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Tag: Universul

  • Sofia Nadejde

    Sofia Nadejde

    Romanian society had stepped up its
    modernization process and its orientation towards the West in the second half
    of the 19th century. Ever since, women’s right have been subject to
    debate in Romanian media. Such a valuable initiative was made possible thanks
    to the activity of several feminist associations which at that time took
    affirmative action in support of women’s rights to education as well as for
    women’s right to vote. Accordingly,
    through the initiative of several women intellectual women, women in their
    entirety began questioning their traditional role which granted them limited,
    if any, access beyond the private sphere. Feminist activist women also sought
    to influence the public sphere. Among them, journalist, translator and novelist
    Sofia Nadejde, who was born in 1856 in Botosani. A collection of her feminist
    articles has recently been brought out by the Paralela 45 publishers. The
    volume is titled About a woman’s brains and other demons and was jointly
    edited by Maria Cernat and Adina Mocanu.

    Maria Cernat:


    She fought her battles
    on several fronts at a time. Apart from the fact that the family she had can
    today be viewed as successful and numerous, as she had four girls and two boys,
    plus another girl who had died in early childhood, all her children had
    exceptional career. Furthermore, Sofia Nadejde was an activist woman and she
    wouldn’t have favored being presented as a successful woman in the lifestyle
    magazines of her time. She was a serious woman, extremely focused in her
    observations and studies and was very close to the life of the poor simpletons.
    She would have liked it a lot to emancipate herself alongside all women in
    Romania. She wasn’t fighting for the rights of privileged women. That is why it
    seems a little bit odd she did not fight for women’s right to vote because,
    given the census suffrage was in place, the right to vote would have been
    granted to a very limited number of women. Only the well-to-do had the right to
    vote back then. Reason enough for Sofia Nadejde to pledge she was interested to
    fight for all women and not for the privileged ones.


    Some of women intellectuals who in the 19th
    century took affirmative action for the emancipation of women advocated the
    idea that, notwithstanding, women had to retain their traditional role yet some
    extra rights should have been granted to them. Sofia Nădejde wanted a thorough
    change of that paradigm. And it was not only that that set Sofia Nadejde apart
    from the vast majority of the intellectuals of her time. Herself and her
    husband, Ioan Nadejde, were adepts of socialism, a marginal ideology in
    Romania, at that time.

    Maria Cernat:


    She made her debut in
    socialist magazines that today maybe be described as feminist. One of them was
    The Romanian woman, and then she contributed to The Contemporary for a long
    time. That mainly happened in the last years of her life when she mainly wrote
    texts firmly supporting women’s rights. She shifted her focus to writing
    literature and, using literary means of expression, she did what is today known
    as art for social purpose. Herself and her husband Ioan Nadejde, assumed art
    for social purposes together with other socialists of her time, such as Constantin
    Dobrogeanu-Gherea. So initially, Sofia Nadejde dealt with women’s rights, with
    women’s status in Christianity, prostitution, the situation of the family,
    there were issues having to with political philosophy. Then Sofia Nadejde
    prioritized her literary activity, without however ignoring her socialist
    ideology. She advocated women’s right to work, their independence, and not only
    the legal one, their education. According to Sofia Nadejde, women’s education
    went beyond the purpose of turning them into mothers who were capable of
    raising the children of the nation. Sofia Nadejde also took affirmative action
    for women’s economic independence, for their right to have a job and financial
    autonomy.


    Nevertheless, there were not just those ideas
    alone by means of which Sofia Nadejde stepped out of the line, being a
    one-of-a-kind personality in her time.

    Maria Cernat:


    The funny thing was that she
    also contributed articles with apparently very conservative principles. For
    example, she was against dancing. She described it as being a primitive habit, a
    habit of the savages. She was against preening. In today’s parlance, we could
    say, being somehow anachronistic, she was actually against relative beauty
    standards. She also criticizes balls, she did not favor balls where people gathered,
    danced and then caught pneumonia as they were in a sweat going out in the cold
    weather outside. She also have principles that today may seem conservative, yet
    she advocated them as being part of women’s emancipation, She did not think
    emancipation meant smoking cigars or going to the pub to get drunk or to have
    many lovers. In other words, you shouldn’t do what men did. For her, that was
    not emancipation. Instead, taking responsibility for the education of children
    as seriously as possible, that, for her,
    was a perfect example of emancipation.


