Literary Canon - National Identity. Transylvania during the First Years. after the Great Union

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1 Literary Canon - National Identity. Transylvania during the First Years after the Great Union Alina Andreica (Coman) 1 Abstract: Culture re-establishes/recreates the feeling of identity. In the years of national effervescence ( ), an entire series of attempts to build a national identity occurred in Transylvania. The use of schools as an instrument to homogenise the discourse of the elites and literature constitutes only a part of the cultural policies. The prescriptive lists the modern literary canon - were a solid foundation for the consolidation of the nation. The texts included in the Romanian language textbooks centred on the image of the Romanian peasants, those peasants who would bear the national marks and would provide a connection to the forefathers. The literary picture would be recreated out of separate pieces, united into the line of the same ideal: national consolidation. We witness a re-sanctification according to political purpose. The artistic creations included in the literary canon are, therefore, historical constructs, which allow ideological interventions. Key words: literary canon, identity, literary phenomenon, cultural policy; Terminology. Starting Points. In this study we will use the term of literary canon in a conventional manner. During the period we refer to, i.e , people of the time talked about important figures of Romanian literature (Romania. Syllabus). Therefore, we will use inverted commas for this term throughout the paper. This option to use a term that would be invented later is one of the didactic reasons of our study. The preference for employing a concept that is extensively used in the contemporary era also has a different purpose: to clearly outline the very loose capacity of aesthetic worlds. In our approach we intend to discuss the text selection criterion, the desired purposes, the attempt to establish a list of preset values, and the discourses accompanying the texts. We selected the textbooks that contain the approval of the Governing Council. Landmarks The notion of Transylvania has two meanings, which have been established according to geographical and political boundaries. In its restricted sense, the term refers to the region limited 1 Ph.D. candidate, Faculty of European Studies, Babes-Bolyai University, 1 Em. de Martonne Street, , Cluj- Napoca, tel./fax , alina_coman_s30@yahoo.com. This work was possible with the financial support of the Sectoral Operational Programme for Human Resources Development , co-financed by the European Social Fund, under the project number POSDRU/107/1.5/S/77946 with the title Doctorate: an Attractive Research Career. 1

2 by the Eastern Carpathians, the Southern Carpathians and, to the west, by the Apuseni Mountains (which was called in the Middle Ages the Voivodeship of Transylvania). In its broad sense, Transylvania comprises a number of neighbouring territories 2, which joined the historical nucleus of the Transylvanian Plateau after According to laws XXX and XXXIII of 1876, the shires, districts and seats that made up Transylvania and Partium were abolished, and were replaced by 16 shires 3 (Benedek 3-20). The 1890, 1900 and 1910 censuses maintained the same administrative structure (Hungary. National Archives of Hungary). The time frame we refer to is the tense one year and a half when Transylvania remained autonomous within the Romanian state and was led by a Governing Council. Transylvania Cultural Policies Transylvania, the largest of the united provinces, brought with it, with the annexation to the mother country, a broad national movement. Governed by a Governing Council, seated in Sibiu, Council which had governmental, legislative and executive powers, and only answered to the centre in terms of foreign policy, Transylvania would be the space of ethnic conflicts (Livezeanu 161). In 1918 in Transylvania Romanians, Szeklers, Hungarians, Germans, Gipsies, Jews and Serbs lived together. Within this multiethnic space, the battle for building a feeling of identity was fought in the land of culture. From among the cultural policies promoted by the competent administrative body, the Governing Council, we selected the one that implemented an educational pattern: the school; the mean by