god
Saint Sophia
also: Zsófia, Sophia of Rome
A minor Christian martyred saint whose feast falls on 15 May; associated in Central European folk tradition with hemp-sowing. In The Civilizer, Stroom replaces the national feast of Saint Stephen with this minor agricultural saint, symbolizing the degradation of Hungarian historical identity.
Reading notes
- The Civilizer §22 Sophia
Saint Sophia's feast day is 15 May; hemp-sowing was indeed associated with this day in Central European folk tradition. Hemp (kender) provides the play's darkest joke: paper (for decrees), rope (for executions), and debased banknotes — the three instruments of tyranny — all come from hemp.