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

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n writer and politician. Kumičić was one of the most prolific Croatian novelists of the

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

era and a pioneer of naturalism in Croatian

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Biography

Kumičić was born in

Brseč Brseč ( it, Bersezio) is a village in western Croatia. It is part of Mošćenička Draga municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The village is located on the steep, eastern shore of the Istrian peninsula, on cliffs high above the Kvarn ...

Mošćenička Draga Mošćenička Draga ( it, Draga di Moschiena) is municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia. It has 1,535 inhabitants, 90.7% of which are Croats. It is situated southwest of Opatija under Mt. Učka The Učka ([], it, Monte Maggiore) ...

(now in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County), a small town in Istria, then part of the Austrian Empire. After majoring philosophy at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, he returned to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and worked as a teacher in high schools in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

and

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

. From 1875 to 1878 he spent two years in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and six months in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, preparing for his French and Italian teaching examinations. While in France, he came into contact with naturalist writing, primarily through the works of

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

. 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 his people to self-determination. As an important memb ...

'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 ( hr, Hrvatska stranka prava or HSP) is an extra-parliamentary nationalist political party in Croatia. The "right(s)" in the party's name refer to the legal and moral reasons that justify the independence and autonom ...

' 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 ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor ...

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

Croatian literature Croatian literature refers to literary works attributed to the medieval and modern culture of the Croats, Croatia, and Croatian. Besides the modern language whose shape and orthography was standardized in the late 19th century, it also covers t ...

in his novels dealing with urban life and Croatian history, but his efforts were often hampered by

national romantic Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

tendencies. His works were therefore primarily influenced by realist and romanticist writers of the era such as August Šenoa,

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

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'', which ...

. 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 ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

was depicted as caught up in. His last works were

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

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 Croatian novelists Croatian male writers 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 male writers University of Vienna alumni