Pass the Gothic novel, please!

Working pretty hard on British Victorian literature (becoming a bit bored with it after 3h) and analysing various styles such as the Gothic novel and the Bildungsroman, I started wondering what the Roumanian equivalent in literature would have been. Of course, one thinks Gothic-Roumania-Dracula, but apart from the obvious, I mean, since that wasn't written by a Roumanian. Let's face it - it was written by a Brit who never even bothered to visit Roumania.

Who were the writers in the country of my heart in the 19th century? What was the literary style of that time whilst in Britain, the Victorian Empire was in full swing and authors such as Austen, the Brontes and Dickens were penning hard?

Off I went hunting for clues on-line (God help us without google!) and found THIS marvellous blog complete with the following post:

'The National Renaissance

The first landmark of this period was the uprising of Tudor Vladimirescu (1821) in Walachia against the Ottoman Turks and the return of the national rulers. Romanticism carried forward the falling wave of the Latinist movement. In the second half of the 19th century, a serious literary criticism, which originated in German philosophy and French culture, inaugurated modern Romanian literature.

Transylvanian Latinism crossed the Carpathians and had beneficial effects on the Greek-inspired culture of Walachia. Ion Heliade Rădulescu, who came under this influence, founded the first Romanian newspaper in Walachia and the Societatea Filarmonică (1833), which later created a national theatre in Bucharest. He was a pioneer of Italian influence, which was taken up in Moldavia by Gheorghe Asachi, who introduced the historical short story, wrote verses in Romanian and Italian, and founded a periodical, Albina Românească. The outstanding literary personality among a galaxy of minor poets and translators who enriched the Romantic heritage was Grigore Alexandrescu. Alexandrescu wrote Poezii (1832, 1838, and 1839) and Meditaţii (1863), fables and satires influenced mostly by French writers. A literary magazine, Dacia Literară, edited by Mihail Kogălniceanu, a leading statesman and father of modern Romanian historiography (1840), marked a beginning of the traditionalist trend in literature. Alecu Russo, another leader of 1848, enriched literature with a biblical prose poem, Cântarea României.

Leading writers of the second half of the century were Vasile Alecsandri and Mihail Eminescu. Alecsandri’s rich output comprised poetry (Doine şi lăcrimioare [1853] and Suvenire si Mărgăritărele [1856]), prose (Buchetiera din Florenţa [“A Bouquet from Florence”] and Călătorii în Africa), and plays (Fîntîna Blanduziei, Ovidiu, and Despot Vodă). He also revealed treasures of Romanian folklore in Balade (1852–53) and Poezii populare (1866). Eminescu, a philosophical lyric poet, created modern Romanian poetry. He was influenced by Hindu thought and German philosophy but remained rooted in tradition. He raised Romanian poetry to new heights and was the guiding star in every aspect of cultural life. His writings include short stories and political and philosophical essays.'

So there, now you know. As do I. Latinist to traditionalist making up part of modern Roumanian literature. A friend of mine (a journalist) told me today that styles in Roumanian literature didn't flow as they did in the west. They sort of bumped from one style to the next - the last Romantic writer of course being Roumania's beloved and revered Eminescu (and with cause).

19th century English literature had no corrolation whatsoever with 19th century Roumanian literature and why indeed should it after all? A different history in space and time completely. Just as the architecture varies so much. My friend Cristina pointed out to me recently on a walk in Bucharest that even Art Nouveau (Neoromanesc) style in Roumania is different from everywhere else. There seems to be no Gothic style literature at all written by Roumanian authors. Ion Creanga and Kogalniceanu of the same period can definitely not be termed Gothic. So we won't. The Gothic movement in western literature came at a time of great social and political change in Europe that flowed along quite naturally despite (and maybe thanks to) the widespread revolutions of 1848 and the communist manifesto along with England's own Industrial Revolution and the introduction of the Poor Laws to try to control the horrors of 'pauperism' - Jane Austen (closer to the Napoleonic wars and Waterloo) wrote of none of this. She didn't have the slightest idea of politics and wrote only what she knew - the study of people and the philosophy of relationships. Her Northanger Abbey though is a great parody on Gothic style. Charlotte Bronte wrote bleakly, her novels full of strikingly Gothic features - doom, gloom and miserable fate. Charles Dickens de lui on ne parle meme pas! He was the stalwart critic and whistle-blower on Britain's treatment of the poor and destitute. Without people like him and Annie Besant, the workhouses could well have remained open and in use much later than 1929...

Change came to Roumania, the country of my heart, in a series of events that bumped along its historical path rather than flowed, which, I guess is much reflected in its literature. There are notable gaps between styles and eras, not to be found in the western counterpart. No need to create a style that terrified its readers as was the case with the Gothic style in Great Britain. Our histories dictate our literary eras just as they dictate our architecture along with so much else. This should come as no surprise and I should have thought of it before! It would have saved me writing this post!

Back to my books....

Comments

[Alexandru]

„Te afli într-o pădure din munţii Ardealului, împreună cu un mic grup de cunoscuţi şi de străini. Focul încă nu a izbutit să vă alunge frigul din oase. Moleşeala îţi îmbrăţişează membrele şi ochii te înţeapă. S-au spus multe. Şi, la hotarul dintre somn şi trezie…

http://alexandrudanromania.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/povestire-umbrele-transilvaniei/

Daca credeti ca merita, puteti s-o faceti cunoscuta…

Cu stima!