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Ion Luca Caragiale (; commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179-184 – 9 June 1912) was a Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist. Leaving behind an important cultural legacy, he is considered one of the greatest playwrights in Romanian language and literature, as well as one of its most important writers and a leading representative of local humour. Alongside Mihai Eminescu, Ioan Slavici and
Ion Creangă Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romania ...
, he is seen as one of the main representatives of '' Junimea'', an influential literary society with which he nonetheless parted during the second half of his life. His work, spanning four decades, covers the ground between
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
, Realism, and Naturalism, building on an original synthesis of foreign and local influences. Although few in number, Caragiale's plays constitute the most accomplished expression of Romanian theatre, as well as being important venues for criticism of late-19th-century Romanian society. They include the comedies ''
O noapte furtunoasă O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...
'', ''
Conu Leonida față cu reacțiunea Coni ( tly, Çoni) is a village and municipality in the Lerik Rayon of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental co ...
'', ''
O scrisoare pierdută ''O scrisoare pierdută'' (Romanian for "A Lost Letter") is a play by Ion Luca Caragiale. It premiered in 1884, and arguably represents the high point of his career.Vianu, Vol. II, p.180 It was adapted into a 1953 film ''A Lost Letter''. Characte ...
'', and the tragedy '' Năpasta''. In addition to these, Caragiale authored a large number of essays, articles, short stories,
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
s and
sketch stories A sketch story, literary sketch or simply sketch, is a piece of writing that is generally shorter than a short story, and contains very little, if any, plot. The genre was invented after the 16th century in England, as a result of increasing public ...
, as well as occasional works of poetry and autobiographical texts such as '' Din carnetul unui vechi sufleur''. In many cases, his creations were first published in one of several magazines he edited — '' Claponul'', '' Vatra'', and ''
Epoca Epoca may refer to: Media * ''Epoca'' (magazine), Italian news magazine published, 1950–1997 * ''Época'' (Brazilian magazine), Brazilian news magazine established in 1998 * ''Época'' (Spanish magazine), Spanish weekly news magazine, 1985– ...
''. In some of his later fiction writings, including ''
La hanul lui Mânjoală LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
'', ''
Kir Ianulea ''Kir Ianulea'' or ''Kyr Ianulea'' () is a fantasy and historical fiction novella or short story, published by Romanian author Ion Luca Caragiale in 1909. Borrowing the elements of a fairy tale, satire and frame story, it has become recognized as ...
'', '' Abu-Hasan,'' ''
Pastramă trufanda ''Pastramă'' is a popular delicatessen meat traditionally in Romania made from lamb and also from pork and mutton. Pastramă was originally created as a way to preserve meat before modern refrigeration. For pastrami, the raw meat is brined, par ...
'' and '' Calul dracului'', Caragiale adopted the fantasy genre or turned to
historical fiction 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 ...
. Ion Luca Caragiale was interested in the politics of the Romanian Kingdom, and oscillated between the liberal current and conservatism. Most of his
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
works target the liberal
republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
and the National Liberals, evidencing both his respect for their rivals at ''Junimea'' and his connections with the literary critic Titu Maiorescu. He came to clash with National Liberal leaders such as Dimitrie Sturdza and Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, and was a lifelong adversary of the
Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...
poet Alexandru Macedonski. As a result of these conflicts, the most influential of Caragiale's critics barred his access to the cultural establishment for several decades. During the 1890s, Caragiale rallied with the
radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
movement of
George Panu George Panu (March 9, 1848 – November 6, 1910) was a Moldavian, later Romanian memoirist, literary critic, journalist and politician. A native of Iași, educated there as well as in Paris and Brussels, he worked as a schoolteacher and lawyer, b ...
, before associating with the Conservative Party. After having decided to settle in Berlin, he came to voice strong criticism for Romanian politicians of all colours in the wake of the 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt, and ultimately joined the Conservative-Democratic Party of
Tache Ionescu Take or Tache Ionescu (; born Dumitru Ghiță Ioan and also known as Demetriu G. Ionnescu; – 21 June 1922) was a Romanian centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Starting his ...
. He was both a friend and rival to writers such as Mihai Eminescu, Titu Maiorescu, and Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, while maintaining contacts with, among others, the ''Junimist'' essayist Iacob Negruzzi, the socialist philosopher Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea, the literary critic Paul Zarifopol, the poets George Coșbuc and Mite Kremnitz, the psychologist Constantin Rădulescu-Motru, and the Transylvanian poet and activist Octavian Goga. Ion Luca was the nephew of Costache and Iorgu Caragiale, who were major figures of the 19th century Romanian theatre. His sons Mateiu and Luca were both modernist writers.


Biography


Background and name

Ion Luca Caragiale was born into a family of Greek descent, whose members first arrived in Wallachia soon after 1812, during the rule of Prince
Ioan Gheorghe Caragea Ioan Gheorghe Caragea (sometimes Anglified as John Caradja; History of the Romanian language, pre-modern Romanian: ''Ioan Gheorghie Caragea'', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Cyrillic: Їωан Геωргïє Караџѣ; Greek language, Greek: Ἰ ...
—Ștefan Caragiali, as his grandfather was known locally, worked as a cook for the court in Bucharest. Rosana Heinisch
"Grecii, mai interesaţi de opera lui I.L.Caragiale decit conaţionalii săi"
, in '' Evenimentul'', 8 June 2002
Lucian Nastasă
''Genealogia între ştiinţă, mitologie şi monomanie''
p. 18, at the Romanian Academy's George Bariţ Institute of History, Cluj-Napoca. Retrieved 3 July 2007.
Ion Luca's father, who reportedly originated from the Ottoman capital of Istanbul, settled in
Prahova County Prahova County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/km². It is Romania's third mos ...
as the curator of the Mărgineni Monastery (which, at the time, belonged to the Greek Orthodox
Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...
of Mount Sinai). Known to locals as Luca Caragiali, he later built a reputation as a lawyer and judge in Ploiești, and married Ecaterina, the daughter of a merchant from the Transylvanian town of Brașov.Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 176 Georgeta Ene, , in '' Magazin Istoric'', January 2002, pp. 12-17 Her maiden name was given as ''Alexovici'' (''Alexevici'') or as ''Karaboa'' (''Caraboa''). She is known to have been Greek herself,
Ioan Holban Ioan is a variation on the name John (first name), John found in Romanian language, Romanian, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, Russian language, Russian, Welsh language, Welsh (), and Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The fema ...

"I.L. Caragiale, fiul unui emigrant din Cefallonia (III)"
in '' Evenimentul'', 25 May 2002.
and, according to historian Lucian Nastasă, some of her relatives were Hungarian members of the Tabay family. The couple also had a daughter, named Lenci. Ion Luca's uncles, Costache and Iorgu Caragiale, managed theater troupes and were very influential figures in the development of early Romanian theatre — in Wallachia and Moldavia alike.Dan Mănucă, "Caragiale", in Jean-Claude Polet, ''Patrimoine littéraire européen: anthologie en langue française'', De Boeck Université, Paris, 2000, pp. 478-479; Luca Caragiali had himself performed with his brothers during his youth, before opting to settle down. All three had stood criticism for not taking part in the Wallachian Revolution, and defended themselves through a brochure printed in 1848. The Caragiali brothers had two sisters, Ecaterina and Anastasia. Doina Tudorovic
"Caragiale: 'ai avesi, tomnilor, cu numele meu?'"
in '' Ziarul Financiar'', 5 July 2000.
Especially in his old age, the writer emphasized his family's humble background and his status as a self-made man. On one occasion, he defined the landscape of his youth as "the quagmires of Ploiești".Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 197 Although it prompted his biographer Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea to define him as "a proletarian", Caragiale's account was disputed by several other researchers, who noted that the family had a good social standing. Ion Luca Caragiale was discreet about his ethnic origin for the larger part of his life. In parallel, his foreign roots came to the attention of his adversaries, who used them as arguments in various polemics. Sorin Antohi
"Romania and the Balkans. From Geocultural Bovarism to Ethnic Ontology"
in ''Tr@nsit online'', Nr. 21/2002, Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen
As his relations with Caragiale degenerated into hostility, Mihai Eminescu is known to have referred to his former friend as "that Greek swindler".Cristea-Enache, chapter "Corespondenţa inedită Mihai Eminescu – Veronica Micle. Filigranul geniului" Aware of such treatment, the writer considered all references to his lineage to be insults. On several occasions, he preferred to indicate that he was "of obscure birth". Nevertheless, as literary critic Tudor Vianu noted, Caragiale's outlook on life was explicitly
Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
ic and
Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...
al, which, in Vianu's view, mirrored a type "which must have been found in his lineage".Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 195 A similar opinion was expressed by Paul Zarifopol, who speculated that Caragiale's conservative mindset was possibly owed to the "lazyness of one true Oriental" Paul Zarifopol
''Introduceri la ediţia critică I.L. Caragiale, opere''
(wikisource)
(elsewhere, he referred to the writer as "a lazy southerner, fitted with definitely supranormal intelligence and imagination"). Paul Zarifopol,
Artiști și idei literare române: Publicul și arta lui Caragiale
' (wikisource)
In his main work on the history of Romanian literature, George Călinescu included Caragiale among a group of "Balkan" writers, whose middle class status and often foreign origin, he argued, set them apart irrespective of their period—others in this category were, in chronological order,
Anton Pann Anton Pann (; born Antonie Pantoleon-Petroveanu , and also mentioned as ''Anton Pantoleon'' or ''Petrovici''; 1790s—2 November 1854) was an Ottoman-born Wallachian composer, musicologist, and Romanian-language poet, also noted for his act ...
, Tudor Arghezi, Ion Minulescu,
Urmuz Urmuz (, pen name of Demetru Dem. Demetrescu-Buzău, also known as Hurmuz or Ciriviș, born Dimitrie Dim. Ionescu-Buzeu; March 17, 1883 – November 23, 1923) was a Romanian writer, lawyer and civil servant, who became a cult hero in Romania's ava ...
,
Mateiu Caragiale Mateiu Ion Caragiale (; – January 17, 1936), also credited as Matei or Matheiu, or in the antiquated version Mateiŭ,Sorin Antohi"Romania and the Balkans. From Geocultural Bovarism to Ethnic Ontology" in ''Tr@nsit online'', Institut für die ...
, and Ion Barbu. In contrast, critic Garabet Ibrăileanu proposed that Caragiale's Wallachian origin was of particular importance, serving to explain his political choices and alleged social bias. Garabet Ibrăileanu
''Spiritul critic în cultura românească: Spiritul critic în Muntenia – Critica socială extremă: Caragiale''
(wikisource)
On one occasion, Caragiale mentioned that his paternal grandfather was "a Greek cook". In several contexts, he referred to his roots as being in the island of
Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...
. In one of his photographs, he posed in Oriental costume and sitting cross-legged, which was interpreted by Vianu as an additional reference to his Balkan background. Two of his biographers, Zarifopol and
Șerban Cioculescu Șerban Cioculescu (; 7 September 1902 – 25 June 1988) was a Romanian literary critic, literary historian and columnist, who held teaching positions in Romanian literature at the University of Iași and the University of Bucharest, as well as m ...
, noted that a section of Caragiale's
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
''
Kir Ianulea ''Kir Ianulea'' or ''Kyr Ianulea'' () is a fantasy and historical fiction novella or short story, published by Romanian author Ion Luca Caragiale in 1909. Borrowing the elements of a fairy tale, satire and frame story, it has become recognized as ...
'' was a likely self-reference: in that fragment of text, the Christian Devil, disguised as an Arvanite trader, is shown taking pride in his Romanian language skills. Investigations carried out by the Center of Theatric Research in Athens, Greece and made public in 2002 offered an alternative take on the Caragiales' origin. According to this perspective, Ștefan Caragiali was a native of
Kefalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...
, and his original surname, ''Karaialis'', was changed on Prince Caragea's request. Various authors also believe that Caragiale's ancestors were
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
or Aromanian. Originally, Ion Luca was known as ''Ioanne L. Caragiali''."Casele lui Caragiale"
, in ''
Adevărul ''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published dur ...
'', 30 January 2002.
His family and friends knew him as ''Iancu'' or, rarely, ''Iancuțu''—both being antiquated hypocoristics of ''Ion''. The definitive full version of his features the syllable ''ca'' twice in a row, which is generally avoided in Romanian due to its scatological connotations. It has however become one of the few cacophonies accepted by the Romanian Academy.


Early years

Born in the village of Haimanale, Prahova County (the present-day I. L. Caragiale commune, Dâmbovița County), Caragiale was educated in Ploiești. During his early years, as he later indicated, he learned reading and writing with a teacher at the Romanian Orthodox Church of Saint George.Mîndra, p. 272 Soon after, he was taught literary Romanian by the Transylvanian-born Bazilie Dragoșescu (whose influence on his use of the language he was to acknowledge in one of his later works). At the age of seven, he witnessed enthusiastic celebrations of the
Danubian Principalities The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th ce ...
' union, with the election of Moldavia's Alexandru Ioan Cuza as Prince of Wallachia;Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 192 Cuza's subsequent reforms were to be an influence on the political choices Caragiale made in his old age. The new ruler visited his primary school later in 1859, being received with enthusiasm by Dragoșescu and all his pupils. Caragiale completed gymnasium at the Sfinții Petru și Pavel school in the city, and never pursued any form of higher education. He was probably enlisted directly in the second grade, as records do not show him to have attended or graduated the first year. Notably, Caragiale was taught history by Constantin Iennescu, who was later the mayor of Ploiești.Mîndra, pg. 9 The young Caragiale opted to follow in his uncles' footsteps, and was taught declamation and mimic art by Costache at the latter's theater school in Bucharest, where he was accompanied by his mother and sister. It is also probable that he was a supernumerary actor for the National Theater Bucharest. He was not able to find full employment in this field, and, around the age of 18, worked as a
copyist A copyist is a person that makes duplications of the same thing. The term is sometimes used for artists who make copies of other artists' paintings. However, the modern use of the term is almost entirely confined to music copyists, who are emplo ...
for the Prahova County Tribunal. Throughout his life, Caragiale refused to talk about his training in the theater, and hid it from the people closest to him (including his wife Alexandrina Burelly, who came from an upper middle class environment).Cioculescu, pg. 6 In 1866, Caragiale witnessed Cuza's toppling by a coalition of conservatives and liberals — as he later acknowledged in his ''Grand Hotel "Victoria Română"'', he and his friends agreed to support the move by voting "yes" during a subsequent plebiscite, and, with tacit approval from the new authorities, even did so several times each. By the age of 18, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the liberal current, and sympathized with its republican ideals. In 1871, he witnessed the
Republic of Ploiești The Republic of Ploiești ( ro, Republica de la Ploiești) was a revolt against the princely Romanian monarchy in the city of Ploiești, Romania, on 8 August, 1870. Background The Republic of Ploiești is the name of a movement from 8 August 18 ...
— a short-lived stated created by the liberal groups, in an attempt to oust '' Domnitor''
Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (20 April 1839 – ), born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He w ...
(the future King of Romania). Later in life, as his opinions veered towards conservatism, Caragiale ridiculed both the attempted '' coup d'état'' and his participation in it. He returned to Bucharest later that year, after manager Mihail Pascaly hired him as one of the prompts at the National Theater in the capital, a period about which he reminisced in his '' Din carnetul unui vechi sufleur''. The poet Mihai Eminescu, with whom Ion Luca was to have cordial relations as well as rivalries, had previously been employed for the same position by the manager Iorgu Caragiale. In addition to his growing familiarity with the repertoire, the young Caragiale educated himself by reading the philosophical works of Enlightenment-era ''
philosophe The ''philosophes'' () were the intellectuals of the 18th-century Enlightenment.Kishlansky, Mark, ''et al.'' ''A Brief History of Western Civilization: The Unfinished Legacy, volume II: Since 1555.'' (5th ed. 2007). Few were primarily philosopher ...
s''. It was also recorded that, at some point between 1870 and 1872, he was employed in the same capacity by the Moldavian National Theater in Iași. During the period, Caragiale also proofread for various publications and worked as a tutor.


