The philosophical school of cynicism advocated a simple life, in harmony with nature and away from the trifles and tinsel of civilization, which separate us from the path of happiness. The Dutch Barbara Stok brings us closer to the teachings of this philosophical current through Hipparquia, one of the first female philosophers, demonstrating not only how pertinent and necessary cynical thought is today, but also vindicating a female figure who dared to challenge a status quo that constantly repeated “Because things are like that.”
“The Philosopher, the Dog and the Wedding”, edited by Salamandra Graphic, is a delightful, didactic and uplifting graphic novel. Stok has opted for a simplicity in keeping with that cynical thought, without renouncing the depth that the story of Hipparquia demands. Proof of this is his naïve style, clean and colourful, which conveys with surprising richness the day-to-day life of Athens in the 4th century BC. C. In this sense, the intense research work that Stok has carried out, not only on Hipparquia, but also on the way of life, customs and moral codes of Ancient Greece, has helped the Dutch author to gracefully and coherently fill those gaps about the life of the philosopher, of which very little is actually known and of which, unfortunately, none of the books she wrote have been preserved.
He spoke at the beginning of how appropriate cynical thought is today, not only for advocating a more natural way of life, but also for challenging those social conventions so entrenched that they seem unquestionable. What would happen if we did not conform to the established order of things? If we gave up a superfluous and banal life in favor of a fuller and simpler existence? That’s what the cynics defended: stripping of any property, abandoning luxuries, ignoring an unfair system of social classes that allowed and justified slavery. In this regard, Stok has been extremely intelligent in choosing Hipparquia to talk about cynicism because, in her case, the front flip is double, because she is a woman. In Ancient Athens, women were considered legally inferior beings, even those who belonged to the more affluent classes, such as Hipparchia. Their functions were restricted to the home and the practices associated with their gender. With this graphic novel, Stok manages to recover and value one of the first female references in the history of Philosophy, a field traditionally dominated by male names.
This is the second work by the Dutch author to be published in our country, after “Vincent” (Salamander Graphic, 17). Without a doubt, she is a good sample, together with other names like Aimée de Jongh or Maaike Hartjes, of that comic made by women that revitalizes and enriches the genre in the Netherlands.
