George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of
classicist
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
and
humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "human ...
tendencies. He is currently considered one of the most important Romanian literary critics of all time, alongside
Titu Maiorescu
Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of ...
and
Eugen Lovinescu
Eugen Lovinescu (; 31 October 1881 – 16 July 1943) was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the ''Sburătorul'' literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the u ...
, and is one of the outstanding figures of Romanian literature in the 20th century.
Biography
Early childhood
George Călinescu was born Gheorghe Vișan on 14 June 1899, the son of a housekeeper, Maria Vișan; the child was brought up by his mother's employers, Constantin Călinescu, a worker for
Romanian State Railways
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
, and his wife Maria, in their house in Bucharest. The Călinescu family, along with their housekeeper and the child, moved first to
Botoșani, then to
Iași, where Gheorghe Vișan, the future writer, matriculated at the școala "Carol I" (affiliated to the
Boarding High School). In 1907, Maria Vișan accepted the Călinescus' offer to formally adopt her son, who then took the name Gheorghe Călinescu. This was his real name until his death, but, because he used the pen name G. Călinescu, after his death an apocryphal, wrong, "George Călinescu" name was forged by the common use. As a child Călinescu did not know who his real mother was. Finding out that the housekeeper that he used to humiliate was his real mother caused him a psychological trauma.
[Genealogia - Între științǎ, Mitologie și Monomanie](_blank)
/ref> He tried to hide his real origins for the rest of his life.
A model: Ramiro Ortiz
, who taught Italian language and literature at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, exercised a seminal influence over Călinescu's development. Călinescu developed a strong friendship with Ortiz; years later, he would give Ortiz credit for helping him "seize" a literary education of extraordinary quality.[Mircea Zaciu, Marian Papahagi, Aurel Sasu, Dicționarul scriitorilor români, Editura Fundației Culturale Române, 1995, literele A-C, p. 551–517] Under Ortiz's guidance Călinescu made his first translations from Italian; during his student days he translated Giovanni Papini
Giovanni Papini (9 January 18818 July 1956) was an Italian journalist, essayist, novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and philosopher. A controversial literary figure of the early and mid-twentieth century, he was the earliest and ...
's autobiographical novel ''Un uomo finito'' and a novella from Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was some ...
's ''Decameron
''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...
''. Again with Ortiz's help, he began work at the literary review ''Roma'', the first issue appearing in January 1921, and travelled to Italy with his university colleagues. Călinescu's first book was written in Italian under the title which appeared in 1925 and treated the Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
's counter-reformationary propaganda efforts in Baroque Moldavia with heavy reliance on unpublished sources found in the Vatican Archives.
Another model: Vasile Pârvan
If 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 ...
, alongside Ramiro Ortiz, Călinescu realized his vocation as a creative artist and scholar, his attention in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
was focused on Vasile Pârvan, the director of the Accademia di Romania
The Romanian Academy in Rome ( ro, Școala română din Roma, it, Accademia di Romania in Roma) is a research institution under the aegis of the Romanian Academy, founded in 1920 by an initiative of archaeologist Vasile Pârvan and historian Nico ...
. Călinescu was captivated by Pârvan's erudition and work ethic, but also by his existential philosophy
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
. Călinescu would always return to this "spiritual father" whenever the difficulties of life seemed to bring him to his knees. Călinescu observed that while Pârvan's natural aptitude was fairly common, his tendency to exercise all the powers of his mind in the ascetic pursuit of an intellectual ideal was transformed into an existential philosophy: Life is transitory, but man can defeat death and oblivion through creation, thus leaving a permanent record of a temporary existence. Călinescu later said, "even if not everyone is in a position to become a Pârvan, everyone can see in him a model, that is to say a way in which he too can accomplish the same renunciations."[Ion Bălu, ''Opera lui G. Călinescu'', Editura Libra, 2001, p. pp.36]
Doctorate in Literature - and beyond
In 1936, Călinescu received his doctorate in literature from the University of Iași
The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University ( Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia M ...
with a thesis on ''Avatarii faraonului Tla'' ("The Avatars of Pharaoh Tla"), a posthumous work of 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 ...
whose value he was the first to publicize. In fact, this thesis was an extract from Călinescu's earlier work, ''Opera lui Mihai Eminescu'' ("Mihai Eminescu's Work"), which he wrote out longhand in five copies and sent to the members of the Examination Committee. Afterwards he was named lecturer in Romanian literature at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Iași, after having won the competition for the post with the maximum possible score. In 1945, he transferred to the University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...