Literary debut

Ion Luca made his literary debut in 1873, at the age of 21, with poems and humorous chronicles printed in
G. Dem. Teodorescu Gheorghe Dem Teodorescu (25 August 1849 – 20 August 1900) was a Wallachian, later Romanian folklorist, literary historian and journalist. Origins, education and early career Born in Bucharest, he was an only son. His father Tudor came from a ...
's liberal-inspired satirical magazine, ''Ghimpele''. He published relatively few articles under various
pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
s — among them ''Car.'', the contraction of his family name, and the more elaborate ''Palicar''. He mostly performed basic services for the editorial staff and its printing press, given that, after Luca Caragiali died in 1870, he was the sole provider for his mother and sister. Following his return to Bucharest, he became even more involved with the
radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
and republican wing of the liberal trend—a movement commonly referred to as "the Reds". As he later confessed, he frequently attended its congresses, witnessing the speeches held by Reds leader
C. A. Rosetti Constantin Alexandru Rosetti (; 2 June 1816 – 8 April 1885) was a Romanian literary and political leader, born in Bucharest into the princely Rosetti family. Biography Before 1848 Constantin Alexandru Rosetti was born in Bucharest, the son ...
; he thus became intimately acquainted with a Populist discourse, which he later
parodied A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
in his works. Working for ''Ghimpele'', he made the acquaintance of republican writer N. T. Orășanu.Mîndra, pg. 273 Several of his articles for ''Ghimpele'' were sarcastic in tone, and targeted various literary figures of the day. In June 1874, Caragiale amused himself at the expense of
N. D. Popescu-Popnedea Nicolae D. Popescu (August 9, 1843–June 8, 1921) was a Romanian prose writer. He was born in Bucharest to Romanian Orthodox priest Dimitrie Popescu and his wife Niculina. Popescu began high school in his native city, but left early in 1861 i ...
, the author of popular almanacs, whose taste he questioned.Cioculescu, pg. 52 Soon after, he ridiculed the rising poet Alexandru Macedonski, who had publicized his claim that he was a "Count Geniadevsky", and thus of Polish origin. The article contributed by Caragiale, in which he speculated that Macedonski (referred to with the
anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...
''Aamsky'') was using the name solely because it reminded people of the word "genius",Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 177 was the first act in a long polemic between the two literary figures. Caragiale turned Aamsky into a character on his own, envisaging his death as a result of overwork in editing magazines "for the country's political development". Caragiale also contributed poetry to ''Ghimpele'': two
sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...
s, and a series of
epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...
s (one of which was another attack on Macedonski). The first of these works, an 1873 sonnet dedicated to the
baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
Agostino Mazzoli, is believed to have been his first contribution to the ''
belles-lettres is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...
'' (as opposed to journalism). In 1896, Macedonski reflected with irony:
"As early as 1872, the clients of some beer gardens in the capital have had the occasion to welcome among them of a noisy young man, a bizarre spirit who seemed destined, were he to have devoted himself to letters or the arts, to be entirely original. Indeed, this young man's appearance, his hasty gestures, his sarcastic smile .. his always irritated and mocking voice, as well as his sophistic reasoning easily attracted attention."
Over the following years, Caragiale collaborated on various mouthpieces of the newly created National Liberal Party, and, in May 1877, created the satirical magazine '' Claponul''. Later in 1877, he also translated a series of
French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
plays for the National Theater:
Alexandre Parodi Alexandre Parodi (b. 1 June 1901 - d.15 March 1979) liases Quartus and Cératwas a French senior civil servant, a member of the French resistance, General de Gaulle's appointee in charge of the French provisional government during World War ...
's ''Rome vaincue'' (it was showcased in late 1877-early 1878), Paul Déroulède's ''L'Hetman'', and Eugène Scribe's ''Une camaraderie''.Vianu, Vol. II, p. 178 Together with the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
republican Frédéric Damé, he also headed a short-lived journal, ''Națiunea Română''. It was also then that he contributed a serialized overview of Romanian theater, published by the newspaper '' România Liberă'', in which Caragiale attacked the inferiority of Romanian
dramaturgy Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the Representation (arts), representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. The term first appears in the eponymous work ''Hamburg Dramaturgy'' (1767–69) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing ...
and the widespread recourse to
plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
. According to literary historian
Perpessicius Perpessicius (; pen name of Dumitru S. Panaitescu, also known as Panait Șt. Dumitru, D. P. Perpessicius and Panaitescu-Perpessicius; October 22, 1891 – March 29, 1971) was a Romanian literary historian and critic, poet, essayist and fiction wri ...
, the series constituted "one of the most solid critical contributions to the history of our theater". Macedonski later alleged that, in his contributions to the liberal newspapers, the young writer had
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
ed several Conservative Party politicians—when researching this period,
Șerban Cioculescu Șerban Cioculescu (; 7 September 1902 – 25 June 1988) was a Romanian literary critic, literary historian and columnist, who held teaching positions in Romanian literature at the University of Iași and the University of Bucharest, as well as m ...
concluded that the accusation was false, and that only one polemical article on a political topic could be traced back to Caragiale.


''Timpul'' and ''Claponul''

The young journalist began drifting away from National Liberal politics soon after 1876, when the group came to power with Ion Brătianu as
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
.Cioculescu, p. 20 According to many versions, Eminescu, who was working on the editorial staff of the main Conservative newspaper, '' Timpul'', asked to be joined by Caragiale and the Transylvanian prose writer Ioan Slavici, who were both employed by the paper. This order of events remains unclear, and depends on sources saying that Eminescu was employed by the paper in March 1876.Ornea, p. 246 Other testimonies indicate that it was actually Eminescu who arrived last, beginning work in January 1878. Slavici later recalled that three of them engaged in lengthy discussions at ''Timpuls headquarters on Calea Victoriei and in Eminescu's house on Sfinților Street, where they planned to co-author a massive work on
Romanian grammar Standard Romanian (i.e. the ''Daco-Romanian'' language within Balkan Romance) shares largely the same grammar and most of the vocabulary and phonological processes with the other three surviving varieties of Balkan Romance, namely Aromanian, Me ...
. According to literary historian Tudor Vianu, the relationship between Caragiale and Eminescu partly replicated that between the latter and the Moldavian
Ion Creangă Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romania ...
. Over that period, ''Timpul'' and Eminescu were engaged in a harsh polemic with the Reds, and especially their leader Rosetti.Vianu, Vol. II, p. 147 It was also then that Romania entered the Russo-Turkish War as a means to secure her complete independence from the Ottoman Empire. Caragiale reportedly took little interest in editing ''Timpul'' over that period, but it is assumed that several unsigned chronicles, covering foreign events, are his contributions (as are two short story adaptations of works by the
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
author Edgar Allan Poe, both published by ''Timpul'' in spring-summer 1878). The newspaper was actually issued as a collaborative effort, which makes it hard to identify the authors of many other articles. According to Slavici, Caragiale occasionally completed unfinished contributions by Eminescu whenever the latter had to leave unexpectedly. He concentrated instead on ''Claponul'', which he edited and wrote single-handedly for the duration of the war. Zarifopol believed that, through the series of light satires he contributed for the magazine, Caragiale was trying out his style, and thus "entertaining the suburbanites, in order to study them". A piece he authored of the time featured an imaginary barber and amateur artist, Năstase Știrbu, who drew a direct parallel between art, literature and cutting hair—both the theme and the character were to be reused in his later works. Similarly, a fragment of prose referring to two inseparable friends, Șotrocea and Motrocea, was to serve as the first draft for the
Lache and Mache The Lache ( ; sometimes simply Lache) is a housing estate in the city of Chester, in Cheshire, United Kingdom, with a population of around 10,000. It is located approximately southwest of the ancient city, with good local transport links en ...
series in '' Momente și schițe''. Another notable work of the time is ''Pohod la șosea'', a rhyming reportage documenting the
Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...
's arrival to Bucharest, and the street reactions to the event. ''Claponul'' ceased publication in early 1878.


''Junimea'' reception

It was probably through Eminescu that Ion Luca Caragiale came into contact with the
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
-based '' Junimea'', the influential literary society which was also a center for anti-National Liberal politics. Initially, Caragiale met with ''Junimea'' founder, the critic and politician Titu Maiorescu, during a visit to the house of Dr. Kremnitz, physician to the family of '' Domnitor''
Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (20 April 1839 – ), born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He w ...
. The doctor's wife and Maiorescu's sister-in-law, Mite Kremnitz, was herself a writer, and later became Eminescu's lover. During several meetings, Caragiale was asked by Maiorescu to write down a series of aphorisms in an album. His concise musings are contemplative in tone, and some of them have been construed by some present-day reviewers to contain evidence of misanthropy and, to a certain degree, misogyny. In 1878, Caragiale and Maiorescu left for Iași, where they attended ''Junimea''s 15th anniversary, and where Caragiale read his first draft of the celebrated play ''
O noapte furtunoasă O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...
''. The work, ridiculing the '' petite bourgeoisie''s mix of liberal values and demagogy over a background of superficial culture, immediately struck a chord with the majority-conservative grouping. Its reception was one of the pivotal moments in the second period of ''Junimea'' activities, characterized by the society's expansion to Bucharest and its
patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of the arts. Other writers who marked this stage were Creangă, Slavici, Vasile Alecsandri and Vasile Conta—together with Caragiale, they soon became the foremost representatives of ''Junimea''s direct influence on literature. To varying degrees, they all complimented the main element of ''Junimist'' discourse, Maiorescu criticism of "forms without a foundation"—the concept itself referred to the negative impact of
modernization Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, ...
, which, ''Junimea'' argued, had by then only benefited the upper strata of Romanian society, leaving the rest with an incomplete and increasingly falsified culture. Ion Luca Caragiale also associated with ''Junimeas mouthpiece, ''
Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' (Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by Ti ...
'', and continued to contribute there even after 1885, when the society began to decline in importance. It was here that all his major comedies were first presented to the public. He did not, however, join
Petre P. Carp Petre P. Carp (; also Petrache Carp, Francized ''Pierre Carp'', Ioana Pârvulescu"O adresă high-life", in ''România Literară'', Nr. 25/2010 occasionally ''Comte Carpe''; 28 Mircea Dumitriu"Petre P. Carp – un suflet, un caracter, o idee", in ...
's movement, which aimed to consolidate ''Junimea'' as a third force in Romanian politics, and remained a staunch independent over the following years.Cioculescu, p. 21 Caragiale was nevertheless associated with the ''Junimist'' journal '' Constituționalul''.Ornea, pg. 200 In early January 1879, ''O noapte furtunoasă'' was first staged by the National Theater. Its production brought the first association between Caragiale and comedian
Mihai Mateescu Mihai () is a Romanian given name for males or a surname. It is equivalent to the English name Michael. A variant of the name is Mihail. Its female form is Mihaela. As a given name *Mihai I of Romania (1921–2017), King of Romania until 1947 * M ...
, who went on to portray some of his most popular characters. The play was a hit, and acclaim reached Caragiale despite the fact that he had refused to have his name printed on the posters. Caragiale was soon outraged to discover that, by the second staging, his text had been toned down by the government-appointed Head of Theaters, the National Liberal Ion Ghica. When he asked for an official explanation, ''O noapte furtunoasă'' was removed from the season's program. Over the following years, independent troupes staged the play or its plagiarized versions for their own benefit. It was restored to the National Theater's repertoire in 1883, and was so successful that state theaters in cities such as
Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
and
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
made efforts to have it included in their own programs. Caragiale subsequently took part in directing his plays at the National Theater, where his main collaborator was actor and manager
Constantin I. Nottara Constantin I. Nottara (June 5, 1859–October 16/17, 1935) was a Romanian stage actor and director. Born in Bucharest into a middle-class family of Byzantine Greek origin, he attended a private school from 1866 to 1870, followed by Saint Sa ...
.Cioculescu, pg. 323 Together, they are credited with having put a stop to the techniques favored by Mihail Pascaly, replacing emphatic declamation with a more natural and studied perspective on acting.


Inspector general

In 1880, he printed ''Conu Leonida față cu reacțiunea'' — a play centered on an uncultured "Red" pensioner and his naive wife, who overhear a street brawl and believe that a revolution is imminent. It was also then that his first memoirs from the world of theater were published, which coincided with the release of
Ion Creangă Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romania ...
's own book of memoirs, the well-known volume '' Amintiri din copilărie''. Accompanied by Maiorescu, Caragiale left for Austria-Hungary. In Vienna, the two of them attended a staging of William Shakespeare's ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
'', hosted by the
Burgtheater The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...
.Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 180 He was practically unemployed after returning, and, in 1881, gave up his position at ''Timpul''. Nevertheless, that autumn, V. A. Urechia, Minister of Education in the Ion Brătianu National Liberal cabinet, assigned him the office of inspector general for the Moldavian counties of Suceava and Neamț. Profiting from the proximity between his new residence and Iași, Ion Luca Caragiale became a regular participant in ''Junimeas activities, becoming good friends with some of its most important representatives ( Iacob Negruzzi, Vasile Pogor, and Petru Th. Missir). With Negruzzi, he dramatized ''Hatmanul Baltag'', a short story by
Nicolae Gane Nicolae Gane (February 1, 1838 – April 16, 1916) was a Moldavian, later Romanian prose writer, poet and politician. Born in Fălticeni, his family were '' boyars'' of small and medium importance; his parents were ''postelnic'' Matei Gane and his ...
. He became close to Veronica Micle, a woman writer who was also Eminescu's mistress. For a while, Caragiale and Micle had a love affair, although she continued to see the poet. This caused the friendship between Eminescu and Caragiale to sour. The former was jealous of Cargiale's relations with Micle, while she resented the poet's affair with Mite Kremnitz. Just one year after, Caragiale was moved back to Wallachia, becoming inspector general in Argeș and Vâlcea. He was ultimately stripped of this position in 1884, and found himself on the verge of
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
; he thus accepted the lowly position of clerk for the civil registry administration. It is probably during this period that his
melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
''
O soacră O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...
'' was written and published — Caragiale, who was aware of its faults, indicated that it was a work from his youth, and dated it to 1876. His account is challenged by several details in the text. In June 1883, while visiting Maiorescu's house, he received news that Eminescu had suffered the first in a series of dementia attacks (owing to a disease that was to kill him in 1889). Caragiale reportedly broke into tears. This succession of events also saw him becoming involved in conflicts among ''Junimea'' members: like Pogor, Caragiale objected to the style of Vasile Alecsandri, an aged ''Junimist'' poet, and was shocked to find out that he was ridiculing the much younger Eminescu. He thus decided to criticize Alecsandri in public, during a March 1884 meeting of the society—Maiorescu recorded in his private notes that " ..Caragiale asaggressive and rude toward Alecsandri." Caragiale's wealthy relative, Catinca Momulo Cardini (commonly known Catinca Momuloaia), who was the widow of a famous restaurateur and the cousin of his mother Ecaterina, died in 1885, and the writer had the prospect of inheriting a large fortune. He nonetheless became involved in a trial with Momuloaia's other relatives, which prolonged itself until the early 20th century.Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 188


