“The unfortunate and tragic Fragkoyannou is no longer merely a delirious murderess. With her incredible strength and combative determination against the real culprits, the state authorities that embody, in her eyes, the barbarity of the world as she knows it, she is unwaveringly certain that her actions were for the good of the children and the parents, transforming into a terrible symbol of rebellion.
It is as if the author is telling us: it takes a Fragkoyannou to open our eyes to the repetitive and ongoing social crime against innocent beings that leaves us indifferent, since there are no laws or institutions to punish it? It is, essentially, a precursor to social realism.
A strike of the trident of some enraged worldly Poseidon on the immovable, morbid stagnation. However, such an interpretation does not... They prefer Papadiamantis to be good-natured and otherworldly - and harmless - a worldly monk. And it is certainly not, from this perspective, an exception.” (Manolis Kornilios)
