Elena Văcărescu, or Hélène Vacaresco (September 21, 1864 in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
– February 17, 1947 in Paris), was a Romanian-French aristocrat writer, twice a laureate of the
Académie française.
Life
Through her father, Ioan Văcărescu, she descended from a long line of
boyars of
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
(the
Văcărescu family), including
Ienăchiță Văcărescu, the poet who wrote the first
Romanian grammar. She was also a granddaughter of Romanian poet
Iancu Văcărescu. Through her mother, Eufrosina Fălcoianu, she descended from the
Fălcoianu family, a prominent clan in the times of
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
Michael the Brave
Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...
.
She spent most of her youth on the Văcărescu estate near
Târgovişte. Elena first got acquainted with the
English literature through her English governess, Miss Allan. She also studied
French literature
French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...
in Paris, where she met
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
, whom she later mentioned in her memoirs. She attended courses of philosophy, aesthetics and history and also studied poetry under the guidance of
Sully Prudhomme
René François Armand "Sully" Prudhomme (; 16 March 1839 – 6 September 1907) was a French poet and essayist. He was the first winner of the 1901 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901.
Born in Paris, Prudhomme originall ...
.
Another influence on her early life was the
Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878, which also involved Romania; it declared independence from the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
and joined the camp of
Imperial Russia. Elena's father fought in the war; the experience influenced her first book, which was published in 1886.
The meeting that changed her life was that with
Elisabeth of Wied
Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Wied (29 December 18432 March 1916) was the first queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marriage to then- ...
, Queen of Romania. The wife of
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Carol I, she invited her to the palace in 1888. Interested in Văcărescu's literary achievements, Elisabeth became much more interested in the person of the poet. Having not yet recovered from the death of her only daughter in 1874, Elisabeth transferred all her maternal love to Elena.
In 1889, the lack of heirs to the Romanian throne made Carol adopt his nephew
Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, whose loneliness in a strange country made him close to Elena, fall in love with her, and eventually express the desire to marry her. However, according to the
1866 Constitution of Romania
The 1866 Constitution of Romania was the fundamental law that capped a period of nation-building in the Danubian Principalities, which had united in 1859. Drafted in a short time and closely modeled on the 1831 Constitution of Belgium, then consi ...
, the heir to the throne was not allowed to marry a Romanian. The result of the affair was that Elisabeth, who had encouraged the romance, was exiled to
Neuwied
Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...
for two years, Elena was exiled to Paris for life, and Ferdinand was sent off in search of a new bride, which he eventually found in
Marie of Edinburgh
Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of King Ferdinand I.
Marie was born into the British royal family. Her parents were Prince Alfred, ...
.
Văcărescu was the Substitute Delegate to the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
from 1921 to 1924. She was a permanent delegate from 1925 to 1926. She was again a Substitute Delegate to the League of Nations from 1926 to 1938. She was the only woman to serve with the rank of ambassador (permanent delegate) in the history of the League of Nations.
In 1925, she was welcomed as a member of the Romanian Academy. She translated into French, works of
Romanian poets
The following is a list of famous or notable Romanian language poets grouped by period of activity (years link to corresponding "earin poetry" articles):
The beginnings
*Gheorghe Asachi (1788–1869)
*Vasile Cârlova (1809–1832)
*Dosoft ...
such as
Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active memb ...
,
Lucian Blaga
Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He was a commanding personality of the Romanian culture of the interbellum period.
Biography
Blaga was born on 9 May 1895 ...
,
Octavian Goga
Octavian Goga (; 1 April 1881 – 7 May 1938) was a Romanian politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and translator.
Life and politics
Goga was born in Rășinari, near Sibiu.
Goga was an active member in the Romanian nationalisti ...
,
George Topîrceanu
George Topîrceanu (; March 20, 1886 – May 7, 1937) was a Romanian poet, short story writer, and humourist.
Biography
He was born in Bucharest, the son of Ion Topîrceanu, a furrier and his wife, Paraschiva (née Cosma), a carpet weaver. Th ...
,
Ion Minulescu
Ion Minulescu (; 6 January 1881 – 11 April 1944) was a Romanian avant-garde poet, novelist, short story writer, journalist, literary critic, and playwright. Often publishing his works under the pseudonyms I. M. Nirvan and Koh-i-Noor (the latte ...
and
Ion Vinea
Ion Vinea (born Ioan Eugen Iovanaki, sometimes Iovanache; April 17, 1895 – July 6, 1964) was a Romanian poet, novelist, journalist, literary theorist, and political figure. He became active on the modernist scene during his teens—his poetic wo ...
.
Just before her death, Văcărescu was a member of the Romanian delegation, headed by
Gheorghe Tătărescu
: ''For the artist, see Gheorghe Tattarescu.''
Gheorghe I. Tătărescu (also known as ''Guță Tătărescu'', with a slightly antiquated pet form of his given name; 2 November 1886 – 28 March 1957) was a Romanian politician who served twice as P ...
, to the
Paris Peace Conference, after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. She is interred in the Văcărescu family crypt in the
Bellu cemetery
Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania.
It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. Th ...
, in Bucharest.
Published books
Original poetry
*''Chants d'Aurore'' (1886)
*''L'âme sereine'' (1896)
*''Lueurs et Flammes'' (1903)
*''Le Jardin passioné'' (1908)
*''La Dormeuse éveillée'' (1914)
Folklore themes interpreted
*Le Rhapsode de la Dâmboviţa (1889)
*''Nuits d'Orient'' (1907)
*''Dans l'or du soir'' (1927)
Novels
*''Amor vincit'' (1908)
*''Le Sortilege'' (1911)
Memoirs
*''Memorial sur le mode mineur'' (1945)
*''Le Roman de ma vie''
Theatre
*''Stana'' (1904)
*''Pe urma dragostei''
Gallery
File:Hélène Vacaresco.jpg
File:Elena Vacarescu.jpg
File:Madame Elena Vacarescu MET DP102542.jpg
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vacarescu, Elena
1864 births
1947 deaths
Permanent Representatives of Romania to the League of Nations
Romanian dramatists and playwrights
Romanian memoirists
Romanian novelists
Romanian translators
Romanian women poets
Romanian women novelists
Romanian writers in French
Romanian–French translators
Romanian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference of 1946
Elena
Elena may refer to:
People
* Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
* Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician
* Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet
Geography
* Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...
Writers from Bucharest
Romanian emigrants to France
Mistresses of Romanian royalty
Women memoirists
Women dramatists and playwrights
Burials at Bellu Cemetery
19th-century Romanian poets
20th-century Romanian poets
20th-century translators
20th-century Romanian women politicians
19th-century French women writers
20th-century French women writers
Romanian women diplomats
19th-century Romanian women writers
20th-century Romanian women writers
19th-century translators
Women ambassadors