    Obviously, Sofia Nadejde’s principles drew
    her into all sorts of polemics, the most famous being that with Titu Maiorescu,
    a minister, a conservative MP, a philosopher and a literary critic, a towering
    figure in Romanian culture, past and present.


    Maria Cernat:


    There’s another interesting
    episode, when Sofia Nadejde contradicted Titu Maiorescu as regards the weight
    of women’s brain. He disapproved of the idea whereby the fate of the nations be
    left entirely up to human beings whose brain is 10per cent lighter than men’s
    brain. If their brain is smaller, the conclusion we must draw from that is that
    all women are less capable than men, intellectually. So, according to
    Maiorescu, we need to adopt the sphere separation principle: women should remain
    in the domestic sphere, while men should dominate the public one. Sofia Nadejde
    pointed to the fallacy he committed: making sheer weight the equivalent of
    intelligence, that might lead up to the conclusion that the whale is smarter
    because her brain is big and heavy.


    In
    1903, the novelist Sofia Nadejde scooped the Universul daily prize in 1903. The
    editor in chief of a magazine, a translator and a columnist, Sofia Nadejde died
    in 1946. Many of her ideas remain up-to-date to this day.





  • Sofia Nadejde

    Sofia Nadejde

    Romanian society had stepped up its
    modernization process and its orientation towards the West in the second half
    of the 19th century. Ever since, women’s right have been subject to
    debate in Romanian media. Such a valuable initiative was made possible thanks
    to the activity of several feminist associations which at that time took
    affirmative action in support of women’s rights to education as well as for
    women’s right to vote. Accordingly,
    through the initiative of several women intellectual women, women in their
    entirety began questioning their traditional role which granted them limited,
    if any, access beyond the private sphere. Feminist activist women also sought
    to influence the public sphere. Among them, journalist, translator and novelist
    Sofia Nadejde, who was born in 1856 in Botosani. A collection of her feminist
    articles has recently been brought out by the Paralela 45 publishers. The
    volume is titled About a woman’s brains and other demons and was jointly
    edited by Maria Cernat and Adina Mocanu.

    Maria Cernat:


    She fought her battles
    on several fronts at a time. Apart from the fact that the family she had can
    today be viewed as successful and numerous, as she had four girls and two boys,
    plus another girl who had died in early childhood, all her children had
    exceptional career. Furthermore, Sofia Nadejde was an activist woman and she
    wouldn’t have favored being presented as a successful woman in the lifestyle
    magazines of her time. She was a serious woman, extremely focused in her
    observations and studies and was very close to the life of the poor simpletons.
    She would have liked it a lot to emancipate herself alongside all women in
    Romania. She wasn’t fighting for the rights of privileged women. That is why it
    seems a little bit odd she did not fight for women’s right to vote because,
    given the census suffrage was in place, the right to vote would have been
    granted to a very limited number of women. Only the well-to-do had the right to
    vote back then. Reason enough for Sofia Nadejde to pledge she was interested to
    fight for all women and not for the privileged ones.


    Some of women intellectuals who in the 19th
    century took affirmative action for the emancipation of women advocated the
    idea that, notwithstanding, women had to retain their traditional role yet some
    extra rights should have been granted to them. Sofia Nădejde wanted a thorough
    change of that paradigm. And it was not only that that set Sofia Nadejde apart
    from the vast majority of the intellectuals of her time. Herself and her
    husband, Ioan Nadejde, were adepts of socialism, a marginal ideology in
    Romania, at that time.

    Maria Cernat:


    She made her debut in
    socialist magazines that today maybe be described as feminist. One of them was
    The Romanian woman, and then she contributed to The Contemporary for a long
    time. That mainly happened in the last years of her life when she mainly wrote
    texts firmly supporting women’s rights. She shifted her focus to writing
    literature and, using literary means of expression, she did what is today known
    as art for social purpose. Herself and her husband Ioan Nadejde, assumed art
    for social purposes together with other socialists of her time, such as Constantin
    Dobrogeanu-Gherea. So initially, Sofia Nadejde dealt with women’s rights, with
    women’s status in Christianity, prostitution, the situation of the family,
    there were issues having to with political philosophy. Then Sofia Nadejde
    prioritized her literary activity, without however ignoring her socialist
    ideology. She advocated women’s right to work, their independence, and not only
    the legal one, their education. According to Sofia Nadejde, women’s education
    went beyond the purpose of turning them into mothers who were capable of
    raising the children of the nation. Sofia Nadejde also took affirmative action
    for women’s economic independence, for their right to have a job and financial
    autonomy.


