Short stories
The Leader
Вођа
Radoje Domanović · 1901
Opening lines
— Браћо и другови, саслушао сам све говоре, па вас молим да и ви мене чујете.
Brothers and comrades, I have listened to all the speeches, and I ask you to hear me too.
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from sr.wikisource.org
Synopsis
In a barren land, people decide to leave everything behind to look for a better country, but agree on nothing and trust none of their own to lead them. They choose a silent stranger who arrived in the village the day before. He accepts without a word, and his silence passes in their eyes for the mark of rare wisdom. They set out behind him, and the ground grows harder and harder.
Context
The story was published in Belgrade in 1901, and the same year in book form with two other satires by the author. It targeted Nikola Pašić, leader of the Radical Party, and the crowds' attachment to him: like the guide of the story, Pašić knew how to stay silent, he was seen at meetings without being heard much, and the author gave the character even his long beard. The guide is unaware of his own inadequacy and remains indifferent to what those who follow him suffer.
Who it is for
A short narrative, constantly ironic. The allegory can be read without a key, but its target is easier to see when one knows who was then leading the Serbian Radical Party.
Prizes and reception
The most famous of its author's allegorical satires, since translated into English and French.