which the desired results could be attained was the literary text. Theoretical Perspectives. We will begin our discussion with an established and institutional order called the canon. The theoretical-descriptive presentation we choose is necessary for an entire series of approaches, according to the intended purposes. The canon is a part of the collective memory, built from a series of normative and formative artefacts, which make up the cultural capital of a society (Assmann 100). Within this wide space of the active cultural memory, which includes religion, art and history, we will discuss the literary canon. This construct is a legitimising hierarchical corpus, with a stable, but extremely fluid structure (when we consider the large number of writers whom the passage of time gradually erases from the collective memory), which is adapted to the requirements of the public/cultural policies of the time, but which has as a functional basis the principles of negotiation (continuous adaptation to requirements, tastes and market mobility) and heterogeneity (diversity of genres and styles) (Cornea 21). From the perspective of the relationship between canon and value, the specialised literature from the Romanian cultural area speaks about an aesthetic literary canon and a curricular literary canon. Virgil Nemoianu approaches the issue from the perspective of a unitary whole, structured 2 We refer to the regions in the north-western part of the country (Maramures, Bihor, Salaj, Satu-Mare, Arad). 3 Alba de Jos (Lower Alba), Bistrița-Năsăud, Brașov, Ciuc, Făgăraș, Trei Scaune, Hunedoara, Târnava Mică, Cojocna (Cluj), Mureș-Turda, Târnava-Mare, Sibiu, Solnoc-Dăbâca, Turda-Aries, Odorhei and Sălaj. The first fifteen appear under the name of Erdély (Ardeal) and have an area of 55,731 Km 2. 2

3 into two levels: aesthetic and curricular (Nemoianu 10). Mircea Martin, however, differentiates two distinct canonical practices, two types of canon: aesthetic and curricular (Martin 35). We will embrace the second perspective, specifying that the two types of canon are interdependent. We start with the premise that both types pf canons are subjected to the times, to the ideological conditioning of their respective time, and that the difference is only given by the method and practice of establishment. The aesthetic literary canon takes shape within the literary world. The highest authorities are the criticism and/or the author (when we consider his/her public statements regarding affiliation to a cultural construct). Within the aesthetic literary canon, Mircea Martin distinguishes two distinct levels: classical and modern. The classical level is the result of a consensus of the centuries, [ ] but also of a convergence between the requirements of the critics and those of a wider, educated audience (Martin 37). The modern level is the result of an exclusive selection, and is located in a continuous and fluctuant position (Martin 37). The curricular literary canon is a pragmatic instance, structured into external patterns, institutional, and clearly influenced by social and historical events, and by political, ethnic or religious conditions. The above-mentioned interdependence consists in the fact that the curricular canon is based on the classical core of the aesthetic canon, which is adapted to national, civic or political requirements (Martin 37). Sequences [...] a nation is first maintained through school and then through arms. The school is called to form the unitary national consciousness and to strengthen the nation. Livezeanu Over the analysed period, the Romanian school is structured into two levels: the lower and the higher level: four years of primary school and eight grades of secondary school 4 (Romania. Regulation for the secondary schools). Since antiquity and the Middle Ages there existed the practice of recommending certain writings for the training of educated people. Such lists had a prescriptive character and indicated the admirable authors. Regardless of age, the appeal to an authorized list, which obviously expressed an opinion about value, invested with transindividual authority, was subjected to cultural and governmental policies. After 1918, in Transylvania, the highest authority that approved the school curriculum proposed by the teachers was the Governing Council. Didactics expert Alina Pamfil defines the curriculum as an expression of the intention of the educational institution shaped by the stakes of the government of the time. (Pamfil 48) Therefore, fictional works are constructions built according to the laws of aesthetics, with historical social, philosophical or religious influences worlds that, consequently, allow ideological interventions (Pamfil 48). On January 24, 1919, the Governing Council adopted a law that declared Romanian as the official teaching language within the educational system (Livezeanu 184). 