    Nevertheless, there were not just those ideas
    alone by means of which Sofia Nadejde stepped out of the line, being a
    one-of-a-kind personality in her time.

    Maria Cernat:


    The funny thing was that she
    also contributed articles with apparently very conservative principles. For
    example, she was against dancing. She described it as being a primitive habit, a
    habit of the savages. She was against preening. In today’s parlance, we could
    say, being somehow anachronistic, she was actually against relative beauty
    standards. She also criticizes balls, she did not favor balls where people gathered,
    danced and then caught pneumonia as they were in a sweat going out in the cold
    weather outside. She also have principles that today may seem conservative, yet
    she advocated them as being part of women’s emancipation, She did not think
    emancipation meant smoking cigars or going to the pub to get drunk or to have
    many lovers. In other words, you shouldn’t do what men did. For her, that was
    not emancipation. Instead, taking responsibility for the education of children
    as seriously as possible, that, for her,
    was a perfect example of emancipation.


    Obviously, Sofia Nadejde’s principles drew
    her into all sorts of polemics, the most famous being that with Titu Maiorescu,
    a minister, a conservative MP, a philosopher and a literary critic, a towering
    figure in Romanian culture, past and present.


    Maria Cernat:


    There’s another interesting
    episode, when Sofia Nadejde contradicted Titu Maiorescu as regards the weight
    of women’s brain. He disapproved of the idea whereby the fate of the nations be
    left entirely up to human beings whose brain is 10per cent lighter than men’s
    brain. If their brain is smaller, the conclusion we must draw from that is that
    all women are less capable than men, intellectually. So, according to
    Maiorescu, we need to adopt the sphere separation principle: women should remain
    in the domestic sphere, while men should dominate the public one. Sofia Nadejde
    pointed to the fallacy he committed: making sheer weight the equivalent of
    intelligence, that might lead up to the conclusion that the whale is smarter
    because her brain is big and heavy.


    In
    1903, the novelist Sofia Nadejde scooped the Universul daily prize in 1903. The
    editor in chief of a magazine, a translator and a columnist, Sofia Nadejde died
    in 1946. Many of her ideas remain up-to-date to this day.





  • Le journal Universul

    Le journal Universul

    C’est en 1829, au début de la modernisation des Principautés roumaines, qu’est apparu à Bucarest le premier journal de langue roumaine – « Curierul Românesc » « Le Courrier roumain ». Ce retard de la presse roumaine par rapport à l’Europe Occidentale allait pourtant être rapidement récupéré. Le nombre des publications a vite augmenté en raison notamment de la modernisation et de l’émancipation sociale et culturelle. C’est vers la fin du siècle, soit le 20 août 1884, qu’est paru le premier numéro du journal « Universul », un quotidien qui allait devenir le journal roumain le plus lu jusqu’au début des années 1950. « Universul » a été fondé par Luigi Cazzavillan, journaliste italien, ancien combattant dans l’armée de Garibaldi, établi ensuite à Bucarest où il a enseigné l’italien et commercialisé des vélos de la marque italienne Bianchi. Pourtant, de nos jours, Luigi Cazzavillan est reconnu notamment pour ses contributions essentielles au développement de la presse populaire par la publication de journaux et revues de vulgarisation de la culture et des sciences.

