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`Ravished Armenia': A Profile of Aurora Mardiganian
http://asbarez.com/107362/%E2%80%98ravished-armenia%E2%80%99-a-profile-of-aurora-mardiganian/
Friday, December 28th, 2012 | Posted by Contributor
Aurora Mardiganian
BY ZOHRAB KUDUSHIAN
Aurora Mardiganian was a wonderful person and a family friend. She was
a closer friend of my aunt Serarpi. Aunt Serarpi was like a second
mother to me, and I would often pass through my aunt's apartment on my
way into the street, I would stop to see my aunt to say hello. There,
I might find Lady Aurora and my aunt sitting, and taking a demitasse
together. I was a young man, and immediately recognized the Lady as a
very attractive woman who seemed to dress in a younger fashion than
her age would reflect. Later on, I would make friends with her son;
his name, as I remember it, was not Martin, as was reported in Anthony
Slice's edited text, but Cidal.
Cidal and I began attending Peter and Paul Episcopal Church together,
on Westchester Avenue, just south of, but near Westchester Square, in
the Bronx. After services, Cidal and I would climb into the bell
tower, and watch the bell ringer ring the bells by moving a row of
levers down one at a time, playing religious songs of inspiration.
Church bells, don't very much ring much anymore, in fact, I haven't
heard any in years. I don't believe Cidal married an Armenian girl. I
believe he married a Pilipino girl; though, I'm not sure. I also
remember hearing that Lady Mardiganian's husband may have been a
Bolshevik, which would have set my father Manoog off, but he loved
Armenians, and though he was committed to the Dashnak Party, our home
was open to any Armenian who would set aside his politics for a visit.
However, I don't believe he ever visited our home.
Mardiganian was a very unique woman, I was told at the time; she did
not answer her door without positive identification of the visitor,
even if her visitor was well known to her. Aunt Serarpi had problems
when she would decide to visit with her at her apartment. Lady Aurora
was afraid of strange people. She felt she was being stalked for some
reason. After the experiences of her life's history, she seemed overly
afraid for her security. I was told that every item in her house was
tagged with identifying remarks, as if the items were cataloged for
posterity. I was sure she must have been left with an exceptionally
traumatic past, as many Armenians were. I knew about the movie she had
starred in titled: Ravished Armenia. I knew about her relationship
with, `The League of Nations;' however, I knew nothing of the details,
nor did I realize the great part she had played in exposing the
history of that violent era as an eyewitness. Her copy of the book was
loaned to my aunt, and it was passed around the family to read. I
couldn't get beyond the forth page. It was very difficult to read
through my tears. I've read many books on the subject of Armenian
history of that tragic time; I've toughened up since, and have read
her memoirs recently. She had been threatened for her testimony at the
League of Nations, and had withdrawn from being a public figure in the
Armenian community for years. She seemed always to be looking over her
shoulder.
The accounts of her early life during the genocide were horrific. What
I learned about this wonderful lady, after reading her life's story,
was that it filled in many of the gaps in my understanding of her
importance. I found that Aurora Mardiganian was a young Armenian woman
who personally witnessed many of those killed in the tragedy of 1915,
which included her father, and other members of her own family. It was
a horror story like so many others. She came to the United States in
an attempt to find the brother who may, or may not, have also
survived. She had made it to Ellis Island in New York City where she
met an Armenian couple, who attempted to help her in her search. The
couple placed ad's in newspapers, and even brought her story to
attention of filmmakers in Hollywood. The Armenian story of genocide
was being played up heavily in the newspapers of the time, and the
studios were quick in recognizing the commercial potential of our
Lady's story, which put forward her testimonial of firsthand accounts.
A film was made about her experiences in 1918, with Lady Aurora
herself actually playing a large role in the film. The film was
released under the title, Auction of Souls, and Aurora became an
immediate success - she was now a movie star. The film was shown
commercially for the public, as well as privately throughout the
social classes in the big cities of the U.S., and found monetary
support for Armenian Relief. She was always being called on to appear
at functions. Donors to Armenian Relief wanted to meet her personally.
Aurora was not accustomed to her newfound celebrity. She was not
fluent in the English language, and felt out of place. The pressures
she found herself under so soon after losing her family only a few
years earlier, was too much for her to cope with. It is said that
Aurora threatened suicide, and deserted the promotional tour of her
filmed memoirs. The studio deep into the advancement of the story,
found several Aurora doubles to take her place on those tour. In the
absence of eyewitness evidence, the doubles drew heavily on
information supported by the text from the 1918 book that the movie
was based on. To this day, only ten minutes of the original film has
been found, with the entire film itself, lost. And there she was,
sitting in my aunt Serarpi's living room, sipping her Armenian coffee,
while having a sweet delight my aunt had made. Who knew?
Oh, there were rumors that she was some sort of Armenian activist, but
then again, so was my father. Maybe he had a history, too? Who knows!
I certainly didn't. She he testified before the newly formed, League
of Nations, and for her testimony there, it may have made her a person
target for assassination, hence her reluctance to offer herself
publicly.
You must read the book! Again, it is titled: Ravished Armenia,
compiled and edited by Anthony Slide (Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham,
Md., & London, 1997, 217 pp.).