First major successes

Months after this, his new comedy, ''
O scrisoare pierdută ''O scrisoare pierdută'' (Romanian for "A Lost Letter") is a play by Ion Luca Caragiale. It premiered in 1884, and arguably represents the high point of his career.Vianu, Vol. II, p.180 It was adapted into a 1953 film ''A Lost Letter''. Characte ...
'', was first shown to the public. A fresco of conflicting
political machine In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...
s, provincial
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
, petty ambitions, and incoherent demagogy, it was an instant hit with the public. Arguably the high point of Caragiale's career, it became one of the best-known works of its kind in Romanian literature. Maiorescu was pleased by its success, and believed that it was a sign of maturity in Romanian society, which, as he put it, was "starting to laugh" at the National Liberal rhetoric. Ion Luca Caragiale was romantically involved with an unmarried young woman, Maria Constantinescu, who worked for the Bucharest Town Hall — in 1885, she gave birth to Mateiu, whom Caragiale recognized as his son. During the same year, Caragiale's ''D-ale carnavalului'', a lighter satire of suburban morals and amorous misadventures, was received with booing and heckling by members of the public — critics deemed it "immoral", due to its frank depiction of adultery gone unpunished. The controversy saw Maiorescu taking his friend's side and publishing an essay highly critical of National Liberal cultural tenets (titled '' Comediile domnului Caragiale'', it was to be reprinted in 1889, as a preface to Caragiale's collected plays). In it, the critic, who was influenced by the ideas of
Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...
, argued that Caragiale had not failed in uplifting the human spirit, precisely because he had risen above both didacticism and egotism (''see Arthur Schopenhauer's aesthetics''). In reference to accusations that the play was
unpatriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
, Maiorescu answered:
" ..the present-day poems with a political intent, the odes on solemn days, the theatrical compositions for dynastic glorifications are a simulacrum of art, and not the real art. Even patriotism, the most important sense for the citizen of a state in his actions as a citizen, has no place in art as an ad-hoc form of patriotism .. Is there a single lyric of French patriotism in Corneille? Is there any national spouting in Racine? Is there one in Molière? Is there one in Shakespeare? Is there one in Goethe?"
The article played an essential part in reconciling the dramatist to the general public, but also led to a polemic between Maiorescu and the philosopher Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea (a
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
who claimed that Maiorescu was contradicting himself). Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea
''Asupra esteticii metafizice şi ştiinţifice''
(wikisource)
Dobrogeanu-Gherea argued in favor of Caragiale's work, but considered ''D-ale carnavalului'' to be his weakest play.


Theater leadership and marriage

Despite his earlier conflicts with the National Liberals, Caragiale, who still faced problems in making a living, agreed to contribute pieces for the party press, and thus briefly associated with ''Voința Națională'' (a journal issued by historian and politician
Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol (; March 23, 1847, Iaşi – February 27, 1920, Bucharest) was a Romanian historian, philosopher, professor, economist, sociologist, and author. Among his many major accomplishments, he is the Romanian historian cred ...
). Under the pen name ''Luca'', he contributed two theater chronicles. In parallel, he taught classes at the privately run Sfântul Gheorghe High School in Bucharest.Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 181 This episode of his career ended in 1888, when Maiorescu ascended to the office of Minister of Education in the
Teodor Rosetti Theodor Rosetti (5 May 1837, Iași or Solești, Moldavia – 17 July 1923, Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania, Romania) was a Romanian writer, journalist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between 23 March 1888 and 22 March 188 ...
cabinet (formed by a group of ''Junimist'' Conservatives). Caragiale requested to be appointed Head of Theaters, which also implied leadership of the National Theater. Although Maiorescu was initially opposed, Caragiale eventually received the post. The ultimate decision was attributed to Romania's Queen Elisabeth having asked Maiorescu to reconsider, or, alternatively, to the support offered by the influential ''Junimist''
Petre P. Carp Petre P. Carp (; also Petrache Carp, Francized ''Pierre Carp'', Ioana Pârvulescu"O adresă high-life", in ''România Literară'', Nr. 25/2010 occasionally ''Comte Carpe''; 28 Mircea Dumitriu"Petre P. Carp – un suflet, un caracter, o idee", in ...
. The appointment caused some controversy at the time: Ion Luca Caragiale, unlike all his predecessors (the incumbent C.I. Stăncescu included), was both a professional in the field and a person of modest origins. As the National Liberals intensified their campaign against him, the dramatist drafted an open letter for the Bucharest press, outlining his intentions and explaining the circumstances of his appointment. In it, he attributed his own rise to the interest ''Junimea'' had taken in his work, while defending the literary society, which was, as he put it, "lost from the public eye at a time of political obscurity". Reviewing his own merits as a writer and manager, he elaborated and later put into practice a program for state-run theaters — according to Vianu, it signified "punctuality and rigor".Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 182 He nonetheless resigned at the end of the season, and resumed his literary activities. In January 1889, he married Alexandrina, the daughter of architect Gaetano Burelly. She was a member of the Bucharest elite, which served to improve Ion Luca Caragiale's social standing. They had two children of their own: Luca (known as Luky; born 1893) and Ecaterina (or Tușchi; born 1894; later married name: Logadi).Cioculescu, pg. 367 Several years later, the Caragiales brought Mateiu into their home, and Ion Luca enrolled him at Anghel Demetrescu's Sfântul Gheorghe College.


Clash with the Academy

Early in 1890, at the same time as his volume of collected works, Caragiale published and staged his rural-themed tragedy ''Năpasta'' — both writings were presented for consideration to the Romanian Academy, in view of receiving its annual prize, the Ion Heliade Rădulescu Award. Caragiale's conflict with the National Liberals reached its peak, as two of their representatives inside the forum, historian Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu and future
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
Dimitrie Sturdza, reported unfavorably. Additional criticism was voiced by the poet
Gheorghe Sion Gheorghe Sion (May 22, 1822 – October 1, 1892) was a Moldavian, later Romanian poet, playwright, translator and memoirist. He was born in Mamornița to ''paharnic'' (royal cup-bearer) Ioniță Sion and his wife Eufrosina (''née'' Schina), the ...
, who also defended the a work by Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea (itself up for review). When the ''Junimist'' Iacob Negruzzi defended his friend, Sturdza contrasted Caragiale's works with his own version of didacticism, claiming that it altogether lacked a moral and national quality. Both Hasdeu and Sturdza hinted at the influence exercised over Caragiale by their adversary Maiorescu, and went on to compare the dramatist with foreign writers such as Mite Kremnitz and
Joseph Brociner Joseph B. Brociner (; October 1846 – 1918) was a History of the Jews in Romania, Romanian Jewish jurist, activist, communal leader. He was active in the struggle for Jewish emancipation as President of the Union of Hebrew Congregations of Romania ...
; the latter was Jewish.Cioculescu, pp. 130-131 For the two liberal leaders, Kremnitz and Brociner, who had authored works critical of the Romanian establishment, were aiding to construct a negative image of the Romanian nation. Hasdeu insisted that Caragiale was himself creating problems for the country, while Sturza, showing himself more lenient in this respect, insisted that Caragiale's plays had failed to display a love for "the truth, the beautiful and the good".Cioculescu, p. 131 He stressed:
"Mr. Caragiale should learn how to respect his nation, and not mock it."
Sturdza's discourse contributed to the academy's negative vote (20 votes against and 3 in favor), and rose Caragiale's anger. In parallel, Dobrogeanu-Gherea's candidature for the prize was rejected with 16 votes against and 8 for. In 1897, writing for the Conservative paper ''
Epoca Epoca may refer to: Media * ''Epoca'' (magazine), Italian news magazine published, 1950–1997 * ''Época'' (Brazilian magazine), Brazilian news magazine established in 1998 * ''Época'' (Spanish magazine), Spanish weekly news magazine, 1985– ...
'', the writer lashed out at Sturdza and his partisans, claiming that they viewed all humorous talents as "unholy", "useless to the nation", and "downright perilous". Vianu noted that Caragiale's article directly aimed at Sturdza's reverence for Jacobinism, collectivism, and nationalism, which, in Caragiale's own words,
"manipulated the baggage of big words with which the phony liberal school has been filling empty heads for fifty years on end".


Split with ''Junimea''

During the controversy, Caragiale published two memoirs of Eminescu—the poet had died in June 1889. One of them was titled ''În Nirvana'' ("Into Nirvana"), and notably expanded on the early years of their friendship and on one of Eminescu's earliest amorous disappointments. In an essay of the following year, he showed himself critical of a wave of Eminescu imitators, commenting: "A lot of reasonable people will walk the path and ..of the people that know them only a few will raise their hats; whereas an insane person ..will be followed by all the people. That is why the success of the
890 Eminescu edition 89 may refer to: * 89 (number) * Atomic number 89: actinium Years * 89 BC * AD 89 * 1989 * 2089 * etc. See also * * List of highways numbered A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surn ...
has overcome all the editors' expectations". He also reprinted his recollections from the world of theater, alongside pieces originally published in '' Claponul'' and various new satirical pieces. Although this attack owed much to ''Junimeas discourse, Caragiale had by then turned against Maiorescu, probably due to his perception that the society had failed to support his cause at the Academy. In May 1892, he used a public conference at the
Romanian Athenaeum The Romanian Athenaeum ( ro, Ateneul Român) is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania, and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's most prestigious concert hall an ...
as a venue to make known his claims against the former Minister of Education and his associates, which caused a definitive rift between the two public figures. Caragiale also wrote ''Două note'' ("Two Notes"), an article accusing Maiorescu of having modified and censored some of Eminescu's poems, and of having exploited the poet for financial gain. Around that time, he ceased contributing to ''
Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' (Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by Ti ...
''. Late in 1892, Caragiale published two volumes of prose, including his new
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
s '' Păcat'', ''
O făclie de Paște ''O făclie de Paşte'' or ''O făclie de Paşti'' (Romanian for "An Easter Torch") is a naturalistic novella written by Romanian writer Ion Luca Caragiale. It was first published in Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Lite ...
'' and ''
Om cu noroc ''Om'' (or ''Aum'') (; sa, ॐ, ओम्, Ōṃ, translit-std=IAST) is a sacred sound, syllable, mantra, or an invocation in Hinduism. ''Om'' is the prime symbol of Hinduism.Krishna Sivaraman (2008), ''Hindu Spirituality Vedas Through Ved ...
''.Vianu, Vol. II, p. 183 The following year, he began frequenting socialist circles as an outsider to the cause, and soon became good friends with the Imperial Russian-born
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
thinker Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea. Financial constraints forced Caragiale to become an entrepreneur, and, in November of that year, opened a beer garden near
Gabroveni Inn Gabroveni Inn ( ro, Hanul Gabroveni) is a hotel in the historic part of old Bucharest, Romania. History Built in 1739 on a land plot belonging to the former Voivodal Court (which was much larger than the present-day ruins of the Old Court— r ...
, in Bucharest's Lipscani area.Mîndra, p. 274; Vianu, Vol. II, p. 184 He probably moved on soon after, and purchased a pub on a neighboring street. In a letter he wrote at the time, the writer showed that he was planning to move to Transylvania, and considered starting a career as a teacher. In November 1893, as a gesture of goodwill towards his adversary, Alexandru Macedonski authored an article in '' Literatorul'', in which he asked authorities if it was normal for a former Head of Theaters not to have a stable source of income—the intended recipient did not acknowledge this offer, and the Caragiale-Macedonski conflict escalated after he continued to attack the latter in the press. One year later, Caragiale leased the restaurant catering to the train station in Buzău (just like Dobrogeanu-Gherea had done in Ploiești). His successive businesses were all struggling, and Caragiale was often on the verge of
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
. Although he invested time and work in the enterprise, and even affiliated with the International Association of Waiters for a short period, he eventually decided not to renew his contract upon the years' end. His period in Buzău was noted for its other results: in February 1895, the press reported that Caragiale had given a public lecture on "the causes of human stupidity".


''Moftul Român'' and ''Vatra''

Together with the socialist activist
Tony Bacalbașa Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby lea ...
and the illustrator Constantin Jiquidi, he established the satirical magazine ''Moftul Român'', which ceased print after a few months, before being revived in 1901 and becoming an important venue for social criticism. The new publication's spirit was indebted to ''Junimist'' discourse. Its title, translatable as "the Romanian trifle" or "the Romanian nonsense", alluded to the cynicism and self-importance of the emerging modern Romanian society. According to Vianu, this was a theme first debated by ''Junimeas Theodor Rosetti. ''Moft!'' thus mimicked the common answer to any important or merely exacerbated problem, and Caragiale also used it to illustrate what he saw as a common national feature. In one of his early editorials for the magazine, he claimed that ''moft'' was to Romanians what spleen ( melancholy) was to the English people,
nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...
to the Russians,
chauvinism Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...
to the Hungarians, and '' vendetta'' to the Italians. In parallel, Cargiale resumed his contacts with Transylvanian intellectuals: with George Coșbuc and Ioan Slavici, he founded the magazine '' Vatra'' (1 January 1894), before withdrawing from its leadership.Vianu, Vol. II, p. 184 During his short stay, he printed an unsigned sketch story, ''Cum se înțeleg țăranii'' ("How Peasants Communicate"), which mockingly recorded a lengthy and redundant dialog between two villagers, as well as a portrait of the deceased politician Mihail Kogălniceanu, and a
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
inspired by the writings of
Anton Pann Anton Pann (; born Antonie Pantoleon-Petroveanu , and also mentioned as ''Anton Pantoleon'' or ''Petrovici''; 1790s—2 November 1854) was an Ottoman-born Wallachian composer, musicologist, and Romanian-language poet, also noted for his act ...
. He also translated a
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
authored by his friend, Queen Elisabeth, under the title ''Răzbunare'' ("Revenge")—he is known to have been annoyed by the longueurs of the piece, and struck out large portions of it to improve the flow. During the same period, Caragiale had the initiative to publish short fragments he had translated from classical pieces, leaving readers to guess who their authors were—Vianu, citing the speculations made by other critics, presumed that these were writers admired by both Caragiale and his friend, schoolteacher Anghel Demetrescu ( Thomas Carlyle, Alexis de Tocqueville, Thomas Babington Macaulay,
François Guizot François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874) was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848. A conservative liberal who opposed the a ...
and
Augustin Thierry Augustin Thierry (or ''Jacques Nicolas Augustin Thierry''; 10 May 179522 May 1856) was a French historian. Although originally a follower of Henri de Saint-Simon, he later developed his own approach to history. A committed liberal, his approach ...
). It was also then that he authored a piece on Prince Ferdinand, the heir apparent, who had fallen severely ill — it shows Caragiale to be a passionate defender of the
Romanian monarchy The King of Romania (Romanian: ''Regele României'') or King of the Romanians (Romanian: ''Regele Românilor''), was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romanian ...
, praying for Ferdinand's health. In 1898, he wrote a lengthy essay on the state of Romanian theater, in which he notably praised the actor Ion Brezeanu, who made his name through portrayals of Caragiale's characters, for, among others, his "sober and refined interpretation". Later that year, he published a new novella, '' În vreme de război'', a fantasy set to the background of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.Cioculescu, pg. 38