    Qui a été Luigi Cazzavillan et quel était le contenu du quotidien « Universul » ? Ilie Rad, professeur à l’Université Babes-Bolyai de Cluj, répond : « Luigi Cazzavillan, journaliste de profession, fut le correspondant de publications italiennes en Roumanie à l’occasion de la Guerre d’Indépendance de 1877 – 1878. Initialement, il avait exploré le marché avec deux autres publications. En 1880 il a sorti « La Fraternité roumano-italienne » et « Le Trésor de la famille » et gagné ainsi l’expérience nécessaire pour fonder en 1884 le journal « Universul » dont le nom a peut-être été inspiré par un journal du même nom d’Italie. La publication était avant tout neutre du point de vue politique. Puis, c’était une sorte de magazine, avec de nombreuses nouvelles, la chronique des accidents et des crimes… C’était un journal pour tous, ce n’était pas ce que l’on appelle de nos jours un tabloïd, parce que l’acte journalistique n’avait pas régressé jusqu’à un tel point. Sa tenue et son objectivité comptaient pour beaucoup dans la politique de ce journal. C’est notamment sa technologie des grands tirages qui permettaient à Universul de paraître à un prix de seulement 5 bani, soit 5 centimes. La société roumaine était modernisée, le nombre de lecteurs avait augmenté. En 1828/29, lors de la publication des premiers journaux, les tirages ne dépassaient jamais les 300 exemplaires. Or, à la fin du 19e siècle, le tirage d’un tel quotidien atteignait des chiffres impressionnants, allant jusqu’à 40 mille exemplaires par jour. »

    Le long des années, le quotidien « Universul » a sorti toute une série de suppléments : « l’Univers des enfants », « l’Univers littéraire », « l’Univers illustré », « Le Dimanche de l’Univers », « Le journal des sciences populaires et des voyages ». Les suppléments, le prix, le tirage et la facilité d’accès aux informations faisaient d’Universul le journal le plus suivi avant la Première guerre mondiale, mais aussi entre les deux guerres.

    Ilie Rad poursuit l’historique du quotidien « Universul » : «Je crois qu’il était encore plus suivi que sa compétition de gauche, le journal « Adevarul », grâce notamment au prix, mais aussi en raison de la qualité des informations, des nouveautés publiées. « Universul » a été la première publication de l’histoire de la presse roumaine à avoir des agences et des correspondants à l’étranger. Par exemple, la célèbre affaire Dreyfus de France a été amplement reflétée dans les pages du journal parce que Luigi Cazzavillan s’est permis de payer un correspondant à l’étranger qui lui a envoyé des informations de dernière heure relatives aux évènements internationaux. Ce qui plus est, le journal a également réussi à impliquer des écrivains importants. Par exemple, le grand dramaturge ILCaragiale a publié une grande partie de ses « Moments », chroniques et récits satyriques dans les pages des ce quotidien. »

    Malheureusement, Luigi Cazzavillan est mort assez jeune, à l’âge de 52 ans, début 1904. Durant la première conflagration mondiale, entre 1916 et 1918, « Universul » a interrompu sa parution, qui a été reprise ensuite sous la direction d’autres patrons, dont le plus célèbre a été Stelian Popescu. Dans la plus grande partie de la période d’avant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale, soit avant 1943, Stelian Popescu a dirigé le quotidien « Universul », lui imprimant malheureusement ses options politiques, de centre-droit. Même si « Universul » n’a pas préservé sa neutralité politique, il a continué d’être le journal le plus répandu, survivant même quelques années après l’installation du régime communiste d’avant 1953. Sa rédaction se trouvait au cœur de la capitale, rue Brezoianu, près de l’Université et de l’Avenue Victoriei, dans un bâtiment imposant construit par Cazzavillan, d’après les plans d’un architecte italien.

    Ilie Rad: « Il a fait bâtir ce palais, qui a subi ensuite de nombreuses modifications. C’est également à l’intérieur de cet immeuble que se trouvaient l’imprimerie et les bureaux. Par exemple, Stelian Popescu avait un bureau somptueux à l’intérieur duquel les grands politiciens et hommes d’affaires ont été reçus et traités comme il fallait, au cœur même de Bucarest. Et c’est également dans la Capitale qu’il existe une rue qui porte le nom de Cazzavillan et c’est très bien que sa mémoire soit perpétuée de nos jours encore. Et c’est toujours dans le même quartier que se trouve un buste du journaliste ».

    Après avoir accueilli la rédaction de plusieurs journaux importants, le siège du journal de la rue Brezoianu a survécu jusqu’à nos jours. Pourtant, en raison de son état détérioré, celui-ci devrait être consolidé et restauré. La maison de Luigi Cazzavillan, un superbe mini-palais en style vénitien qui se trouve près de la rue qui porte son nom, dans le quartier de la Radio publique roumaine, est également très détériorée. Elle est littéralement en train de s’écrouler. Dommage. (Trad. Alex Diaconescu)

  • Rumänische Schriftstellerin mit dem Literaturpreis der Europäischen Union ausgezeichnet

