The Image of Garibaldi as a Symbol of Liberty in Works by Ilia Chavchavadze and Alexandre Orbeliani

Abstract

The article examines Ilia Chavchavadze’s and Alexandre Orbeliani’s attitudes toward the national hero of Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi. These two writers utilized Garibaldi as a symbol of the struggle for Georgian political aspirations and thus became a literary icon in Georgia.

Ilia Chavchavadze’s untitled poem doesn’t indicate a dedication. Still, there is evidence confirming that it was dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi while Alexander Orbeliani’s open-letter contains a dedication, “ a word for  Italy” which also does not mention Giuseppe, but his commander.

Thus, according to the two works examined in this paper, we are not talking about personal dedication to Giuseppe Garibaldi, but about the man as the embodiment of an idea.