Original scientific paper
The position of Transylvania in the early nineteenth century: an example of Ferenc Kazinczy's Letters from Transylvania
Martin Sukalić
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb
Abstract
The essay deals with the issue of stepping into intercultural space in terms of cultural translation in the Romantic period based on the travelogue of Ferenc Kazinczy, the most prominent literary figure of late Hungarian Classicism and early Romanticism. Transylvania is a region tightly connected to the Hungarian identity, both historically and culturally, but the era of Romanticism heralds important changes in the region identity-wise by promoting self-affirmation of both Saxon and Romanian national identities. The interpretation of Letters from Transylvania, Kazinczy's travelogue based on his 1816 journey, proceeds by references to Homi K. Bhabha's notion of third space, Iain Chambers' domestic scene and Terry Eagleton's definitions of culture. In this regard, an attempt is made at presenting and interpreting the process of cultural translation, at determining the amount of influence which the Others and their cultures exercise on Kazinczy, as well as his ideological background. Simultaneously, the place which Transylvania occupies in the author's national imaginary leads to stereotyping in the contacts with other cultures. Kazinczy succumbs to stereotyping consequently making the process of cultural translation riskier and influencing the way in which the Others – in this case the Saxons and the Romanians – are perceived. The author's resistance to the influences of other cultures, which derives from tight historical connections between Transylvania and Hungary, enables us to observe Kazinczy not merely as a traveller, but also as a civilizer: he examines the various identities while establishing the components of the Hungarian identity (culture, historical status) as authoritative in the region.
Keywords
intercultural literature; travel writing; Hungarian Romanticism; Ferenc Kazinczy; Transylvania
Hrčak ID:
289438
URI
Publication date:
29.12.2022.
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