Radical Party

In 1895, at the age of 43, Caragiale decided to join the Radical Party, led at the time by former ''Junimist''
George Panu George Panu (March 9, 1848 – November 6, 1910) was a Moldavian, later Romanian memoirist, literary critic, journalist and politician. A native of Iași, educated there as well as in Paris and Brussels, he worked as a schoolteacher and lawyer, b ...
; one year later, he began contributing to its mouthpiece, the newspaper '' Ziua''. He was also briefly associated with the newspaper ''Sara'', published in
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
. Despite this, Caragiale was again an associate of the National Liberals later the same year, when the Conservative cabinet of Lascăr Catargiu was replaced with one led by Dimitrie Sturdza. Articles he contributed to ''Gazeta Poporului'', a National Liberal newspaper, were centered on new attacks against ''Junimea'' and were signed with the pseudonyms ''i'' and ''Ion''. In mid-November 1895, ''Gazeta Poporului'' published an unsigned article which discussed the suicide of writer Alexandru Odobescu, investigating the mundane reasons behind it—the piece is generally attributed to Caragiale. The writer placed the blame for Odobescu's death on his much younger lover, Hortensia Racoviță, and hailed his wife, Sașa Odobescu, as a model of devoted womanhood. This episode of his life coincided with a period when relations between Romania and Austria-Hungary were extremely tense. Three years before,
ethnic Romanian The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Romanian ...
leaders in Austro-Hungarian-ruled Transylvania had signed the '' Transylvanian Memorandum'', which inflamed passions among the Hungarians and led the authors to be indicted. Conservative Party politicians in Romania had succeeded in negotiating an amnesty, but their policies were overturned by the National Liberals, who appealed to nationalist and irredentist sentiment. Thus, Sturdza offered a measure of support to Eugen Brote, '' Tribuna'' editor and
National Romanian Party The Romanian National Party ( ro, Partidul Național Român, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the ...
activist. Brote, who fled Transylvania and planned to directly implicate the Romanian Kingdom into the conflict, attempted to replace the pro-Conservative leadership of the National Party with a selection of politicians favored by the National Liberals.Cioculescu, pg. 24 As Sturdza came to lead the cabinet, both he and Brote retracted their previous statements, but again provoked the National Party by alleging that its leaders were the actual radicals. In harsh terms, Caragiale exposed the understanding Sturdza had with Brote. Soon after, he authored a short story about a con artist who traveled to the imagined Transylvanian town of Opidul-nou, posing as the nationalist Romanian writer Alexandru Vlahuță as a means to live off the local
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...
. In October 1897, he was outraged by news that Sturdza had given in to Austro-Hungarian demands, and that he had expelled Transylvanian nationalists from Romania: Caragiale held a speech in which he argued that Romanians living abroad were "indispensable" to the Romanian state.


''Epoca''

In 1895, the writer followed the Radical group into its unusual merger with the Conservative Party. This came at a time of unified opposition, when the ''Junimists'' themselves returned to their group of origin. Caragiale came to identify with the policies endorsed by a new group of Conservative leaders, Nicolae Filipescu and
Alexandru Lahovari Alexandru Lahovary ( ro, Alexandru N. Lahovari; August 16, 1841 – March 4, 1897) was a member of the Romanian aristocracy, a politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Justice, Minister of Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Propert ...
among them. He was upset when Lahovari died not too long after, and authored his
obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...
. Caragiale also became a collaborator on Filipescu's journal ''
Epoca Epoca may refer to: Media * ''Epoca'' (magazine), Italian news magazine published, 1950–1997 * ''Época'' (Brazilian magazine), Brazilian news magazine established in 1998 * ''Época'' (Spanish magazine), Spanish weekly news magazine, 1985– ...
'' and editor of its literary supplement. A chronicle he contributed at the time discussed the philosophical writings of Dobrogeanu-Gherea: while sympathetic to his conclusions, Caragiale made a clear statement that he was not interested in the socialist doctrine or any other ideology ("Any idea, opinion or system is absolutely irrelevant to me, in the most absolute sense").Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 186 He also published an article criticizing Dimitrie Sturdza; its title, ''O lichea'' (roughly: "A Scoundrel"), was reluctantly accepted by ''Epoca'', and only after Caragiale claimed that it reflected the original meaning of the word ''lichea'' ("stain"), explaining that it referred to Sturdza's unusual persistence in politics. When answering to one of ''Epocas inquiries, he showed that he had yet again come to reevaluate ''Junimea'', and found it to be an essential institution in Romanian culture. Nevertheless, he was distancing himself from the purest ''Junimist'' tenets, and took a favorable view of
Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...
writers whom the society had criticized or ridiculed — among these, he indicated his personal rival Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, whom he acknowledged to be among "the most remarkable figures of our literature", and Alexandru Odobescu. As editor of ''Epoca'', he published works by Hasdeu alongside those of his other contemporaries and predecessors —
Grigore Alexandrescu Grigore Alexandrescu (; 22 February 1810, Târgovişte – 25 November 1885 in Bucharest) was a nineteenth-century Romanian poet and translator noted for his fables with political undertones. He founded a periodical, ''Albina Româneascǎ'' ...
, Nicolae Filimon,
Dinicu Golescu Dinicu Golescu (usual rendition of Constantin Radovici Golescu; 7 February 1777 – 5 October 1830), a member of the Golescu family of boyars, was a Wallachian Romanian man of letters, mostly noted for his travel writings and journalism. ...
, Ion Heliade Rădulescu, Cilibi Moise,
Costache Negruzzi Constantin Negruzzi (; first name often Costache ; 1808–24 August 1868) was a Romanian poet, novelist, translator, playwright, and politician. Born in Trifeștii Vechi, Moldavia, he studied at home with a Greek teacher. He admitted in a later ...
, and
Anton Pann Anton Pann (; born Antonie Pantoleon-Petroveanu , and also mentioned as ''Anton Pantoleon'' or ''Petrovici''; 1790s—2 November 1854) was an Ottoman-born Wallachian composer, musicologist, and Romanian-language poet, also noted for his act ...
. He also took a more sympathetic but still distant view of Maiorescu. At the time, he befriended the young poet Cincinat Pavelescu, and helped to promote his works in the press. Cincinat Pavelescu
''Amintiri literare (Ion Luca Caragiale)''
(wikisource)


''Universul''

Around that time, Caragiale began collaborating with the formerly ''Junimist'' figure
Mihail Dragomirescu Mihail Dragomirescu (March 22, 1868 – November 25, 1942) was a Romanian aesthetician, literary theorist and critic. Born in Plătărești, Călărași County, he completed primary school in his native village in 1881, followed by Bucharest's ...
, who enlisted his anonymous contributions to the magazine ''Convorbiri Critice''. Again pressed by financial problems, he returned to a bureaucratic post—this time with the administration of government monopolies, and appointed by the Conservative cabinet of Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino in June 1899. In 1901, the position was suppressed due to cutbacks in budget spending. This coincided with Sturdza's third mandate as
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
, and further aggravated the conflict between the two figures. At the same time, Caragiale was contributing to Luigi Cazzavillan's newly founded daily, '' Universul'', where he was assigned the column "Notițe critice" ("Critical Notes").Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 187 This material formed the bulk of his collected short prose volume, ''Momente și schițe'', and notably comprised satirical pieces ridiculing the Romanian press' reaction to the activities of Boris Sarafov, a
Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...
- Bulgarian revolutionary who had attempted to set up a base in Romania. He continued to pursue a business career, and, in 1901, inaugurated his own company, ''Berăria cooperativă'', which took over the ''Gambrinus'' pub in front of the National Theater. It soon became the site of a literary circle, which included, among others, Tony Bacalbașa and Ion Brezeanu, the satirist Dumitru Constantinescu-Teleormăneanu (known as ''Teleor''), and the academic I. Suchianu. At the time, the Caragiales rented a house in Bucharest, near the present-day
Bulevardul Magheru Bulevardul Magheru is a major street in central Bucharest. Built in the early 20th century, it is named after General Gheorghe Magheru. Together with Bulevardul Bălcescu, Magheru connects Piața Romană and Piața Universității squares and ...
. In early 1901, as Ion Luca Caragiale entered his 25th year in literature, his friends offered him a
banquet A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...
at ''Gambrinus'', where speeches were given by Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea and the Conservative politician Take Ionescu, and where a special single-issue magazine, ''Caragiale'', was circulated among the guests. Hasdeu put aside his differences in opinion and sent in a congratulatory letter. In it, he deemed the dramatist "Romania's Molière". Nevertheless, on 23 March 1902, the National Liberal majority in the Romanian Academy, headed by Sturdza, refused to consider ''Momente și schițe'' for the Năsturel Herăscu Award — despite a favorable report from
Dimitrie C. Ollănescu-Ascanio Dimitrie C. Ollănescu-Ascanio (March 21, 1849 – January 20, 1908) was a Wallachian, later Romanian poet, prose writer and playwright. Born in Focșani, his parents were Constantin Ollănescu, an army captain who later became a magistrate, a ...
.Cioculescu, pg. 124


Caion scandal

Soon after, Caragiale became involved in a major literary scandal. Constantin Al. Ionescu-Caion, a journalist and student whom Tudor Vianu described as "a real pathological character", issued a claim that, in his ''Năpasta'', the Romanian dramatist had plagiarized the work of a Hungarian author, István Kemény.Cioculescu, pp. 132-133; Vianu, Vol. II, pp. 188, 373 Caion expanded on this in articles published by ''Revista Literară'', where he provided direct comparisons between the two texts. This was received with enthusiasm by Caragiale's old rival, Alexandru Macedonski, who publicized the controversy through one of his journals, ''Forța Morală''. Initially amazed by the similarity between the two texts, Caragiale carried out his own investigations, and, in the end, discovered that neither the writing nor Kemény had ever existed. Employing Ștefănescu Delavrancea as his lawyer, he brought Caion to trial: a court sentenced Caion for calumny, but he was acquitted after an
appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
in June 1902. Several commentators believe that this was owed to a strong National Liberal presence among members of the jury. During the retrial, Caion retracted all his previous claims, and instead argued that ''Năpasta'' plagiarized Leo Tolstoy's '' The Power of Darkness''. Macedonski supported the lost cause until the very end, and refused to distance himself from Caion even as the latter admitted to the court that he had invented the story. His magazine also accused Caragiale of having copied Victorien Sardou's ''Rabagas'' for his ''
O scrisoare pierdută ''O scrisoare pierdută'' (Romanian for "A Lost Letter") is a play by Ion Luca Caragiale. It premiered in 1884, and arguably represents the high point of his career.Vianu, Vol. II, p.180 It was adapted into a 1953 film ''A Lost Letter''. Characte ...
'', as well as
Henri Chivot Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Mont ...
and
Alfred Duru Henri Alfred Duru (22 November 1829 – 28 December 1889) was a 19th-century French playwright and operetta librettist who collaborated on more than 40 librettos for the leading French composers of operetta:Alfred Duru. In: ''The New Grove Diction ...
's ''Le Carnaval d'un Merle Blanc'' in '' D-ale carnavalului''. In one memorable incident of 14 February 1902, while he was hosting a literary festivity at the Bucharest Athenaeum, Macedonski was heckled and responded by blowing a whistle.Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 374 ''Forța Morală'' was shut down soon after this episode. In parallel, the National Theater offered Caragiale a degree of satisfaction, when it decided to showcase ''Rabagas'', leaving the public to see that it was only remotely similar to his play. In the wake of the scandal, Caragiale attempted to resume contacts with Maiorescu, and visited him several times. His former mentor was reticent, and finally rejected the offer for reconciliation – writing in his diary, he defined Caragiale's attempts as "apple-polishings" and ''paradări'' ("affectations").


Move to Berlin

Having gained access to the Momulo Cardini inheritance, Caragiale became a rather wealthy man. According to
Șerban Cioculescu Șerban Cioculescu (; 7 September 1902 – 25 June 1988) was a Romanian literary critic, literary historian and columnist, who held teaching positions in Romanian literature at the University of Iași and the University of Bucharest, as well as m ...
, the writer soon lost most of the funds earned, transferring them to
Mateiu Caragiale Mateiu Ion Caragiale (; – January 17, 1936), also credited as Matei or Matheiu, or in the antiquated version Mateiŭ,Sorin Antohi"Romania and the Balkans. From Geocultural Bovarism to Ethnic Ontology" in ''Tr@nsit online'', Institut für die ...
and his mother, but was again made rich by the death of his sister Lenci in autumn 1905—she left him the administrator of 160,000 lei. The latter event caused tensions between Mateiu and his father—Caragiale-son believed that he had been cheated out of the inheritance, and was angered by Ion Luca's decision to stop subsidizing him after he failed to complete his studies. He was by then enchanted with the idea of moving into a Western or Central European country, where he hoped to lead a more comfortable life and be closer to the centers of culture. He was especially interested in gaining easier access to the major stages for
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
, as a means to satisfy his desire for quality in that field (he had by then come to adore the compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven). According to Tudor Vianu, Caragiale was also showing signs that he was about to enter a vaguely misanthropic phase of his life. In 1903–1904, the Caragiales traveled through various European countries, while the dramatist again considered establishing his residence in Transylvania.Cioculescu, p. 308 They eventually moved to Berlin, the
Imperial German ', literally translated "Germans of the ", is an archaic term for those ethnic Germans who resided within the German state that was founded in 1871. In contemporary usage, it referred to German citizens, the word signifying people from the Germ ...
capital, settling down in spring 1905. The choice was considered unusual, since the writer knew only some basic German expressions. Iulia Blaga
"Casele lui I.L. Caragiale de la Berlin"
, in '' România Liberă'', 12 March 2007
This has led some commentators to speculate that the move was politically motivated.
Mihail Dragomirescu Mihail Dragomirescu (March 22, 1868 – November 25, 1942) was a Romanian aesthetician, literary theorist and critic. Born in Plătărești, Călărași County, he completed primary school in his native village in 1881, followed by Bucharest's ...
believed that Caragiale was living at the expense of the German state. Cioculescu rejected this assessment, arguing that it relied on hearsay and pointing out that the chronological order provided by Dragomirescu was inaccurate. In 1992, historian Georgeta Ene proposed that Caragiale was acting as a spy for Romania in Germany. The family lived in an apartment in Wilmersdorf and later at a villa in Schöneberg. Paraphrasing a Romanian proverb which speaks of "the black bread of exile", the dramatist jokingly referred to his relocation as "the white loaf" (''franzela albă a surghiunului''). He did not however isolate himself completely, becoming very close to the group of Romanian students attending the University of Berlin and to other young people: among them were poet and essayist
Panait Cerna Panait Cerna (; Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Панайот Черна, ''Panayot Cherna'', born Panayot Stanchov or Panait Staciov; August 26 or September 25, 1881 – March 26, 1913) was a Romanian poet, philosopher, literary critic and tr ...
, sociologist Dimitrie Gusti, musician Florica Musicescu, and Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea's son-in-law, the literary critic Paul Zarifopol. Caragiale was also close to the linguist Gustav Weigand. He frequently traveled to Leipzig, where he would meet with Zarifopol, as well as vacationing in Travemünde. In 1906, together with Zarifopol, he visited Beethoven's house in Bonn. He was close to the dramatist Ronetti Roman, and, in 1908, confessed that he was devastated by news of his death. Caragiale was also visited by Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, who, as a Francophile, vehemently rejected the aesthetics of Berlin in their conversations. Delavrancea was accompanied by his daughter, Cella, a celebrated pianist. He also traveled back into Romania for intervals—when in
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
, he associated with the maverick Conservative Alexandru Bădărău and his journal ''Opinia''. He had closely followed Bădărău's career up to that point, and, in July 1906, authored an
epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...
on his ousting from the Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino Conservative cabinet—comparing Bădărău to Jonah and the Conservatives to a great fish that spat him out. A poem he published during the same year ridicules King
Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (20 April 1839 – ), born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He w ...
on the occasion of his fortieth year in power, while parodying the style of republican poet N. T. Orășanu; without making direct references to the monarch, it features the lyrics ''Ca rol fu mare, mititelul'' ("Taking in view his role, he was grand, the little one"), with "ca" and "rol" spelling out his name (and thus allowing the poem to read "Carol was grand, the little one"). He continued to publish various works in several other newspapers and magazines, including various Tranylvanian papers and the Iași-based '' Viața Românească''. His subsequent work comprised mostly correspondence with other literary figures, such as Dobrogeanu-Gherea, Mihail Dragomirescu,
Alceu Urechia Alceu may refer to: Given name * Alceu Amoroso Lima (1893–1983), Brazilian * Alceu Ribeiro (1919–2013), Uruguayan painter and sculptor * Alceu Collares (born 1927), Brazilian politician and lawyer * Alceu Valença (born 1946), Brazilian sin ...
, and Zarifopol. He was also in touch with psychologist and philosopher Constantin Rădulescu-Motru. At the time, Caragiale planned to start work on ''Titircă, Sotirescu et C-ie'', meaning to combine the characters of his two most successful comedies (''
O noapte furtunoasă O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...
'' and ''
O scrisoare pierdută ''O scrisoare pierdută'' (Romanian for "A Lost Letter") is a play by Ion Luca Caragiale. It premiered in 1884, and arguably represents the high point of his career.Vianu, Vol. II, p.180 It was adapted into a 1953 film ''A Lost Letter''. Characte ...
'') into one play—this was never accomplished.