, from which point he collaborated on the prestigious ''Revistă a Fundațiilor Regale'', edited by Alexandru Rosetti and Camil Petrescu
Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania.
Life
Petrescu was born in Bu ...
, until it was closed down when the King abdicated in 1947. After 1947, he was published consistently in magazines such as ''Gazeta literară'' (later to become ''România literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared o ...
'') and ''Contemporanul
''Contemporanul'' (The Contemporary) is a Romanian literary magazine published in Iaşi, Romania from 1881 to 1891. It was sponsored by the socialist circle of the city.
A new magazine ''Contimporanul
''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of ...
'', also collaborating on ''Roma'', ''Universul literar'', ''Viața literară'', ''Sburătorul'', and ''Gândirea''.
Under Communism
Călinescu was deposed from his position at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest after the establishment in power of the Communist Party of Romania
The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that woul ...
. He was considered a political liability despite having shown evidence of democratic, left-leaning tendencies throughout the interwar period. In the 1950s, however, he became director of the ''Institutul de teorie literară și folclor'' ("The Literary Theory and Folklore Institute") and coordinated the institute's publication, ''Studii și cercetări de istorie literară și folclor'' ("Literary Theory and Folklore Studies and Research"), from 1952 to 1965. He was reinvited to his post at the Faculty of Letters only in 1961; in the meantime, he produced numerous writings on wide-ranging subjects, from the aesthetic of folk tales to the history of Spanish literature
Spanish literature generally refers to literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects wi ...
.
Research, criticism, writings
Călinescu was the author of several fundamental texts of Romanian literary history (''Viața lui Mihai Eminescu, Opera lui Mihai Eminescu,'' and ''Viața lui Ion Creangă'' among others). After 1945, he published significant writings on world literature (including ''Impresii asupra literaturii spaniole,'' and ''Scriitori străini''.) His study ''Estetica basmului'', devoted to the poetics of Romanian folk tales, underlined the range of his interests. From 1932 to 1962, he published monographs, in separate volumes, on such writers as Eminescu, fabulist Ion Creangă, realist novelist Nicolae Filimon
Nicolae Filimon (; 6 September 1819 – 19 March 1865) was a Wallachian Romanian novelist and short-story writer, remembered as the author of the first Realist novel in Romanian literature, ''Ciocoii vechi şi noi'' ("The Old and the New Parvenu ...
, and poet Grigore Alexandrescu, fictionalized biographies, scholarly studies, and essays. He continued presiding over numerous academic and radio conferences and writing thousands of critical reviews until his death in 1965.
Novelist, poet and dramatist
Călinescu produced heavily descriptive realist novels in the mode of Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...
, often with obvious polemic
Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topic ...
al undertones lurking beneath their apparently objective style. The novel he considered his best, ''Enigma Otiliei'', narrates an unhappy love story; ''Cartea nunții'' is a disquisition on marriage; and ''Bietul Ioanide'' and ''Scrinul negru'' present the problems of intellectuals, all against the backdrop of interwar and immediate postwar Romania. Călinescu also wrote poems (''Lauda lucrurilor'') and plays (''Șun, mit mongol'') while continuing to practice journalism, although ''Cronicile mizantropului'' abruptly became ''Cronicile optimistului'' after the Communists seized power in 1947.
Civic and political activity under Communism
An intellectual with liberal-left ideas who nonetheless proved flexible enough to write praises of the King under Carol's dictatorship, Călinescu outwardly adhered to the new Communist ideology after 1947, likely noting the practical advantages of such a shift in loyalties.
He made numerous research trips to the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
(''Kiev, Moscova, Leningrad'' appeared in 1949) and the People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(''Am fost în China nouă'', in 1953), publishing his impressions in these two volumes.
From 1948 to 1953 Călinescu was mistrusted and marginalized, despite being named to the Academy of the Romanian People's Republic in 1949; even after destalinization
De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascension ...
began in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in 1953, the Romanian establishment continued to favor the "wooden-tongued," socialist realist
Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ...
models the Soviets had begun to abandon. Călinescu's total inability to write convincingly in this style resulted in his continued perception as a reactionary conservative. Nonetheless, he was invited to resume his columns on a permanent basis in 1956, marking the beginning of his rehabilitation. Before the end of his life, all of his works, with the exception of his monumental ''Istoria'', were issued in new editions. ''Istoria'' would appear (to great acclaim) only in the 1980s, through the efforts of Călinescu's assistant Alexandru Piru
Alexandru Piru (August 22, 1917 – November 6, 1993) was a Romanian literary critic and historian.