4 Art. 1. The following are secondary schools: gymnasiums and high schools for boys; 1 st and 2 nd grade secondary schools for girls. The gymnasiums, the four lower years of high schools and 1 st grade secondary schools for girls form the lower secondary track, while the four years of high schools and 2 nd grade secondary schools for girls form the higher secondary track.ˮ 3

4 The study of the Romanian language and literature in the period of national building and later of consolidation became a strong influence, due to the aesthetic worlds, which create the picture of the national literature (Pamfil 64). Hence the opportunity for the educational institutions to orient the study of literature in many ways with a view to personal development, the shaping of aesthetic taste and the building of the sense of belonging to a cultural and territorial space (Pamfil 64). The 1918 curriculum subsumed the content to an ideological process (Romania. Analytical curriculum). The curriculum had three aims: to mould the students personalities, lay the foundations for their culture and build the national feeling. In order to create a general picture of the Romanian literary phenomenon, a picture that integrates both the high and the folk literature, we have selected a few titles and authors. The picture of the literature comprises: the old, the modern and the contemporary ages. Old literature the classical substratum of the aesthetic canon (Martin 35) is represented by historical and religious works: Codicele voronețean (Voronet Codex), Psaltirea Șcheiană (Schei Psalter), Varlaam s Cazania (Homiliarium), Psaltirea în versuri (Rhymed Psalter) by Dosoftei, etc. The modern age is represented by the Transylvanian School, which is allotted separate space, and the contemporary age the modern substratum of the aesthetic canon ( artin ) comprises: a. philosophical poetry: Mihai Eminescu (Scrisoarea I (First Letter), Împărat și proletar (Emperor and Proletarian), Mortua est!, Glossă (Gloss)), Al. Vlahuță, G. Coșbuc, Gr. Alexandrescu, Al. Macedonski; b. drama, B. P. Hasdeu (Răzvan și Vidra (Razvan and Vidra)), I.L. Caragiale (Dʾale carnavalului (Carnival Stories)), Al. Davila, Vlaicu Vodă (Vladislav I), M. Sorbu; sketch story: prosaic sketch, Al. Odobescu, Câteva ore la Snagov (A Few Hours in Snagov), I.L. Caragiale, Câteva păreri (A Few Opinions), T. Maiorescu, Beția de cuvinte (Intoxication with Words), M. Dragomirescu, Valoarea lui Tolstoi (Tolstoi s Value); rhetorical sketch, I. L. Caragiale, Tal! (Waiter!), Al. Vlahuță, O viață frumoasă (A Beautiful Life); poetic sketch, Ion Agârbiceanu, Fefeleaga, Al. Bratescu-Voinești, Moartea lui Castor (Castor s Death), M. Eminescu, Sărmanul Dionis (Wretched Dionis) (România. Analytical curriculum). The texts by the authors included in the textbooks were structured according to a thematic criterion. Precedence was given to the texts whose themes, literary motifs and language made reference to the Romanians origin and continuity in this region. The poetry area included texts by Mihai Eminescu, Goga or Cosbuc. Alecsandri s texts held a special place since his literature drank in the sap of folk productions (Mihăilescu 4). The people, in the first stage of identity construction, says Anne Marie-Thiesse, had the role of a living fossil, and guaranteed the rebuilding of the connection with the forefathers. (Thiesse 160) The people constituted the alpha and omega of any literary text. We should specify that people, according to the ideas of the time, meant peasantry, which was considered to bear the national marks. Texts from the volumes: Balade (cântice bătrânești),adunate și îndreptate de Vasile Alecsandri (Ballads (Old Songs), Gathered and Corrected by Vasile Alecsandri) ( ), Doine (Folk Songs),1842, Doine și lăcrimioare (Folk Songs and Lilies of the Valley), 1853 were selected. The generic character was a man of the people, who was hardworking, talented and willing to sacrifice for his country. The representative figure was the heroic outlaw (also known as the robber, bandit), and the substratum consists of folk beliefs and superstitions. 4