1907

In 1907, Caragiale was shaken by the outbreak and violent repression of the Romanian Peasants' Revolt, and decided to write a lengthy essay, in which he condemned the agrarian policies of both National Liberal and Conservative governments from a patriotic perspective. According to Vianu, the resulting ''1907, din primăvară până în toamnă'' ("1907, From Spring to Autumn") was, alongside earlier essays by Eminescu and Maiorescu, the most important works of social analysis to be written by that generation. The essay, written in harsh tones, listed what Caragiale saw as the major social problems tolerated by Romanian administrations: he discussed the landowning class, successor to the
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...
s, having maintained as much possible from the legacy of serfdom; he noted that, while the commerce was dominated by foreigners, the administration was gripped by a no longer aristocratic oligarchy and its far-reaching
political machine In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...
. As several commentators noted, many of the topics brought up by Caragiale built on the critical overview adopted by ''Junimea''. To the social and political problems, the text offered a monarchist solution—Caragiale expected Carol I to carry out a '' coup d'état'' against the Romanian political establishment, replacing the Constitution of 1866, which left some room for
privilege Privilege may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Privilege'' (film), a 1967 film directed by Peter Watkins * ''Privilege'' (Ivor Cutler album), 1983 * ''Privilege'' (Television Personalities album), 1990 * ''Privilege (Abridged)'', an alb ...
through the census suffrage, with a more
democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
one. ''1907, din primăvară până în toamnă'', first published in German under the pseudonym ''Ein rumänische Patriot'' ("A Romanian patriot"), was originally hosted by the Vienna-based newspaper ''
Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...
''. The translation had been completed by his friend Mite Kremnitz. In its original, the work was later printed under Caragiale's signature by the left-wing Romanian journal ''
Adevărul ''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published dur ...
''. The author had agreed to make himself known after ''Die Zeit'' reached Romania and had caused the local press to wonder who had condemned the system in such harsh words. The brochure attracted instantaneous attention in his native country, and its success was notable: it sold around 13,000 copies. There were notable differences between the two versions, which were the result of Caragiale's answer to criticism and suggestions from
Christian Rakovsky Christian Georgievich Rakovsky (russian: Христиа́н Гео́ргиевич Рако́вский; bg, Кръстьо Георги́ев Рако́вски; – September 11, 1941) was a Bulgarian-born socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevi ...
, a prominent internationalist socialist who had been expelled from Romania early in the year. Caragiale elaborated on some of the essay's themes in a series of fables he published soon after. This chain of events prompted Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea to offer him a position in the Conservative Party, as a means to reform the system from within. Caragiale rejected the offer: by then, he had grown disillusioned with the traditional political groupings, and had decided to sever all his links with them. Instead, in 1908, he joined the Conservative-Democratic Party, a rising force of the entrepreneurial middle class, led by Take Ionescu. He briefly returned to Romania several times after 1908, campaigning in favor of the Ionescu and being himself proposed for a seat in the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
(before the Conservative-Democrats decided another person was more suited for the position). His involvement in politics engendered a collateral conflict with his son Mateiu, after the latter expressed a wish to become part of the administration (a project ridiculed by Caragiale-father). In December 1907, after ''Opinia'' became a mouthpiece of Ionescu's party, Caragiale received news that its headquarters had been vandalized by A. C. Cuza and his nationalist supporters (who were students at the University of Iași). Just days after, when Cuza's group offered to host a Caragiale festival, he refused to participate, citing his respect for the
freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
. It was also during the period that he published his '' Din carnetul unui vechi sufleur'', grouping short pieces about cultural figures such as Iorgu Caragiale,
Pantazi Ghica Pantazi Ghica (; also known under the pen names Tapazin, G. Pantazi, and Ghaki; 15 March 1831 – 17 July 1882) was a Wallachian, later Romanian politician and lawyer, also known as a dramatist, poet, short story writer, and literary critic. A pro ...
, and
Matei Millo Matei Millo (; November 24/25, 1814 – September 9, 1896) was a Moldavian, later Romanian stage actor and playwright. Born in Stolniceni-Prăjescu, Iași County, his grandfather was the poet Matei Milu; his parents were Vasile Millo and Zamfira ...
.


Final years

Beginning in 1909, Caragiale resumed his contributions to '' Universul''. The same year, his fantasy piece ''
Kir Ianulea ''Kir Ianulea'' or ''Kyr Ianulea'' () is a fantasy and historical fiction novella or short story, published by Romanian author Ion Luca Caragiale in 1909. Borrowing the elements of a fairy tale, satire and frame story, it has become recognized as ...
'', which explored the history of Bucharest during the early 19th century and the late stages of the Phanariote period, was published by '' Viața Românească''. The novella partly built on ''
Belfagor arcidiavolo ''Belfagor arcidiavolo'' (" Belfagor the archdaemon") is a novella by Niccolò Machiavelli, written between 1518 and 1527, and first published with his collected works in 1549. The novella is also known as ''La favola di Belfagor Arcidiavolo'' ...
'', by Renaissance author Niccolò Machiavelli, and was occasionally classified as an example of
historical fiction 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 ...
. Similar stories use themes from the ''
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' ('' Abu-Hasan'') and popular anecdotes (''
Pastramă trufanda ''Pastramă'' is a popular delicatessen meat traditionally in Romania made from lamb and also from pork and mutton. Pastramă was originally created as a way to preserve meat before modern refrigeration. For pastrami, the raw meat is brined, par ...
'').Călinescu, p. 181 Another work of the time was '' Calul dracului'', a rural-themed account of demonic temptation, which Vianu called "one of the most perfect short stories to have been written in Romanian language". His last collection of writings, titled ''Schițe nouă'' ("New Sketches") saw print in 1910.Mîndra, p. 25 During that period, after giving endorsement to a project outlined by his fellow dramatist Alexandru Davila, he aided in the creation of a new privately run Bucharest theater, and recorded its inauguration in his reportage ''Începem'' ("We Begin"). By that time, Ion Luca Caragiale became remarkably close to a new generation of ethnic Romanian intellectuals in Austria-Hungary. In 1909, he recalled the union of the two
Danubian Principalities The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th ce ...
under Alexander John Cuza, and predicted the union of Transylvania with Romania. He visited Budapest to meet with Transylvanian students at the local university, and was the subject of a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
thesis authored by
Horia Petra-Petrescu Horia or ''Horea'' may refer to: Places in Romania Communes * Horea, Alba *Horia, Constanța *Horia, Neamț *Horia, Tulcea *Hilișeu-Horia, Botoșani Villages *Horea, in Sanislău, Satu Mare *Horia, in Vladimirescu, Arad *Horia, in Surdila-Greci, ...
(which was also the first
monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...
on his work). He decided to support the poet and activist Octavian Goga, who, after questioning ethnic policies in Transleithania, had been jailed by Hungarian authorities—writing for ''Universul'', Caragiale stressed that such persecutions carried the risk of escalating tensions in the region. Later, he visited Goga in Szeged, where he was serving time in jail. Caragiale also contributed to the Arad-based journal ''Românul'', becoming friends with other Romanian activists—
Aurel Popovici Aurel Constantin Popovici (16 October 1863 – 9 February 1917) was an ethnic Romanian Austro-Hungarian lawyer and politician. Biography He was born in Lugos, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire (today Lugoj, Romania). The son of an arti ...
, Alexandru Vaida-Voevod and Vasile Goldiș. His articles expressed support for the
National Romanian Party The Romanian National Party ( ro, Partidul Național Român, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the ...
, calling for its adversaries at '' Tribuna'' to abandon their dissident politics. In August 1911, he was present in Blaj, where the cultural association
ASTRA Astra may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became the asteroid belt Ent ...
was celebrating its 50th year. Caragiale also witnessed one of the first aviation flights, that of the Romanian Transylvanian pioneer Aurel Vlaicu. In January 1912, as he turned 60, Caragiale declined taking part in the formal celebration organized by Emil Gârleanu's Romanian Writers' Society. Caragiale had previously rejected Constantin Rădulescu-Motru's offer to carry out a public subscription in his favor, arguing that he could not accept such financial gains. He died suddenly at his home in Berlin, very soon after returning from his trip. The cause of death was indicated as myocardial infarction. His son Luca recounted that, on that very night, Caragiale-father was rereading William Shakespeare's ''
Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'', which he found to be a moving narrative. Caragiale's body was transported to Bucharest in a freight train, which lost its way on the tracks and arrived with a major delay. He was eventually buried in Bellu cemetery on 22 November 1912. His longtime rival Alexandru Macedonski was saddened by the news of his death, and, in a letter to ''
Adevărul ''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published dur ...
'', argued that he preferred Caragiale's humor to that of the
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
, stressing that " attacked each other often because we loved each other a lot."


Style and cultural tenets

According to Tudor Vianu, Caragiale's writings signify "the highest expression" of Romanian theatre, mirroring and complimenting the contribution Mihai Eminescu had to Romanian-language poetry.Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 175 Vianu nonetheless pointed out the immense difference in style and approach between the Eminescu and Caragiale, noting that, to Eminescu's metaphysical interests and "
Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...
genius", the dramatist opposed his "great classical and realist endowment, a social, voluble and epicurean nature". Critics and historians place Caragiale's style midway between the delayed Classicism of 19th century Romanian literature and Realism (with its '' fin de siècle'' development, Naturalism). The writer, who abided by the classical unities, rejected Romantic tenets, and, as early as the 1870s, opposed the lyricism present in the dramas of
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 ...
and
Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
.
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
in his works is further enhanced in his drama and comedies by his adherence to Eugène Scribe's principles (''see Well-made play'').Vianu, Vol. I, pg. 310 Paul Zarifopol argued that, for most of his life, Caragiale, the opponent of didacticism, advocated Maiorescu's principles of art for art's sake. He often sketched out alternative endings to his stories, and selected the ones he felt came most natural. Nevertheless, Zarifopol also noted that, late in his life, the writer contemplated adding a didactic message to one of his writings, which was to remain unfinished. His role in the Romanian context was likened to those of Honoré de Balzac in France, Charles Dickens in the United Kingdom, and
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
in the Russian Empire. Literary critic
Pompiliu Constantinescu Pompiliu Constantinescu (May 17, 1901 – May 9, 1946) was a Romanian literary critic. Biography He was born on May 17, 1901 in Bucharest, "''in a place where he saw the light of day for the first time, on Sabines Street no. 109, the son of Jo ...
credited Caragiale's sense of irony with having corrected the tendencies of his day, and, through this, with helping create an urban literature. Caragiale's interest in Realism was however denied by some of his ''Junimist'' advocates, who attempted to link his entire work with Maiorescu's guidelines: on the basis of Schopenhauerian aesthetics, critic
Mihail Dragomirescu Mihail Dragomirescu (March 22, 1868 – November 25, 1942) was a Romanian aesthetician, literary theorist and critic. Born in Plătărești, Călărași County, he completed primary school in his native village in 1881, followed by Bucharest's ...
postulated that his humor was pure, and did not draw on any special circumstance or context. Through many of his traits, Caragiale was connected to a
Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
environment of virtually permanent human contact, with its humor condensed in anecdotes, mimicry, and witty comebacks. Zarifopol quoted him saying that he admired the traditional forms of entertainment, and that he admired the ''soitarìi'' (" buffoons"). Largely reflecting his primordial study of
dramaturgy Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the Representation (arts), representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. The term first appears in the eponymous work ''Hamburg Dramaturgy'' (1767–69) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing ...
, Caragiale's literature is indebted to dialog, as well as, in rarer cases, to internal monologue and free indirect speech (the favorite technique of Naturalists). Language takes the central role in his work, often compensating for the lack of detail. To this was added his tendency to reduce texts to their essence—he shortened down not only his own text, but also his occasional translations of stories by Queen Elisabeth and even Miguel de Cervantes or Edgar Allan Poe. At times, he added a lyrical, meditative or autobiographical, perspective to his works: this trait was especially obvious in his later fantasy works (''
Kir Ianulea ''Kir Ianulea'' or ''Kyr Ianulea'' () is a fantasy and historical fiction novella or short story, published by Romanian author Ion Luca Caragiale in 1909. Borrowing the elements of a fairy tale, satire and frame story, it has become recognized as ...
'' and '' Calul dracului'' among them), all marked by Neoromantic inspiration.Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 205 Zarifopol claimed that, although Caragiale often rejected the tendency of other writers to capitalize on picturesque images, he often used them in his own writings. Caragiale arguably won as much acclaim for his rigorous approach to playwriting as for his accomplished style. With Alexandru Vlahuță, George Coșbuc and others, he belonged to the first generation of Romanian authors to take a noted interest in imposing
professionalism A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
. He was specific about this requirement—on one occasion, he used sarcasm to overturn a common misconception, saying: "Literature is an art that needs not be learned; whoever knows how to turn letters into syllables and the latter into words has had sufficient preparation to engage in literature." Commenting on this, Vianu stressed: " ..even under the appearance of ease, aragialelets us catch sight of the severe law of his art" (adding elsewhere that " aragialewas a scrupulous and tormented artist"). Caragiale compared writers who could not dissimulate their intent and generate a good story with "a cross-eyed who tells you which way to go: one doesn't known if he is to go down the road he points to, or down the road he is looking at". Speaking in the late 1890s, he also likened writing for the stage with architecture:
"In truth, just as much as the architect's plan is not yet the final accomplishment of his intent—that is to say, the monument—but only its conventional recording .. so too is the dramaturg's writing not yet the accomplishment of his intent — that is to say, the comedy — but the conventional recording, to which will be added the personal elements, in order to depict a development of human circumstances and deeds. In short: just as an architect's plan bears little resemblance to a painting, so does drama bear little resemblance to a poem."Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 187