    Rumänische Schriftstellerin mit dem Literaturpreis der Europäischen Union ausgezeichnet

    Für die Liebhaber der Prosa, die eine Zeitreise ins Jahr 1897 ermöglicht, brachte die rumänische Schriftstellerin Ioana Pârvulescu im Jahr 2009 den Roman Viaţa începe vineri“, zu dt. Das Leben beginnt am Freitag“ auf den Markt. Ein Mann wird auf einem Feld in der Nähe Bukarests bewusstlos aufgefunden. Niemand wei‎ß, was mit ihm passierte, und jeder wagt es, eine Vermutung über seine Vergangenheit anzustellen: Sei er ein internationaler Betrüger, der versucht, seine Spur zu verlieren? Sei er ein Mörder? Sei er krank? Langsam versammeln sich viele Leute um ihn herum: ein Arzt und seine Tochter, ein Polizist, ein achtjähriger Postbote, der Briefe und Pakete mit sich herumträgt, und nicht zuletzt Journalisten, die für die lokale Zeitung Universul“ berichten.



    Die Handlung legt ein schnelles Tempo fest, alles läuft innerhalb dreizehn Tagen: ab Freitag, dem 19. Dezember, bis Jahresende, der Erzählfaden ähnelt einem Krimi-Roman, die Gestalten sind sehr lebendig. Die Schriftstellerin lässt die Atmosphäre der rumänischen Hauptstadt vom Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts wie in einem Film aufleben. Die ersten Zeilen des Romans bringen den Leser rasch in die Vergangenheit. Für den Roman Das Leben beginnt am Freitag“ wurde Ioana Pârvulescu in Brüssel neben weiteren elf europäischen Schriftstellerinnen und Schriftstellern mit dem Literaturpreis der Europäischen Union ausgezeichnet.



    Auf die klassische Frage wie fühlen Sie sich als Preisgewinnerin“ antwortete Ioana Pârvulescu: Ich fühle mich wundervoll, insbesondere weil ich jetzt, nach der Preisgala, nicht mehr aufgeregt bin. Es ist nie einfach, Vertreterin eines Landes zu sein. Es ist das erste Mal, dass ich offizielle Vertreterin meines Landes bin und dieses Auftrags war ich mir besonders bewusst.“ Ioana Pârvulescu unterrichtet rumänische Literatur der Moderne an der Bukarester Fakultät für Sprach-und Literaturwissenschaft. 18 Jahre lang war sie als Redakteurin der Wochenzeitung România literară“ tätig. Ioana Pârvulescu hat die Sammlung Cartea de pe noptieră“, zu dt. Das Buch auf dem Nachttisch“, beim Verlag Humanitas ins Leben gerufen und koordiniert.



    Mit dem Roman Das Leben beginnt am Freitag“ machte sie ihr Debüt als Belletristik-Schriftstellerin, nachdem sie als Essay-Autorin bekannt wurde: Ich war nie eine Literaturkritikerin. Ich wurde dennoch als solche bezeichnet, aber ich hatte eigentlich Essays geschrieben und mich sehr nah mit der Literaturgeschichte befasst, jetzt schreibe ich aber gern Belletristik. Das Wort Schriftsteller schlie‎ßt alles ein.“



    In einem Interview erzählte Ioana Pârvulescu 2009, als der Roman Das Leben beginnt am Freitag“ veröffentlicht wurde: Die Gestalten haben mich gebeten, sie in die Welt des 21. Jahrhunderts reisen zu lassen, die Zukunft beschäftigte sie mehr als jede andere Sache auf der Welt. Ich habe sie davor gewarnt: Ich kann das machen, aber es ist eure Wahl, es handelt sich um eine Welt, die ihr nicht kennt, kehrt dann nicht zu mir zurück, sollte es euch nicht gefallen… Und sie haben mir gesagt, sie seien sehr neugirig und wollten wissen, was in der heutigen Welt passiert.“



    Wir sind hässlich im Vergleich zu den schönen Menschen der damaligen Zeit und Ioana Pârvulescu schafft den Ma‎ßstab unseres Niedergangs“, sagte der Leiter des Verlags Humanitas, Gabriel Liiceanu. Ioana Pârvulescu schafft es darüber hinaus, im Retro-Roman Das Leben beginnt am Freitag“ das Bukarest vergangener Zeiten aufleben zu lassen.