5 Within the prose area, for example the short story, in the opinion of the best known textbook authors of the time, Gheorghe Adamescu & Mihail Dragomirescu, the best were selected: C. Negruzzi, Alexandru Lapușneanul, Sobieschi si românii (Sobieski and the Romanians), I. Creangă, Moș Nechifor Coțcarul (Old Man Nechifor Slyboots), I. Slavici, Moara cu noroc (The Lucky Mill), Popa Tanda (The Priest Tanda), Budulea Taichii, I.L. Caragiale, O făclie de Paște (An Easter Candle), Păcat (Sin), La hanul lui Mârjoală (At Marjoala s Inn), M. Sadoveanu, Păcat boeresc (A Boyar's Sin), Dușmanii (The Enemies), I. Agârbiceanu, Fefeleaga, Luminița (The Small Light), etc (Adamescu, Dragomirescu 204). Conclusion During the short analysed period, the literary canon constituted a channel for the implemented cultural policy. The works of the authors included in the Romanian language textbooks were quickly received and assimilated, against the background of the national enthusiasm of The appeal to the people was part of the process of identity definition. Within a mainly agricultural society, the resort to the Romanian peasant through the literary texts as a piece de resistance of this system, constituted a central pillar of the national construct. The literary works once again proved their intrinsic multifaceted capacity. Bibliography România. Ministerul Cultelor și Instrucțiunei Publice (Ministry of Cults and Public Education), Programa analitica a învățământului secundar (Analytical Curriculum of Secondary Education), Bucharest, România. Consiliu Dirigent Român (Romanian Governing Council), Resortul Cultelor și Instrucțiunii publice (Department of Cults and Public Education), Programa analitică pentru școalele secundare de baieți din Ardeal, Bănat si Părțile ungurene pe timpul de transiție (Analytical Curriculum for the Secondary Schools for Boys in Transylvania, Banat and the Hungarian Regions during the Transition). Cluj: Tiparul Institutului de Arte Grafice A. ANCA (Printed by A. ANCA Graphic Arts Institute), România. Ministerul cultelor și Instrucțiunii Publice (Ministry of Cults and Public Education), Regulamentul pentru școalele secundare (Regulation for the Secondary Schools), Art. 1, Bucharest: Imprimeria Statului (State Printing House), Benedek, Lajos, Az Erdély részek és Szilágymegye Helységnévtára, Kolozsvárt, Hungary. National Archives of Hungary, Budapest: EOKL-F 551: Statisztikai tábellak, Miniszterelnókség: K XXV-181. Livezeanu, Irina, Cultură și naționalism în România Mare ( ) (Culture and Nationalism in Greater Romania), Bucharest: Humanitas, Assmann, Aleida, Canon and archive. Cultural Working Memory: The Canon, Cultural Memory Studies An International and Interdisciplinary Handbook, Ed. Astrid Erll, Ansgar Nünning. Berlin. New York: Walter de Gruyter,

6 Cornea, Paul, Despre canon: întrebări și ipotezeˮ ( About the Canon: Questions and Hypotheses ). Canonul literar școlar (School Literary Canon). Ed. Monica Onojescu, Alina Pamfil. Cluj-Napoca: Casa Cărții de Știință (Science Book Printing House), Nemoianu, Virgil, Tradiție și libertate (Tradition and Freedom), Bucharest: Curtea-Veche, Martin, Mircea, Canonul și valorileˮ ( The Canon and the Values ), Canonul literar școlar (School Literary Canon). Ed. Monica Onojescu, Alina Pamfil. Cluj-Napoca: Casa Cărții de Știință (Science Book Printing House), Pamfil, Alina, Tamaian, Ioana, Studiul limbii și literaturii române în secolul al XX-lea. Paradigme didactice (The Study of Romanian Language and Literature in the 20 th Century. Didactic Paradigms), Cluj-Napoca: Casa Cărții de Știință (Science Book Printing House), Dragomirescu Mihail, Adamescu, Gheorghe, Manual de limba română (carte de citire și gramatică) pentru clasa a V-a a liceelor și gimnaziilor și a școalelor secundare de fete (Romanian Language Textbook (Reading and Grammar Book) for the 5 th Year of the High Schools and Gymnasiums and Secondary Schools for Girls), Bucharest, Mihailescu, Vintila, Nationalité et nationalisme en Roumanieˮ, TERRAIN 17, (1999) : 3-4. Thiesse, Anne Marie, La création des identités nationales, Europe XVIII e XX e siècle, Paris: Editions du Seuil,