HUNGARIAN STUDIES 16. No. 2. Nemzetközi Magyar Filológiai Társaság. Akadémiai Kiadó Budapest [2002]
Samuel J. Wilson: Kossuth, Clausewitz and the Hero's Journey
KOSSUTH, CLAUSEWITZ AND THE HERO'S JOURNEY 255 ogy and identified by Campbell ... can be applied to understanding almost any human problem."10 In the beginning the hero finds himself or herself in the ordinary world, such as Hungary before the Revolution of 1848. Afterward our "hero is presented with a problem, challenge, or adventure to undertake."11 At this time the hero is confronted with a call to adventure. In the case of Kossuth, he must leave the comfort of his everyday ordinary world. It is here that he is confronted with a challenge of modernizing and democratizing the Hungarian nation and state. It is here where our hero will initially be reluctant to answer the call. Kossuth then abandons his ambition "to make a name for himself as a scholar or a playwright," and turns to politics.12 It is then that Kossuth is introduced to his mentors, his "Merlin-like character(s)... (who) prepare the hero to face the unknown."13 It is in the Reform Diet of 1832-36 where Kossuth is encouraged by István Széchenyi's example, and the radicalism of Baron Miklós Wesselényi and the poet Ferenc Kölcsey.14 Now Kossuth is ready to cross the first threshold; he is committed to the adventure and ready to face the challenge and consequences posed by the journey. It is here when he "encounters new challenges and tests, makes allies and enemies, and begins to learn the rules" of the game.15 Kossuth's Parliamentary Reports and more radical Municipal Reports bear witness to his entrance into this stage. They help to lead him to the next important stage, his approach to the inmost cave, the dangerous place or lair of his enemy. He is now Theseus entering the labyrinth of the Minotaur, or in modern mythology, Luke Skywalker entering the Death Star in Star Wars. Upon entering this place our hero will cross the second major threshold.16 Kossuth enters it when he is arrested and imprisoned for three years for disloyalty and sedition. He successfully passes this test as he emerges from prison with the reputation of "a national martyr and hero."17 Now Kossuth is prepared to face his ordeal, the revolution. The experiences of the preceding stages have led up to this moment. It is here where our hero "must die or appear to die so ... (he) can be born again."18 The Revolution of 1848 made Kossuth an international celebrity and a voice of freedom. Revolution was a new force in the modern world. It heralded new "challenges and announce(d) the coming of significant change."19 Unfortunately, for the remainder of his life he was unwilling to abandon his role as a revolutionary. That role had taken him from a well-known Hungarian politician in the Habsburg Empire to world prominence. The revolution became his purpose in life. He could never accept that there was no role for him in the future unless he changed and showed willingness to compromise with his former enemies. Mazzini, for example, learned that lesson during his revolution in Italy. He realized that the creation of Italy had to take precedence over a republic. Once Italy was created, the republic would become the next objective. These were stages of his hero's journey. Kossuth failed to realize that the revolution was only a stage in his journey. It is only one stop on the call to adventure for our hero. As a consequence of his failure