Political and social vision


Liberalism and republicanism

His interest in first-hand investigation of the human nature was accompanied, at least after he reached maturity, by a distaste for generous and universalist theories. Caragiale viewed their impact on Romanian society with a critical eye. Like '' Junimea'', he was amused by the cultural legacy of 1848 Wallachian revolutionaries, and by its image in National Liberal discourse. Nevertheless, he claimed that there was a clear difference between the first generation of liberal activistsIon Câmpineanu, Ion Heliade Rădulescu, and Nicolae Bălcescu—and the new liberal establishment, which, as he believed, had come to cultivate
hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...
, demagogy, and
political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, in ...
. He exemplified the latter group by citing some of its prominent members:
Pantazi Ghica Pantazi Ghica (; also known under the pen names Tapazin, G. Pantazi, and Ghaki; 15 March 1831 – 17 July 1882) was a Wallachian, later Romanian politician and lawyer, also known as a dramatist, poet, short story writer, and literary critic. A pro ...
and Nicolae Misail. At one point, he argued that, had they not died young, the leaders of 1848 could have found themselves best represented by the Conservatives. He recorded the way in which National Liberal politicians claimed to take inspiration from the revolt, and pointed out that the 1848 slogans had become rallying calls for the most banal causes. His almost lifelong critique of the liberal current, marked by his conflicts with Dimitrie Sturdza and Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, was partly inspired by the ''Junimea'' guidelines — in line with the ''Junimists'', Caragiale perceived liberals as agents of
Populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
, popular Romanticism, and Idealism, as tenets prevalent in the literature of his day.Cioculescu, pg. 9 For Caragiale, the resulting liberal-inspired literary works were ''spanac'' ("spinach"). The writer thus identified late 19th-century Romanian liberalism "empty talk", and his attacks on demagogy partly mirrored Maiorescu's views about the National Liberals' "inebriation with words". Caragiale centered some of his first attacks on the "Reds" and their leader
C. A. Rosetti Constantin Alexandru Rosetti (; 2 June 1816 – 8 April 1885) was a Romanian literary and political leader, born in Bucharest into the princely Rosetti family. Biography Before 1848 Constantin Alexandru Rosetti was born in Bucharest, the son ...
, in whose republicanism and inflammatory rhetoric he saw the main threat to Romanian society. The writer believed that, ever since having ousted Alexander John Cuza from his throne, both Rosetti and Ion Brătianu were using their republican basis as an asset, inciting to rebellion only when their demands were not met. He frequently ridiculed the cult with which Rosetti surrounded figures of international republicanism, such as
Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
and Léon Gambetta, and indicated that the National Liberal public had very vague and impractical notions of what a republican state actually implied. The republican agitation is no longer emphasized in Caragiale's later works, as republicanism slowly faded out of the mainstream liberal discourse. Noting this, several critics believe that, in his ''
O scrisoare pierdută ''O scrisoare pierdută'' (Romanian for "A Lost Letter") is a play by Ion Luca Caragiale. It premiered in 1884, and arguably represents the high point of his career.Vianu, Vol. II, p.180 It was adapted into a 1953 film ''A Lost Letter''. Characte ...
'', which depicts the battle between two unnamed political camps, the dramatist alluded to the conflict between Brătianu's moderates and Rosetti's extremists (as indicated by the fact that all the main characters attend the same rallies). This view was disputed by Zarifopol, who argued that the more pragmatic grouping stands for the Conservatives, and the demagogic one for the National Liberals as a whole.


Nationalism

Ion Luca Caragiale was a vocal critic of
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
, which was mostly represented by the National Liberals and A. C. Cuza's emerging movement. At a time when the Jewish community was denied emancipation, he advocated its full integration into Romanian society, calling for civil rights to be extended to all residents of Romania. Around 1907, he tried his hand at writing a legislative proposal, according to which the Romanian state was to extend citizenship all resident stateless persons who did not enjoy foreign protection—in its manuscript form, this document was kept by his friend Dimitrie Gusti. According to Garabet Ibrăileanu, his rejection of antisemitic views was owed either to his failure to relate with the middle class and its anti-Jewish stances, or to his "powerful intelligence", which contrasted with the "instinctual, almost zoological nature" of the antisemitic discourse. His criticism of both the nationalist discourse and liberal-inspired education generated subjects for several of his shorter satirical writings. Caragiale thus authored a mock-pamphlet advertising the program of a new cultural society, '' Românii Verzi'' (the "Green Romanians"), who took its
racialist Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscientific belief that empirical evidence exists to support or justify racism (racial discrimination), racial inferiority, or racial superiority.. "Few tragedies can be more e ...
proposals to the point of arguing that " ..a nation must always fear other nations". Like ''Junimea'', he was entirely opposed to the group of August Treboniu Laurian and other Transylvanian intellectuals, who attempted to reform the Romanian language by introducing new forms of speech and writing that aimed to return it closer to its Latin roots. In his stories, Caragiale created the teacher Marius Chicoș Rostogan, a caricature of both the liberal educators and the Transylvanian "Latinists".Ornea, p. 226 While in Berlin, the writer also persiflaged some of Vasile Alecsandri's liberal and patriotic writings—he completed Alecsandri's nationalist poem ''Tricolorul'' with sarcastic verses that were meant to enhance its xenophobic feel (showing the Romanians ready to do battle against all their perceived enemies in Eastern Europe). Nevertheless, various authors believe that a young Caragiale did indeed support nationalist liberal policies, and presume that he was behind a series of anti-Jewish columns, published by '' Voința Națională'' during the early 1880s. This was for long disputed:
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...
and literary historian Moses Gaster attributed the pieces to
Nicolae Xenopol Nicolae Dimitrie Xenopol ( or , also Nicu Xenopol; Francized ''Nicolas Xenopol''; October 11, 1858 – December 1917) was a Romanian politician, diplomat, economist and writer, the younger brother of historian Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol and, like ...
, while researcher
Șerban Cioculescu Șerban Cioculescu (; 7 September 1902 – 25 June 1988) was a Romanian literary critic, literary historian and columnist, who held teaching positions in Romanian literature at the University of Iași and the University of Bucharest, as well as m ...
, who originally doubted them, eventually agreed that they formed an integral part of Caragiale's work.


Conservatism and traditionalism

In some of his early articles, and again as he distanced himself from ''Junimea'', the writer showed himself to be a vocal critic of the Conservative doctrine and its ''Junimist'' representatives. This is especially evident in his 1907 essay and in some of his stories. Caragiale claimed that both Titu Maiorescu and
Petre P. Carp Petre P. Carp (; also Petrache Carp, Francized ''Pierre Carp'', Ioana Pârvulescu"O adresă high-life", in ''România Literară'', Nr. 25/2010 occasionally ''Comte Carpe''; 28 Mircea Dumitriu"Petre P. Carp – un suflet, un caracter, o idee", in ...
were "
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...
s" who prioritized the interest of their
social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
(which was by then nonetheless defunct, as traditional
privilege Privilege may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Privilege'' (film), a 1967 film directed by Peter Watkins * ''Privilege'' (Ivor Cutler album), 1983 * ''Privilege'' (Television Personalities album), 1990 * ''Privilege (Abridged)'', an alb ...
had been formally abolished a generation earlier). Cioculescu attributed this to an "
inferiority complex In psychology, an inferiority complex is an intense personal feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others. According to Alfred Adler, a feeling of inferiority may be brought ab ...
" Caragiale felt in respect to his former patrons.Cioculescu, p. 22 Despite his brief association with the mainstream Conservatives, Caragiale was probably never their partisan, and only hoped that the party could open the way for the reforms advertised by
George Panu George Panu (March 9, 1848 – November 6, 1910) was a Moldavian, later Romanian memoirist, literary critic, journalist and politician. A native of Iași, educated there as well as in Paris and Brussels, he worked as a schoolteacher and lawyer, b ...
and
Alexandru Lahovari Alexandru Lahovary ( ro, Alexandru N. Lahovari; August 16, 1841 – March 4, 1897) was a member of the Romanian aristocracy, a politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Justice, Minister of Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Propert ...
. When disappointed with their failure to promote change, he moved on to support Take Ionescu and his dissident grouping. Uniquely among students of Caragiale's work, George Călinescu argued that the writer's main interest was not in criticizing the liberals, but actually in an overall rejection of the most embedded ''Junimist'' tenets, which, in Călinescu's view, had engendered "a lack of faith in the country's own powers". Paul Zarifopol believed that several of his '' Momente și schițe'' characters, including the effeminate high life chronicler Edgar Bostandaki, are caricatures of the Conservatives. Caragiale contrasted the other major writers of his generation, including his friends Mihai Eminescu, Ioan Slavici, Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, and '' Sămănătorul'' journal founder Alexandru Vlahuță, all of whom were advocating a return to the rural sphere and peasant traditionalism. In '' Moftul Român'', he
parodied A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
the
archaism In language, an archaism (from the grc, ἀρχαϊκός, ''archaïkós'', 'old-fashioned, antiquated', ultimately , ''archaîos'', 'from the beginning, ancient') is a word, a sense of a word, or a style of speech or writing that belongs to a hi ...
s favored by Ștefănescu Delavrancea; during his final years, he also questioned the aesthetic value of Ștefănescu Delavrancea's medieval-themed play '' Apus de soare''. Prominent nationalists and traditionalists tended to be reserved in their assessment of Caragiale's literary contributions—they include his friend Eminescu and historian Nicolae Iorga. Nonetheless, Ion Luca Caragiale was, according to Zarifopol, a passionate advocate of tradition in front of innovation, and "a defender of the well-established truths". Tudor Vianu also evidenced that Caragiale treasured his Orthodox identity, frequently appealing to God and the saints in both his private life and his writings.Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 197 According to Ioan Slavici, Caragiale defined himself as "a right-believing
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
", and disagreed with Eminescu on the nature of religion (at a time when the poet was a passionate student of Buddhism). Cioculescu called this trait "primitive religiosity".Cioculescu, pg. 7 The writer is also known to have convinced that luck and destiny manifested themselves in life, and his '' Cănuță om sucit'', a short story about a proverbially unlucky fellow, is thought to have referred to its author. His
superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...
s were accompanied by a series of
phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avo ...
s, particularly pyrophobia and nosophobia.


Caragiale and the modernists

Ion Luca Caragiale was mostly critical of literary experiments and the newer stages of Modernism. On this basis, he persistently ridiculed Alexandru Macedonski's style, especially after the latter adopted Symbolism. Much of his own poetry, especially pieces published in ''Moftul Român'' after 1901, parodied the Romanian Symbolist clubs and the
Parnassianism Parnassianism (or Parnassism) was a French literary style that began during the positivist period of the 19th century, occurring after romanticism and prior to symbolism. The style was influenced by the author Théophile Gautier as well as by th ...
of Macedonski's ''Literatorul'' (among the best-known of these targets was poet Cincinat Pavelescu, who was coeditor at ''Literatorul''). As editor of ''
Epoca Epoca may refer to: Media * ''Epoca'' (magazine), Italian news magazine published, 1950–1997 * ''Época'' (Brazilian magazine), Brazilian news magazine established in 1998 * ''Época'' (Spanish magazine), Spanish weekly news magazine, 1985– ...
s literary supplement, Caragiale refused to publish a descriptive poem by the young Gala Galaction, claiming that it was not poetry (when Nicolae Filipescu asked him to reconsider, he threatened to quit). Late in his life, he reserved explicit criticism for the new generation of Symbolists, whose work, he argued, belonged to "the church" of Belgian poet Maurice Maeterlinck. Zarifopol also noted that, for as long as he lived, the writer derided the innovative works of
Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...
and August Strindberg, but pointed out that Caragiale had never actually read or seen their plays. Nevertheless, Caragiale was not entirely opposed to newer trends in poetry and art. Literary critic
Matei Călinescu Matei Alexe Călinescu (June 15, 1934 – June 24, 2009) was a Romanian literary critic and professor of comparative literature at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana. Biography Călinescu was born in Bucharest, Romania, the son of Ra ...
believes that he genuinely admired ''În orașul cu trei sute de biserici'' ("In the City with Three Hundred Churches"), a free verse poem by the Symbolist Ion Minulescu.
Matei Călinescu Matei Alexe Călinescu (June 15, 1934 – June 24, 2009) was a Romanian literary critic and professor of comparative literature at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana. Biography Călinescu was born in Bucharest, Romania, the son of Ra ...
, "Prefață", in Ion Minulescu, ''Romanțe pentru mai târziu și alte poezii'', Editura pentru literatură, Bucharest, 1967, pg. XIV;
This work is believed to have inspired a 1908 parody by Caragiale, in which the writer proclaimed his support for Take Ionescu. According to poet and essayist Tudor Arghezi, Caragiale also admired the works of Ștefan Luchian, a Postimpressionist whose paintings were often exhibited in Bucharest galleries.


Caragiale and the Left

Moving toward the
Left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...
during the final decades of his life, the writer maintained connection with the socialists, but was nonetheless ambivalent to their goals. As Cioculescu noted, he welcomed the Bucharest celebration of May Day in one of his '' Moftul Român'' pieces, and probably agreed to lecture for the Workers' Club in the capital. Some of his writings were hosted by the socialist journal '' România Muncitoare''. According to Garabet Ibrăileanu, himself a socialist at the time, "sometime after 1890, Caragiale briefly flirted with socialism." However, over the same period, Caragiale ridiculed several socialist militants, referring to one of their leaders with the derisive nickname ''Edgard Spanachidi'' (itself a derivative of "spinach"). Instead, his loose association with
George Panu George Panu (March 9, 1848 – November 6, 1910) was a Moldavian, later Romanian memoirist, literary critic, journalist and politician. A native of Iași, educated there as well as in Paris and Brussels, he worked as a schoolteacher and lawyer, b ...
signified a return to radicalism, and saw him campaigning in favor of universal suffrage and a complete land reform—this clashed with the views he had expressed earlier in life, and Caragiale was careful not to let it seem that he had returned to the "Red" liberalism of his youth. In one of his articles, Ion Luca Caragiale commented with irony on the
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
views of his friend Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea: he compared the latter's way of dining on a leg of veal, laboriously carving it into sections, to his philosophical approach. Caragiale thus noted that philosophical skepticism was equivalent to stripping the bone of its flesh piece by piece, and then throwing it to the dogs—without having been able to fully document the leg of veal or its substance. Nevertheless, as Tudor Vianu indicated, although Caragiale preferred observation and spontaneity to speculation, he was not averse to pure philosophical analysis, and frequently quoted the
classics 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 ...
in defense of his aesthetic guidelines. Late in his life, Caragiale also sparked debates after deriding the emerging Poporanism, a school of thought which took its inspiration from socialism,
agrarianism Agrarianism is a political and social philosophy that has promoted subsistence agriculture, smallholdings, and egalitarianism, with agrarian political parties normally supporting the rights and sustainability of small farmers and poor peasants ...
and traditionalism. He is also known to have been amused by the German election of 1907 and the resulting defeat registered by the Social Democratic Party. Caragiale maintained a friendship with Dobrogeanu-Gherea for much of his life. He was especially interested in news of Dobrogeanu-Gherea having become involved in the 1905 Russian battleship Potemkin scandal, after the aging socialist decided to offer his help to the refugee sailors as they arrived in
Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
. During his time in Berlin, he repeatedly tried to convince the Dobrogeanu-Ghereas to leave their home in Romania and join him abroad. Nonetheless, he criticized the philosopher when the latter refused to be decorated by King
Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (20 April 1839 – ), born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He w ...
(1909). Around 1907, the dramatist was also interested in the activities of
Christian Rakovsky Christian Georgievich Rakovsky (russian: Христиа́н Гео́ргиевич Рако́вский; bg, Кръстьо Георги́ев Рако́вски; – September 11, 1941) was a Bulgarian-born socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevi ...
, who was trying to make his way back into Romania, and closely followed news of street clashes between his supporters and the authorities.


