The Hungarian Quarterly, 1994 (35. évfolyam, 136. szám)

Fábri Anna: Where Time Stood Still. Images of Upper Hungary in the Work of Jókai, Mikszáth and Krúdy

Anna Fábri Where Time Stood Still Images of Upper Hungary in the Work of Mór Jókai, Kálmán Mikszáth and Gyula Krúdy C lose to one hundred and seventy years ago, Hartleben in Pest published the copiously illustrated Malerische Reise auf dem Waagfiusse in Ungarn (A Picturesque Journey on the River Vág in Hungary). The author was Baron Alajos Mednyánszky, a Hungarian magnate with properties in what is now Slovakia, a region that was generally known in Hungarian as the Felvidék, the Up-Country or Upper Hungary, as opposed to the Alföld, the Lowlands or Great Hungarian Plain. A Picturesque Journey leads down the River Vág, all the way from its moun­tainous source down to the plains, where it joins the Danube. The 375 km reach is covered by raft, passing by towns and villages, and medieval castle ruins on rocks and hilltops. On occasion there is a pause, a closer visit, sometimes we have to rest content with a passing glimpse. The. aristocratic guide is reliable, he is an official of the state administration who has done his homework. He pro­vides demographic and economic information and draws our attention to the beauties of nature. Castles and ruins, a key component of the picturesque that forms part of the title, however, are dealt with exhaustively and in detail. Mednyánszky, who mostly published in German, was one of the early Hungarian Romantics. Another book of his, Erzählungen, Sagen und Legenden aus Ungarns Vorzeit (Tales, Lays and Legends from Hungary's Distant Past, 1829) is evidence of his keen interest in the romantic Middle Ages and in folk tales. Anna Fábri teaches literature at Eötvös University in Budapest. She is responsible for recent editions of works by Gyula Krúdy, and is one of the editors of the critical edition of Mikszáth's works. Mednyánszky's book and collection of lays pointed attention northwards in Hungary despite his concentration on one characteristic region only. Majestically savage mountains, infi­nite forests, castles and ruins ap­peared as metaphors of the passing parade. Seclusion and solitude, secret hiding places, a recurring location in the works of Hungarian romanciers, 11 Where Time Stood Still

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