A beautiful woman, and a genuine Armenian Heroine; Aurora!
http://asbarez.com/107362/%E2%80%98ravished-armenia%E2%80%99-a-profile-of-aurora-mardiganian/
Friday, December 28th, 2012 | Posted by Contributor
Aurora Mardiganian
BY ZOHRAB KUDUSHIAN
Aurora Mardiganian was a wonderful person and a family friend. She was
a closer friend of my aunt Serarpi. Aunt Serarpi was like a second
mother to me, and I would often pass through my aunt's apartment on my
way into the street, I would stop to see my aunt to say hello. There,
I might find Lady Aurora and my aunt sitting, and taking a demitasse
together. I was a young man, and immediately recognized the Lady as a
very attractive woman who seemed to dress in a younger fashion than
her age would reflect. Later on, I would make friends with her son;
his name, as I remember it, was not Martin, as was reported in Anthony
Slice's edited text, but Cidal.
Cidal and I began attending Peter and Paul Episcopal Church together,
on Westchester Avenue, just south of, but near Westchester Square, in
the Bronx. After services, Cidal and I would climb into the bell
tower, and watch the bell ringer ring the bells by moving a row of
levers down one at a time, playing religious songs of inspiration.
Church bells, don't very much ring much anymore, in fact, I haven't
heard any in years. I don't believe Cidal married an Armenian girl. I
believe he married a Pilipino girl; though, I'm not sure. I also
remember hearing that Lady Mardiganian's husband may have been a
Bolshevik, which would have set my father Manoog off, but he loved
Armenians, and though he was committed to the Dashnak Party, our home
was open to any Armenian who would set aside his politics for a visit.
However, I don't believe he ever visited our home.
Mardiganian was a very unique woman, I was told at the time; she did
not answer her door without positive identification of the visitor,
even if her visitor was well known to her. Aunt Serarpi had problems
when she would decide to visit with her at her apartment. Lady Aurora
was afraid of strange people. She felt she was being stalked for some
reason. After the experiences of her life's history, she seemed overly
afraid for her security. I was told that every item in her house was
tagged with identifying remarks, as if the items were cataloged for
posterity. I was sure she must have been left with an exceptionally
traumatic past, as many Armenians were. I knew about the movie she had
starred in titled: Ravished Armenia. I knew about her relationship
with, `The League of Nations;' however, I knew nothing of the details,
nor did I realize the great part she had played in exposing the
history of that violent era as an eyewitness. Her copy of the book was
loaned to my aunt, and it was passed around the family to read. I
couldn't get beyond the forth page. It was very difficult to read
through my tears. I've read many books on the subject of Armenian
history of that tragic time; I've toughened up since, and have read
her memoirs recently. She had been threatened for her testimony at the
League of Nations, and had withdrawn from being a public figure in the
Armenian community for years. She seemed always to be looking over her
shoulder.
The accounts of her early life during the genocide were horrific. What
I learned about this wonderful lady, after reading her life's story,
was that it filled in many of the gaps in my understanding of her
importance. I found that Aurora Mardiganian was a young Armenian woman
who personally witnessed many of those killed in the tragedy of 1915,
which included her father, and other members of her own family. It was
a horror story like so many others. She came to the United States in
an attempt to find the brother who may, or may not, have also
survived. She had made it to Ellis Island in New York City where she
met an Armenian couple, who attempted to help her in her search. The
couple placed ad's in newspapers, and even brought her story to
attention of filmmakers in Hollywood. The Armenian story of genocide
was being played up heavily in the newspapers of the time, and the
studios were quick in recognizing the commercial potential of our
Lady's story, which put forward her testimonial of firsthand accounts.
A film was made about her experiences in 1918, with Lady Aurora
herself actually playing a large role in the film. The film was
released under the title, Auction of Souls, and Aurora became an
immediate success - she was now a movie star. The film was shown
commercially for the public, as well as privately throughout the
social classes in the big cities of the U.S., and found monetary
support for Armenian Relief. She was always being called on to appear
at functions. Donors to Armenian Relief wanted to meet her personally.
Aurora was not accustomed to her newfound celebrity. She was not
fluent in the English language, and felt out of place. The pressures
she found herself under so soon after losing her family only a few
years earlier, was too much for her to cope with. It is said that
Aurora threatened suicide, and deserted the promotional tour of her
filmed memoirs. The studio deep into the advancement of the story,
found several Aurora doubles to take her place on those tour. In the
absence of eyewitness evidence, the doubles drew heavily on
information supported by the text from the 1918 book that the movie
was based on. To this day, only ten minutes of the original film has
been found, with the entire film itself, lost. And there she was,
sitting in my aunt Serarpi's living room, sipping her Armenian coffee,
while having a sweet delight my aunt had made. Who knew?
Oh, there were rumors that she was some sort of Armenian activist, but
then again, so was my father. Maybe he had a history, too? Who knows!
I certainly didn't. She he testified before the newly formed, League
of Nations, and for her testimony there, it may have made her a person
target for assassination, hence her reluctance to offer herself
publicly.
You must read the book! Again, it is titled: Ravished Armenia,
compiled and edited by Anthony Slide (Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham,
Md., & London, 1997, 217 pp.).
A beautiful woman, and a genuine Armenian Heroine; Aurora!