Born in Mărgineni, Bacău County,Alex. Ștefănescu"Al. Piru", in ''România Literară'', nr. 10/2002 his parents were Vasile, a notary, and ...
.
Final years of life
In November 1964, George Călinescu was diagnosed with cirrhosis
Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...
of the liver and sent for treatment to the sanatorium at Otopeni
Otopeni () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, some north of Bucharest along the DN1 road to Ploiești. It has 15,850 inhabitants, of which 99.0% are ethnic Romanians. One village, Odăile, is administered by the city.
Henri Coandă ...
. On 12 March 1965, in the middle of the night, he died, leaving behind, in the words of Geo Bogza, "a body of work fundamental to the Romanian people."
Post-Communist reputation
After 1989 there began a period in which Călinescu's civic activity under the Communist regime was called into question, and in which he was accused of collaborating with the authorities, notably by his former assistant Adrian Marino. A veritable "trial by press" resulted in which all of his works and activities were systematically reevaluated, proving Călinescu's perennial value and ability to offer new generations new perspectives on his own times and the whole history of Romanian literature.
Works
Studies in Foreign Languages
* (On Some Italian Catholic Missionaries in the Moldavia of the 17th and 18th centuries), 1925.
Studies on Aesthetics and World Literature
* ''Principii de estetică'' ("Principles of Aesthetics"), 1939
* ''Impresii asupra literaturii spaniole'' ("Impressions on Spanish Literature"), 1946
* ''Sensul clasicismului'' ("The Meaning of Classicism"), 1946
* ''Studii și conferințe'' ("Studies and Conferences"), 1956
* ''Scriitori străini'' ("Foreign Writers"), 1967
Poetry
* ''Poezii'' ("Poetry"), 1937
* ''Lauda lucrurilor'' ("In Praise of Things"), 1963
* ''Lauda zapezii'' ("In Praise of Snow"), 1965
Drama
* ''Șun, mit mongol sau Calea neturburată'' ("Șun, a Mongol Myth"), 1940
* ''Ludovic al XIX-lea'' ("Louis XIX"), 1964
* ''Teatru'' ("Theatre"), 1965
Novels
* ''Cartea nunții'' ("The Wedding Book"), 1933
* ''Enigma Otiliei'' ("Otilia's Riddle"), 1938
* ''Trei nuvele'' ("Three Novellas"), 1949
* ''Bietul Ioanide'' ("Poor Ioanide"), 1953
* ''Scrinul negru'' ("The Black Chest of Drawers"), 1965
History and literary criticism
* ''Viața lui Mihai Eminescu'' ("Mihai Eminescu's Life"), 1932
* ''Opera lui Mihai Eminescu'' ("The Works of Mihai Eminescu"), 1934
* ''Viața lui Ion Creangă'' ("Ion Creangă's Life"), 1938
* ''Istoria literaturii române de la origini până în prezent'' ("The History of Romanian Literature from its Origins to the Present"), 1941
* ''Istoria literaturii române. Compendiu'' ("The History of Romanian Literature. A Compendium"), 1945
* ''Universul poeziei'' ("The Universe of Poetry"), 1947
* ''Nicolae Filimon'', 1959
* ''Gr. M. Alecsandrescu'', 1962
* ''Ion Creangă; Viața și opera'' ("Ion Creangă; His Life and Works"), 1964
* ''Vasile Alecsandri'', 1965
Journalism
* ''Cronicile optimistului'' ("The Chronicles of an Optimist"), 1964
* ''Ulysse'' ("Ulysses"), 1967
Travel journals
* ''Kiev, Moscova, Leningrad'' (Kiev, Moscow, Leningrad), 1949
* ''Am fost în China nouă'' ("I've Been to the New China"), 1953
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calinescu, George
Romanian biographers
Male biographers
Romanian literary critics
Romanian literary historians
Romanian essayists
Romanian male novelists
Members of the Great National Assembly
Writers from Bucharest
University of Bucharest faculty
Gheorghe Lazăr National College (Bucharest) alumni
Titular members of the Romanian Academy
Recipients of the Order of the Star of the Romanian Socialist Republic
Burials at Bellu Cemetery
1899 births
1965 deaths
20th-century Romanian novelists
Male essayists
20th-century essayists
20th-century Romanian male writers
Mihai Eminescu scholars