Settings

The writer had an unprecedented familiarity with the social environments, traits, opinions, manners of speech, means of expression and lifestyle choices of his day — from the rural atmosphere of his early childhood, going through his vast experience as a journalist, to the high spheres of politics ( National Liberal as well as Conservative, ''Junimist'' as well as socialist). An incessant traveler, Caragiale carefully investigated everyday life in most areas of the Romanian Old Kingdom and Transylvania. He was an unusually sociable man: in one of his letters from Berlin, he asked Alceu Urechia to send his regards to over 40 of his acquaintances in Sinaia (from
Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
diplomats to street vendors or beggars). Several of his major works have a rural setting—they include '' Năpasta'', '' În vreme de război'', ''
La hanul lui Mânjoală LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
'', '' Calul dracului'', '' Păcat'', and ''
O făclie de Paște ''O făclie de Paşte'' or ''O făclie de Paşti'' (Romanian for "An Easter Torch") is a naturalistic novella written by Romanian writer Ion Luca Caragiale. It was first published in Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Lite ...
'', as well as fragments of the pseudo-
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
s he authored late in life. Nevertheless, Caragiale is foremost known and acclaimed for his urban themes, which form the background to the vast majority of his most accomplished writings. The author depicted the city in all stages of its development and in all its atmospheres — from nightlife to ''Căldură mares midday torpor, from noisy
slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
s and the ''Târgul Moșilor'' fête in Obor to the English-inspired tea parties of the urban elite. This large fresco drew comparisons with his generation colleague
Ion Creangă Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romania ...
, who was argued to have done the same for the countryside. Caragiale was especially proud of the opening paragraph in his ''Ultima emisiune...'' story, part of '' Momente și schițe'', which, he believed, the "corner of a slum" was suggested to perfection. Tudor Vianu also noted that, among cities and towns, Caragiale preferred Bucharest and those provincial centers most exposed to Central European influences (specifically, the summer retreats in the Prahova Valley and other Wallachian stations on the way to Transylvania).Vianu, Vol. II, pg. 199 The enclosed world of the Romanian Railways also appealed to the writer, and an impressive number of his sketches relate to it in various ways.


Collective characters

Confessing at some point that "the world was my school", Caragiale dissimulated his background and critical eye as a means to blend into each environment he encountered, and even adopted the manners and speech patterns he later recorded in his literary work. He thus encouraged familiarity, allowing people to reveal their histories, motivations, and culture. Vianu recounted: "The man was a consummate actor and a '' pince-sans-rire'', an ironist ..to the point where his partners of dialog were never sure if they were spoken to 'seriously' .."Vianu, Vol. II, p. 196 In one of his pieces from 1899, he welcomed the famous actors
Eleonora Duse Eleonora Giulia Amalia Duse ( , ; 3 October 185821 April 1924), often known simply as Duse, was an Italian actress, rated by many as the greatest of her time. She performed in many countries, notably in the plays of Gabriele d'Annunzio and Hen ...
and
Jean Mounet-Sully Mounet-Sully (28 February 1841 – 3 March 1916), a French actor, was born at Bergerac. His birth name was Jean-Sully Mounet: "Mounet-Sully" (without the "Jean") was a stage name. Life He entered the Conservatoire at the age of twenty-one, whe ...
to Bucharest, imitating the exaggerated style of other theater chroniclers—the article ended with Caragiale confessing that he had not actually seen the two perform. In one other instance, as a means to comment on
plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
, the author also parodied his own ''O făclie de Paște''—which he turned into the sketch, ''Noaptea Învierii''. In ''1907, din primăvară până în toamnă'', his late and disillusioned work, Caragiale lashed out at the traditional class of political clients, with an indictment which, Tudor Vianu believed, also served to identify the main focus of his other writings:
"plebs incapable of work and lacking employment, impoverished suburban small traders and street vendors, petty dangerous agitators of the villages and of the areas adjacent to towns, bullying election agents; and then the hybrid product of all levels of schooling, semi-cultured intellectuals, lawyers and lawyerlings, professors, teachers and teacherlings, semi-illiterate and unfrocked priests, illiterate schoolteachers—all of them beer garden theorists; next come the great functionaries and the little clerks, most of them removable from office."
Direct criticism was nonetheless rare in Caragiale's fiction: Vianu believed to have found traces of it in ''
O scrisoare pierdută ''O scrisoare pierdută'' (Romanian for "A Lost Letter") is a play by Ion Luca Caragiale. It premiered in 1884, and arguably represents the high point of his career.Vianu, Vol. II, p.180 It was adapted into a 1953 film ''A Lost Letter''. Characte ...
'' ("the most cruel f his satires) and in '' Grand Hotel "Victoria română"'' ("the most bitter").Vianu, Vol. II, p. 201 On several occasions, Caragiale showed or even defined himself as a sentimental, and his modesty was acknowledged by several of his friends. Vianu noted that, alongside his Christian ethos, this contributed to his distant, calm and often sympathetic overall take on society. In his words:
"A wave of charm, of reconciliation with life passes above all is characters one which, if it only assumes light and superficial shapes, experienced by naive people with harmless manias, is a sign that the collective existence is taking place in shelter from the great trials."
In contrast with this,
Poporanist Poporanism is a Romanian version of nationalism and populism. The word is derived from ''popor'', meaning "people" in Romanian. Founded by Constantin Stere in the early 1890s, Poporanism is distinguished by its opposition to socialism, promotion ...
critic Garabet Ibrăileanu argued that Caragiale actually hated the people who inspired his works, and claimed that the writer had made this clear during one of their conversations.Cazimir (1967), p. 44 His account was considered doubtful by researcher
Ștefan Cazimir Ștefan is the Romanian form of Stephen, used as both a given name and a surname. For the English version, see Stefan. Some better known people with the name Ștefan are listed below. For a comprehensive list see . Notable persons with that name ...
, who believed that Ibrăileanu was using it to back a polemic and singular overview of Caragiale's work. According to Vianu, there is a manifest difference between Ion Luca Caragiale's comedies and his '' Momente și schițe'': the former are, in his view, driven by situations and circumstances, whereas the latter sees Caragiale developing his original perspective to its fullest. This, he argues, was determined by important social changes—a move from a traditional world—awkwardly attempting to digest Westernization,
modernization Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, ...
, and Francized culture—, to a more stable and prosperous environment. A similar division was applied by Ibrăileanu.


Types


Theoretical aspects

The form of Realism favored by Caragiale placed types of characters at the center of literary creativity, owing to the influence of Classicism. Several critics have credited ''Momente și schițe'', as well as all his dramas, with providing some of the first truly believable portrayals in local literature. Vianu stressed that Classicist borrowings in Caragiale's writings were limited, indicating that Caragiale parted with the notion of "generic types" to look for the "social" ones. In parallel, literary critic George Călinescu argued that " e typological structure is present in Caragiale's work as a supporting structure, without being essential." In Vianu's assessment, the universal human nature was important to Caragiale, but not made instantly obvious (as opposed to the immediate importance his characters were meant to have in the eyes of his public). Vianu illustrated this concept after investigating the manner in which Caragiale completed his ''O scrisoare pierdută'': the author was for long undecided about which character was to win the electoral battle on which the play centers, but opted for Agamiță Dandanache, the senile
radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
, because his victory was to give the play more depth.Vianu, Vol. II, p. 202 Caragiale was thus quoted saying that Dandanache was "more stupid" than the clueless politician Tache Farfuridi, and "more of a scoundrel" than the unprincipled and cunning journalist Nae Cațavencu. In Vianu's view, ''Momente și schițe'' was more vague in this respect, giving little insight into morals and states of mind, whereas the other, longer, novellas did depict feelings and occasionally provided additional details such as physiology or cenesthesia. Also according to Vianu, Ion Luca Caragiale, unlike the Naturalists, was generally not interested in offering the reader access to his characters'
psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...
background—aside from his '' Năpasta'' and '' Păcat'', and ''
O făclie de Paște ''O făclie de Paşte'' or ''O făclie de Paşti'' (Romanian for "An Easter Torch") is a naturalistic novella written by Romanian writer Ion Luca Caragiale. It was first published in Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Lite ...
'', he only adopted the psychological technique in satirical contexts, as a means to parody its use. A similar view was expressed by Vianu's predecessor,
Silvian Iosifescu Silvian Iosifescu (21 January 1917 - May 2006) was a literary critic, educator, translator and Romanian literature professor at the Faculty of Letters, University of Bucharest. He was head of literary theory at the university. Iosifescu was born to ...
, who also stressed that Caragiale always avoided applying the Naturalist technique to its fullest,Mîndra, p. 271 while George Călinescu himself believed that the characters' motivations in ''O făclie de Paște'' are actually physiological and ethnological.Călinescu, p. 179 Maiorescu was especially fond of the way in which Caragiale balanced his personal perspective and the generic traits he emphasized: speaking of Leiba Zibal, the Jewish character in ''O făclie de Paște'' who defends himself out of fear, he drew a comparison with Shakespeare's
Shylock Shylock is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play ''The Merchant of Venice'' (c. 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal antagonist. His defeat and conversion to Christianity form the climax of the ...
. He thus noted that, for all the differences in style between the two authors, both their characters stood for the Jewish people as a whole. This assessment was backed by Maiorescu's adversary, Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea. George Călinescu also believed that, aside from his individual nature, Zibal provided readers with an accurate insight into Jewish reactions to systemic persecution and death threats. Such assessments were rejected by Paul Zarifopol, who opposed generalizations and commented that the work only referred to " e ingenious cruelty of a man maddened by fear".


Allegories

One of Caragiale's main and earliest types is that of the young man gripped by love, expressing himself through emphatic and Romantic clichés—its main representative is ''
O noapte furtunoasă O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...
s Rică Venturiano. As Vianu commented, Caragiale exploited the theme to so much success that it took another generation for youthful love to be presented in a non-comedic context (with the common signature writings of Ștefan Octavian Iosif and Dimitrie Anghel). At the other end are
patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...
figures, heads of families who seem unable or unwilling to investigate their wives' Adultery, adulterous relations with younger men. This behavior is notably present in ''O noapte furtunoasă'', where the aged Dumitrache fails to note even the most obvious signs that his wife Veta is in love with his good friend Chiriac. A more complex situation is present in ''O scrisoare pierdută'', where political boss Trahanache cannot tell that his wife Joițica is having an affair with Tipătescu, and, when confronted with the evidence, is more interested in proving that she is not. With Venturiano, Caragiale also introduces criticism of the liberal journalist and lawyers. A law school student, Venturiano contributes long and exaggerated articles to the republican press, which recall those authored by
C. A. Rosetti Constantin Alexandru Rosetti (; 2 June 1816 – 8 April 1885) was a Romanian literary and political leader, born in Bucharest into the princely Rosetti family. Biography Before 1848 Constantin Alexandru Rosetti was born in Bucharest, the son ...
and his collaborators. A more elaborate such character is Nae Cațavencu, who plays a major part in ''O scrisoare pierdută'', and who, using a "Red" discourse, attacks politicians on all sides with turbulent remarks and recourse to blackmail. He profits from the more moderate attitudes of his adversaries to proclaim himself a Progressivism, progressive politician, and he is successful in doing so—Cațavencu rallies around him a group of teachers and other state employees. The only person who is able to stop his rise is Agamiță Dandanache, an old Wallachian Revolution of 1848, 1848 revolutionary. Danadanche, shown to have been sidelined from politics, makes a comeback at a time when the factions needs his inoffensive presence as a third-party, and, although senile, has a vast experience in blackmailing.
Ștefan Cazimir Ștefan is the Romanian form of Stephen, used as both a given name and a surname. For the English version, see Stefan. Some better known people with the name Ștefan are listed below. For a comprehensive list see . Notable persons with that name ...
linked Dandanache to a new aristocracy, created around the first generation of Romanian liberals, and likened him to a Hidalgo (Spanish nobility), hidalgo. Tache Farfuridi, a competitor to both, has been described by Cazimir as a conformist self-seeker, in the manner of M. and Mme. Joseph Prudhomme, M. Joseph Prudhomme, a character made famous by Henri Monnier's prose. Written between the two other comedies, ''
Conu Leonida față cu reacțiunea Coni ( tly, Çoni) is a village and municipality in the Lerik Rayon of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental co ...
'' depicts the long-term effects of republican discourse on its fascinated audience, through the sayings and actions of Leonida. The latter, whose source of income is a state pension, notably supports the notion that the "Red" republic will provide each clerk with a salary, a pension, as well as a debt moratorium—
Șerban Cioculescu Șerban Cioculescu (; 7 September 1902 – 25 June 1988) was a Romanian literary critic, literary historian and columnist, who held teaching positions in Romanian literature at the University of Iași and the University of Bucharest, as well as m ...
noted that this request had already been voiced in real life, and issued as a political program by an obscure Utopian socialism, Utopian socialist named Pițurcă. Eventually, Leonida is convinced that revolution cannot be on the rise, since the authorities have banned the firing of weapons within city limits. Similar fallacies are uttered by one of the secondary characters in '' D-ale carnavalului'', known to the other protagonists as ''Catindatul'', who has a vague familiarity with both Subjective idealism, subjective idealist and Materialism, materialist tenets, the sources for his absurd theories about suggestibility and "magnetism"—two processes in which he sees the universal source for all discomfort or disease. In parallel, Zarifopol argued, the writer had even allowed ironic reflections on the impact of various theories to seep into a more serious work, ''O făclie de Paște'', where two students terrify the innkeeper Zibal by casually discussing anthropological criminology. Several other of Caragiale's characters have traditionally been considered Allegory, allegories of
social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
es and even regional identities. One of the most famous ones is Mitică, a recurring character who stands for ordinary Bucharesters, Wallachians or Muntenians in general. A Hypocrisy, hypocritical and seemingly superficial man, Mitică expresses himself through either platitudes or clichés he believes are clever, and, illustrating a tendency Caragiale first recorded in his '' Moftul Român'', quickly dismisses all important things he is confronted with. Similarly, the teacher Marius Chicoș Rostogan, who is present or named in several sketches, stands for those Transylvanian expatriates in Romania whose sympathies went to the liberal current. His discourse, through which Caragiale sarcastically illustrates liberal tenets in respect to Education in Romania, Romanian education, is centered on a disregard for content and a rigor for memorizing irrelevant details. It has been proposed that Rostogan is at least partly based on Vasile Grigore Borgovan, a Transylvanian-born educator and resident of Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Turnu Severin. ''Cetățeanul turmentat'', an unnamed inebriated man who makes brief but relevant appearances in ''O scrisoare pierdută'', is thought to symbolize simple townsfolk, utterly confused by the political battle going on around them, and ignored by all the notabilities. Like his counterpart, the police agent Ghiță Pristanda, the inebriated elector has no relevant personal ambition, and stands for the so-called "government dowry"—people afraid of losing their offices, and ready to back whoever is in power. According to Călinescu, the inebriated citizen worships authority as a "supreme god", despite all its absurdities. He repeatedly claims to have served Trahanache during Alexander John Cuza's ousting, but his supposed patron only acknowledges him once, when asking party members to "escort this honorable person outside". In a number of his short stories and sketches, Caragiale makes use of another particularly ''Junimist'' theme, and investigates the glamorous but superficial impact of
modernization Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, ...
on upper class, high society. In one sketch, a couple of ladies dine in an opulent salon, while cursing their maid, gossiping, and showing interest in vulgar subjects. The characters in these writings tend to resemble each other, evidencing the generic traits of the well-to-do.


