει
είναι ανακυκλώσιμο και οικολογικό
δεν έχει αντιρρήσεις κι έχει μητρώο λευκό

 

[Palavra]

Theseus, also note that today this word is not only dated but extremely derogatory.

 

[SBE]

And here's a sad story about a real "δουλάκι".

We have our own share of horror stories involving underage servants in Greece.

Edit: writing before reading, as always Daeman got there first.

 

[SBE]

But apart from the horror stories mentioned above, I think most older people in Greece would know of some village girl that was sent to work for a family in the city.
We have an old family friend from the US. She and her numerous sisters and brothers were sent to work as servants for families from a very young age. She was a maid from the age of nine and when she was 17 the family she worked for gave her a small dowry (instead of a salary, I suppose) and arranged for her to marry a Greek immigrant (προξενειό από φωτογραφία). It turned out her husband was not as expected and she ended up in hospital following domestic violence which included several depraved acts that my grandparents hinted at and never discussed. With the help of the local Greek community, which consisted of three families and a handful of single men, they arranged for her to get a divorce, return to Greece and attend a prestigious nanny school, which helped her find work as a high-end nanny for the next 10-15 years. She worked for the people you see on magazine covers and gossip columns and made some good money because apparently her skills were scarce. She remarried when she was in her 40s and now lives in an island.
One of her sisters, who also worked as a maid for a couple from age 10, inherited the couple's flat and contents in Kolonaki. As she had no other income, she was selling off the family silver and also acting as agent for people in the neighbourhood who wanted to sell valuables discreetly and there were plenty of them at some point (gambling debts, mainly). I have no idea what she does now but she must be elderly.

 

[Neikos]

@SBE: Another sad story, luckily with a better ending this time.
Were there nanny schools in Greece? I guess you mean that she went to a nanny school in the US and then returned to Greece. I recently heard that a Lifelong Learning Centre in Athens provides Nanny's Training, with "British certification" as they say. Maybe we'll have another Κατινάκι in our contemporary literature, except this time she'll be called Νεφέλη, Αλκμήνη, Αμαρυλλίς etc.

 

[SBE]

Nanny school= σχολή βρεφοκόμων, she was involved with children from birth to about two years old. Not a bad job at all, as she used to get a very good salary, free food and board, travel with the family, usually in their chalets and villas in Switzerland, lots of τυχερά, lots of designer clothes that the wealthy ladies wore only once etc. And with time the servant from a poor village picked up the mannerisms and habits of the wealthy people she worked for and on her days off she was like any young woman with a good job.

 

[daeman]

... I recently heard that a Lifelong Learning Centre in Athens provides Nanny's Training, with "British certification" as they say. ...

For a much less sugary more vinegary version, Scary Poppins:

 

[Theseus]

There is so much for me to take in here but my thread has clearly struck a chord with fellow lexilogists. I was fascinated by Earion's article on Kazantzakis and horrified by the story of Spiradoula Rapti; at least it had a "happy" ending. In the U.K. house slaves and under-age sex slaves are coming to light. Also SBE's informative narratives were illuminating. Thanks to Palavra for her information about the insulting overtones of the word δουλάκι.The story of ΤΟ ΚΑΤΙΝΑΚΙ was horrifying enough, even though her optimism is uplifting. But by the real life stories it seems to pale into insignificance. Thanks go to 'Man for the information about our Kostas and for the quirky angle his submissions nearly always seem to take. Thanks to you all!:)

 

[Neikos]

Daeman, μ' έκανες ν' ακούσω το σάουντρακ της Mary Poppins και, πλάκα πλάκα, έχει φοβερά κομμάτια.

Εδώ είναι ένας ωραίος αυτοσχεδιασμός πάνω στο Feed the birds από έναν Γάλλο πιανίστα.

 

[SBE]

Theseus, the film Το προξενιό της Άννας (Anna's engagement) is a bittersweet story about a maid whose bosses allow her to go on a date with an electrician who asked for permission to date her. During the date Anna appears to be enjoying herself for the first time in her life. While the two are out the family decide that they cannot afford to lose her because she is cheap and hardworking and what if a future husband demands they pay her what they owe her? so they put an end to the romance by bringing Anna's mother from the village to guilt trip her into not giving up work.
Watch it if you ever find it. There isn't much dialogue so it shouldn't be hard.

 

[daeman]

Theseus, the film Το προξενιό της Άννας (Anna's engagement) ...

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, both. I'll watch it. It looks well worth while watching. :)