Abstract
The nineteenth century was the period of nation building in East-Central Europe. Historical novels played a role in the process, especially in encouraging the development of national identity by looking for the national essence in the past, or rather creating ideas about a national essence in the medium of history. This paper analyses several late-nineteenth-century historical novels from the region (by Alois Jirásek, Henryk Sienkiewicz, Ferenc Herczeg, and Géza Gárdonyi) to show the ways fictitious traits of a supposedly reliable historical background served contemporary political and ideological needs. These traits, which can also be described as anachronisms or author’s mistakes, both contribute to characterising national ancestors as us and also historical enemies as the other.
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Notes
Hutcheon (1989), 58–88.
Cf. Bisztray (2002).
Lukács (1963), 61ff.
Another consequence of the widely accepted definition of Lukács may be that the history of the genre is seldom traced back to times previous to the 1814 publication of Waverley.
Belge (2009), 19.
Szalatnai (1954), ix. He also finds it a telling feature that Jirásek always calls Sigismund of Luxembourg a king, and never an emperor, which makes him a Hungarian ruler in the narrative. However, in 1419 Sigismund became the king of Bohemia, therefore it is his legitimate title which allows him to take any action in that area. In addition, he took the title of emperor in 1433, previously he was the king of the Holy Roman Empire.
Sexual promiscuity has been an evergreen accusation against heretic groups throughout western religious history.
Azja's main intention is to get Wołodyjowski's wife Baśka by any means. He thinks if he rapes her as a de facto ruler of a part of Poland, Wołodyjowski will have no chance to take her back. Uncontrolled sexual desire could be his main characteristic, but later it becomes clear that his desire in confined to Baśka. In the case of other women he finds his pleasure only in physical and psychological cruelty.
Although the most brutal scene is when Christians torture and execute Azja. This is probably supposed to be interpreted as justified retaliation.
Sienkiewicz makes clear the martial superiority of the Poles over the Ottoman enemy, therefore he has to explain the frequent and enduring success of the latter. According to his explanation the Turks can win because there are more of them, and because the Christians are usually not united or cautious enough.
Book 3, Chapter 4.
Ibid.
Gárdonyi (2000), 23.
“tulipán” in Ortutay (1977–1982), http://mek.oszk.hu/02100/02115/html/5-848.html.
References
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Bisztray, G. (2002). Awakening peripheries: The Romantic redefinition of myth and folklore. In A. Esterhammer (Ed.), Romantic poetry (pp. 225–248). Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Gárdonyi, G. (2000). Slave of the Huns (Transl. Feldmar, A.) (3rd ed.). Budapest: Corvina.
Hutcheon, L. (1989). The politics of postmodernism. London, New York: Routledge.
Lukács, G. (1963). The historical novel (Trans. H. Mitchell and S. Mitchell). Boston: Beacon Press.
Ortutay, G. (1977–1982). Magyar néprajzi lexikon (Vol. 5). Budapest: Akadémiai.
Szalatnai, R. (1954). Alois Jirásek. In A. Jirásek, Mindenki ellen (Transl. László Németh) (pp. 1–15). Budapest: Szépirodalmi.
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Hajdu, P. Unnecessary anachronisms as ‘facts’ in Central European historical novels. Neohelicon 43, 417–425 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-016-0353-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-016-0353-x