Eugen Kumičić (11 January 1850 – 13 May 1904) was a Croatian

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Kumičić is one of the most prolific Croatian novelists of the realism era and is considered a pioneer of naturalism in

Croatian literature Croatian literature refers to literary works attributed to the medieval and modern culture of the Croats, Croatia, and Croatian language, Croatian. Besides the modern language whose shape and orthography were standardized in the late 19th centu ...

Biography

Kumičić was born in Brseč, Mošćenička Draga (now in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County), a small town in

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

, then part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. After majoring philosophy at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, he returned to

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and worked as a teacher in high schools in Split and

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

. From 1875 to 1878 he spent two years in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and six months in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, preparing for his French and Italian teaching examinations. While in France, he came into contact with

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

writing, primarily through the works of Émile Zola. Upon returning to Croatia, he spent the period from 1879 to 1883 teaching French and Italian in a Zagreb high school. During that time, he became actively involved with the Croatian literary scene, as well as political activism. An ardent supporter of

Ante Starčević Ante Starčević ( ; 23 May 1823 – 28 February 1896) was a Croatian politician and writer. His policies centered around Croatian state law, the integrity of Croatian lands, and the right of Croats, his people to self-determination. As an import ...

's political program and one of his closest associates, he quit the civil service in 1883 in order to pursue a political and literary career. With Matko Laginja and Erazmo Barčić he launched the ''Primorac'' magazine in Kraljevica. He also worked as the editor of the

Croatian Party of Rights The Croatian Party of Rights (, HSP) is an Extra-parliamentary opposition, extra-parliamentary Croatian nationalism, nationalist and Neo-fascism, neo-fascist List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia. The word "right(s)" i ...

' magazines ''Hrvatska vila'' (1882–1883) and ''Hrvatska'' (1887–1888), and published essays, opinion pieces and short stories in them. In 1884 he was elected to

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

and he spent most of his political career opposing the Hungarian nationalists.

Literary work

He wrote many novels and short stories, mostly dealing with working-class people in his native Istria. He also tried to introduce elements of naturalism to

in his novels dealing with urban life and Croatian history, but his efforts were often hampered by national romantic tendencies. His works were therefore primarily influenced by realist and romanticist writers of the era such as August Šenoa,

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

and

Eugène Sue Marie-Joseph "Eugène" Sue (; 26 January 18043 August 1857) was a French novelist. He was one of several authors who popularized the genre of the serial novel in France with his very popular and widely imitated '' The Mysteries of Paris'', whi ...

. Nevertheless, as he published an influential and controversial Zolaesque literary essay about the poetics of writing (''O romanu, (Eng. On Novel)'') in 1883, he was seen by his contemporaries as the pioneer of naturalist writing in Croatian literature. Kumičić's plays were not as successful as his prose, and are described as being of modest artistic value. His literary work is usually divided into three thematic periods: the first period of his writing is marked by novels and short stories that involve romanticized descriptions of hard working Istrians' life - primarily fishermen, farmers and seamen; the bulk of his next literary phase typically deals with urban settings (the so-called ''city novels''), where his naturalist tendencies are most prominent and which mostly involve themes of financial and moral chaos that Croatian

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

was depicted as caught up in. His last works were

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

s loosely based on important figures of Croatian history.

Works

Novels * ''Olga i Lina'' (1881) * ''Primorci'' (1882) * ''Začuđeni svatovi'' (1883) * ''Gospođa Sabina'' (1883) * ''Sirota'' (1885) * ''Teodora'' (1889) * ''Urota Zrinsko-Frankopanska'' (1893) * ''Kraljica Lepa ili propast kraljeva hrvatske krvi'' (1902) Short stories * ''Slučaj'' (1879) * ''Jelkin bosiljak'' (1881) * ''Neobični ljudi'' (1882) * ''Ubilo ga vino'' (1884) * ''Preko mora'' (1889) * ''Saveznice'' (1889) * ''Otrovana srca'' (1890) * ''Broj 84 i 85'' (1890) * ''Crn Božić'' (1890) * ''Tri mučenice'' (1890) * ''Mladost-ludost'' (1891) * ''Pobijeljeni grobovi'' (1896) Plays * ''Sestre'' (1890) * ''Obiteljska tajna'' (1890) * ''Poslovi'' (1898) * ''Petar Zrinski'' (1900) Essays and other non-fiction * ''O romanu'' (1883) * ''Ivan Turgenjev'' (1883) * ''Pod puškom'' (1886) * ''Zablude naše kritike'' (1890) * ''Petar Zrinski, Fran Krsto Frankopan i njihovi klevetnici'' (1899)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumicic, Eugen 1850 births 1904 deaths People from Mošćenička Draga 19th-century Croatian writers Croatian dramatists and playwrights Dramatists and playwrights from Austria-Hungary Novelists from Austria-Hungary Croatian novelists Croatian male novelists Representatives in the Croatian Parliament (1848–1918) Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Party of Rights politicians 19th-century novelists 19th-century dramatists and playwrights Croatian nationalists 19th-century Croatian male writers University of Vienna alumni