'Qabel ingħalaq il-bieb'

Author: Alfred Massa

Publisher: Horizons / 2024

Pages: 186

Every Sunday night, after we arrived home from a performance put on by a local theatre, my father would go up to the attic and prepare the laundry for Monday morning. Meanwhile, downstairs, my mother warmed up the leftovers from Sunday lunch. He completed this chore because heavy laundry tubs were secured to the wall with a wide hook, and it's also possible that my mother disliked climbing two or more flights of stairs.

In addition to adding water to the washing machine, which had two rubber rollers on top to squeeze out the water, he would also cut the soap in preparation for Monday, so that my mother could begin washing right away. Of course, if the weather was terrible, things could get problematic.

Maltese families adopted this rite in large numbers throughout the 1960s and early mid-70s. Mondays were set out for clothes' washing and hanging, as I recall my aunt doing the same thing. Later in the afternoon, as soon as I got home from school, I could smell the aroma of freshly laundered clothing and my mother meticulously pressing the wrinkles out of it.

All this has now been brought to an end; all of that suffering has been compensated for by modern washing machines, which not only clean and dry the clothes but also prepare it for wearing or storage in the appropriate place. All of your issues can be solved by technology, and if you don't own the latest model, people will think you're an idiot and will push you to purchase a better one.

Another custom was that, whether we liked it or not, every Saturday afternoon, after taking a bath, we would go to Church for confession!

According to Massa, the door in this book represents the division of the past from the present. But do we ever consider how many mysteries might lie behind a house's closed door as we pass by it?

One day, as he walks his children through the neighbourhood where he was born, raised and spent many years, Maurice passes by the house where he used to live. The questions that Kevin and Helga ask him transport him back to that time, when he was a young man passing through that door.

Even though the house with the closed door appears to be uninhabited now, the stories that have occurred there are still alive: tales of conflict, kindness, love, sadness, despair and fury. Tales that, in the end, one could claim occur in every family.

Massa's work mostly centres around a Maltese family living in 1960s Malta, when institutions remained traditional and each family member held a certain position. As a result, for instance, the mother takes care of the house, cooking and the children while the father works outside the home to earn a living for his family. At that time, the parish priest served as the village's gatekeeper and focal point.

Boissevain argues, that "the parish priest is the official head of the village seen as parish. He is the chief informal leader of the village seen as a secular community... Nonetheless, as the official representative of the Church he immediately stepped into an existing role of great importance in the community. He has authority in all religious matters affecting his parishioners. He ministers to their spiritual and often to their personal needs... Besides dependence on the parish priest for religious matters, which are vitally important to them, many have traditionally looked at him for help in secular fields. (Boissevain, A Village in Malta, p.63)

In fact, I believe that a young person of the 21st century will find it difficult to relate to this book. Nevertheless, despite this still image, one could already perceive changes in family roles at that period of time. This is attributable to the evolution of the family not only in Malta, but across the civilized globe. For this reason, while familial values such as compassion and respect for others, as well as the preservation of societal order, persist, it is no longer a static unit, but a dynamic one.

For instance, women beginning to drive, a task that was formerly reserved for men, or young women taking care of the family's house key, which was once again owned by the head of the household (page 56).

The sociological concept adopted by Massa is undoubtedly out of date for the modern world. It is a model based on the writings of American sociologist Talcott Parsons (1902-1979), who was most recognised for his structural functionalism and social action theory. Parsons was influenced by the writings of Vilfred Pareto and Emile Durkheim.

Secularism and materialism in today's world, where money continues to play an increasingly significant role, have undermined this model. Churches have become empty, religious callings have vanished and family responsibilities have shifted.

The reader should appreciate reading this book even if it recounts the exploits of a family who lived in Malta in the mid-20th century. The usage of well-chosen phrases, idioms and Maltese proverbs in the text is fluid. The deft utilisation of the characters demonstrates Massa's talent as a novelist.