Other traits and characters

Anxiety, Anxieties take the central stage in several of Caragiale's writings. From early on, Caragiale's minute analysis of mounting terror in ''O făclie de Paște'' won the praise of Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea. In several of his sketches and stories, characters are driven to despair by their inability to cope with real or presumed changes in their environment.Cioculescu, p. 89 This is shown to have happened to characters such as Leiba Zibal, Stavrache—the pub owner in '' În vreme de război''—, as well as Anghelache (the suicide victim in ''Inspecțiune...'', part of '' Momente și schițe''). Șerban Cioculescu referred to the latter three as "great Neurosis, neurotics", while Iosifescu defined Zibal and Stavrache as "Dementia, demented". Among the group of insane characters in Caragiale's work, Călinescu counted those of sketches and stories like ''1 Aprilie'' ("1st of April"), where an April Fools' Day, April Fool ends with a murder, and ''Două loturi'', where the clerk Lefter Popescu goes through the tribulations of having lost his winning ticket. Anxiety over imminent events grips the main characters in ''Conu Leonida față cu reacțiunea'', and plays a part in female behavior as depicted in all his other comedies. A special kind of fear animates the main protagonists of ''D-ale carnavalului'', whose jealousy leads them to act irrationally. Thus, Iancu Pampon, an assistant-barber and former police officer, and his female counterpart, the republican suburbanite Mița Baston, are determined to uncover their partners' amorous escapades, and their hectic inquiry combines real clues with figments of imagination, fits of passionate rage with moments of sad meditation, and violent threats with periods of resignation. Glimpses into this type of behavior have been noted in other plays by Caragiale: Cazimir placed emphasis on the fact that Farfuridi is shown to be extremely cautious towards all unplanned changes, and consumes much of his energy in preserving a largely pointless daily routine. Many of Caragiale's writings reproduce discussions between clerks on their time off, which usually take the shape of generic and awkward forays into culture or politics. Several of the characters in his sketches spuriously claim to be personal friends of major political figures of the day, or to have access to the back-rooms of politics and journalism. Although often alarmed by political or social developments, they tend to accommodate them quickly, and often encourage each other during very long stays at the beer garden. Gravitating in this environment are the petty journalists, who boast access to unlikely Scoop (term), scoops, such as Bulgaria having decided to invade Romania.Cioculescu, p. 114 In one instance, Caragiale invents Caracudi, a newspaperman who writes his Sensationalism, sensationalist articles while relaxing in the park. Caragiale's persona is placed in numerous of his works. Aside from deduced self-portraits in '' Cănuță om sucit'' and elsewhere, he created the famous background character Nenea Iancu ("Uncle Iancu"), building on his colloquial name and his status as a regular client of the beer gardens. He introduces several of his ''Momente și schițe'' characters as personal friends, and garnishes the stories with intimate details. Late in his life, he even confessed that the affair involving Venturiano, Dumitrache, and Dumitrache's wife Veta was partly based on an amorous misadventure he experienced as a young man.


Literary influences

Aside from the many authors whose works he quoted, translated or
parodied A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
, Ion Luca Caragiale built on a vast literary legacy. According to literary historian Ștefan Cazimir: "No writer ever had as large a number of precursors [as Caragiale], just as no other artistic synthesis was ever more organic and more spontaneous." A man of the theater first and foremost, Caragiale was well-acquainted with the work of his predecessors, from William Shakespeare to the Romanticism, Romantics, and heavily impressed by the French ''comédie en vaudeville''. He applied the notion of well-made plays, as theorized by Eugène Scribe, and was also influenced by the
dramaturgy Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the Representation (arts), representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. The term first appears in the eponymous work ''Hamburg Dramaturgy'' (1767–69) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing ...
of Eugène Marin Labiche and Victorien Sardou. Reportedly, Labiche was his favorite author. The writer himself cited Cilibi Moise, a History of the Jews in Romania, Wallachian Jewish peddler and Aphorism, aphorist, as an early influence, recalling how, as a child, he used to read his one-liner jokes, and treasured them as exceptional samples of concise humor.Cazimir (1967), pg. 62 He was similarly impressed by the works of Moise's contemporary, the prolific author
Anton Pann Anton Pann (; born Antonie Pantoleon-Petroveanu , and also mentioned as ''Anton Pantoleon'' or ''Petrovici''; 1790s—2 November 1854) was an Ottoman-born Wallachian composer, musicologist, and Romanian-language poet, also noted for his act ...
, whose accomplishments he praised during talks with his fellow ''Convorbiri Critice'' contributors, and whose work served as a source for at least one of his own stories. Nicolae Filimon, whom Caragiale praised on several occasions, was the author of short stories which several authors have identified as less accomplished versions of Rică Venturiano. A similar connection has been traced between the various sketches authored by Ion Heliade Rădulescu, in which Transylvanian writers are the object of ridicule, and Caragiale's character, Marius Chicoș Rostogan. Caragiale's late admiration for Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu was also linked to affinities in comedic styles, as was his companionship with Iacob Negruzzi (himself the author of sarcastic pieces ridiculing the liberal politicians and lawyers). Caragiale is believed to have used and developed several themes already present in Romanian theatre. One such precursor is the author of comedies Teodor Myller, especially through his play ''Fata lui Chir Troancă'' ("Kir Troancă's Daughter"). The writer was most likely very familiar with the comedies authored by his two uncles, Costache and Iorgu Caragiale, which have been shown to develop themes he later explored in depth. Among the minor 19th century dramatists whose comedic works were familiar to Caragiale, and in many ways similar to his, own was Costache Halepliu. Another often-cited influence is his predecessor and adversary Vasile Alecsandri, whose ''Coana Chirița'' plays are an early critique of Westernization. The two authors nonetheless differ in many ways, with Caragiale assuming a more complex role, and observing a more complex society. Ion Luca Caragiale is known to have been amused by the stock character Robert Macaire, at a time when the latter had been turned into a comedic character by Frédérick Lemaître. While in Berlin, he purchased the cartoons of French artists Honoré Daumier and Paul Gavarni (although it is not known if their separate portrayals of Macaire were familiar to him)Cazimir (1967), pp. 103-105 — among these drawings was one showing notabilities embracing one another while picking each other's pockets, which shows similarities with Caragiale's own take on society. According to Cazimir, it is possible that he knew Daumier's work from early on, as several other subjects caricatured by the French artist bear a remarkable resemblance to his texts. Ion Luca Caragiale was also keenly aware and receptive of his contemporaries' works and of '' fin de siècle'' innovations. The literary creations of Émile Zola were a noted source of inspiration, and the parallel led George Călinescu to propose him and Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea as the main representatives of Zola's style in local literature. At the same time, Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea believed that both '' Năpasta'' and ''
O făclie de Paște ''O făclie de Paşte'' or ''O făclie de Paşti'' (Romanian for "An Easter Torch") is a naturalistic novella written by Romanian writer Ion Luca Caragiale. It was first published in Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Lite ...
'' showed the "obvious enough influence" of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Late in his life, Caragiale discovered the literature of Anatole France — according to Paul Zarifopol, France's Humanism, Humanist themes served as a model for some of Caragiale's fantasy writings. Discussing the latter works, Vianu noted that they reminded one of Shakespeare's late romances, while
Șerban Cioculescu Șerban Cioculescu (; 7 September 1902 – 25 June 1988) was a Romanian literary critic, literary historian and columnist, who held teaching positions in Romanian literature at the University of Iași and the University of Bucharest, as well as m ...
believed them to have been indirectly inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe. In his report for the academy,
Dimitrie C. Ollănescu-Ascanio Dimitrie C. Ollănescu-Ascanio (March 21, 1849 – January 20, 1908) was a Wallachian, later Romanian poet, prose writer and playwright. Born in Focșani, his parents were Constantin Ollănescu, an army captain who later became a magistrate, a ...
also drew a parallel between Poe's works and ''
La hanul lui Mânjoală LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
'', but this hypothesis was rejected by Zarifopol. In addition, ''
Kir Ianulea ''Kir Ianulea'' or ''Kyr Ianulea'' () is a fantasy and historical fiction novella or short story, published by Romanian author Ion Luca Caragiale in 1909. Borrowing the elements of a fairy tale, satire and frame story, it has become recognized as ...
'', partly using Niccolò Machiavelli's novel as a source, was held as evidence of Caragiale's interest in Renaissance literature.


Cultural legacy

The writer's investigations into Culture of Romania, Romanian culture also resulted in an accurate record of the Romanian language as it was spoken during his day, sampling Romanian dialects, dialects, jargon, slang, verbal tics, as well as illustrating the experiments undertaken by conflicting schools of linguistics during the 19th and early 20th century, as well as the traces they left on the Romanian lexis. In Tudor Vianu's opinion, this was partly owed to his keen musical ear. Caragiale was an enduring influence on both Romanian humor and the views Romanians take of themselves.Lucian Boia, ''Romania: Borderland of Europe'', Reaktion Books, London, 2001, p. 247. His comedies and various stories have produced a series of catchphrases, many of which are still present in both cultural reference. Nevertheless, his uncomfortable criticism has occasionally seen him assigned a secondary place in the Education in Romania, Romanian curriculum and the academic discourse, a tendency notably endorsed by the Iron Guard and the Communist Romania, Communist regime. In parallel, Caragiale's techniques have influenced 20th century dramatists such as Mihail Sorbul, Victor Ion Popa, Mihail Sebastian, and George Mihail Zamfirescu, and various directors, beginning with
Constantin I. Nottara Constantin I. Nottara (June 5, 1859–October 16/17, 1935) was a Romanian stage actor and director. Born in Bucharest into a middle-class family of Byzantine Greek origin, he attended a private school from 1866 to 1870, followed by Saint Sa ...
and Paul Gusti. Several of his theatrical writings have been the subject of essays authored by director Sică Alexandrescu, whose interpretation of the texts made use of the Stanislavsky System. Caragiale's short stories and novellas have inspired authors such as Ioan A. Bassarabescu, Gheorghe Brăescu, Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voinești, Dumitru D. Pătrășcanu, I. Peltz, and, in later decades, Radu Cosașu, Ioan Lăcustă, Horia Gârbea and Dumitru Radu Popa. According to various authors, Caragiale was also a predecessor of Theater of the Absurd, Absurdism, and he is known to have been cited as an influence by the Absurdist dramatist Eugène Ionesco. Outside Romania, the impact of Ion Luca Caragiale's literature was much reduced—the 1996 ''Cambridge Paperback Guide to Theatre'' attributed this to the technical problems posed by translations, as well as to the tendency of staging his works as period pieces. Several authors have left memoirs of Ion Luca Caragiale. They include Octavian Goga and Ioan Slavici, I. Suchianu, Luca Caragiale, Ecaterina Logadi-Caragiale, and Cincinat Pavelescu. Among his later biographers was Octav Minar, who stood accused of having forged certain details for commercial gain. Direct or covert depictions of Caragiale are also present in several fiction works, starting with a revue first shown during his lifetime, and including novels by Goga, Slavici, N. Petrașcu, Emanoil Bucuța, Eugen Lovinescu, Constantin Stere, as well as a play by Camil Petrescu. In 1939, B. Jordan and Lucian Predescu, published a common signature novel on the writer, which was criticized for its style, tone, and inaccuracies. The short story writer Brătescu-Voinești proposed that Ion Luca Caragiale's love affair with Veronica Micle and Eminescu's anger provide the key to Eminescu's poem ''Luceafărul (poem), Luceafărul'', but his theory remains controversial. Caragiale is also probably present in his son Mateiu's work ''Craii de Curtea-Veche'', where his lifestyle and contribution to literature appear to be the subjects of derision. The writer was elected to the Romanian Academy posthumously, in 1948, upon the proposal of novelist Mihail Sadoveanu."Anul Caragiale"
at the Romanian Academy site. Retrieved 26 September 2007.
2002, the 150th anniversary of Ion Luca Caragiale's birth, was celebrated in Romania as the ''Anul Caragiale'' (the "Caragiale Year"). Annual theater festivals in his honor are held in Bucharest and the Moldovan capital of Chișinău. Caragiale's work has been the subject of many productions in Cinema of Romania, Romanian cinema and television—films based on his writings include the 1958 ''Două lozuri'' and Lucian Pintilie's 1981 ''De ce trag clopotele, Mitică?''. In 1982, a West Germany, West German film, directed by Radu Gabrea and based on ''
O făclie de Paște ''O făclie de Paşte'' or ''O făclie de Paşti'' (Romanian for "An Easter Torch") is a naturalistic novella written by Romanian writer Ion Luca Caragiale. It was first published in Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Lite ...
'', was released as '. The National Theatre Bucharest, Bucharest National Theater is currently known in full as ''"Ion Luca Caragiale" National Theater''. Several educational institutions were named in his, including the Academia de Artă Teatrală și Cinematografică Caragiale din București, Theater and Film Academy and the Ion Luca Caragiale National College (Bucharest), Ion Luca Caragiale National College in Bucharest, the national college in Ploiești, and a high school in Moreni. Among the statues raised in his honor are Constantin Baraschi's Statue of Ion Luca Caragiale (Bucharest), Bucharest monument, and busts in the capital's Cișmigiu Gardens and in Ploiești. He was the subject of portraits and caricatures by various artists, and, in 2007, upon the completion of a five-year project involving cartoonists inside and outside Romania, he was designated "the most portrayed writer" by the Guinness World Records, Guinness Book of Records (with over 1,500 individual drawings in a single exhibit). In 1962, a house in Ploiești has been turned into a museum honoring Caragiale (the ''Dobrescu House, Ploiești, Dobrescu House''). His native home in Haimanale was opened for the public in 1979.The Memorial House "Ion Luca Caragiale"
, a
''Museums of Dâmbovița''
. Retrieved 25 September 2007.
Memorial plaques have also been set up in Buzău and on Schöneberg's Hohenzollerndamm. His name was given to streets, avenues, parks or quarters in many Romanian cities—such landmarks include the Bucharest street he lived on around 1900, a street in Ploiești, a quarter in Brașov, and a park in Cluj-Napoca. A street in Chișinău also bears the name Caragiale. The novel ''The Republic'' by the Romanian-American novelist Bogdan Suceavă (Polirom Press, 2018) has as main character a 17-year old Ion Luca Caragiale, and depicts his involvement with the coup d'état attempt from August 8, 1870, in Ploiești.


Notes


References

* George Călinescu, ''Istoria literaturii române. Compendiu'', Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1983 *
Ștefan Cazimir Ștefan is the Romanian form of Stephen, used as both a given name and a surname. For the English version, see Stefan. Some better known people with the name Ștefan are listed below. For a comprehensive list see . Notable persons with that name ...
, **''Caragiale: universul comic'', Editura pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1967. **''I.L. Caragiale faţă cu kitschul'', Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1988. *
Șerban Cioculescu Șerban Cioculescu (; 7 September 1902 – 25 June 1988) was a Romanian literary critic, literary historian and columnist, who held teaching positions in Romanian literature at the University of Iași and the University of Bucharest, as well as m ...
, ''Caragialiana'', Editura Eminescu, Bucharest, 1974. *Alin Ciupală, ''Femeia în societatea românească a secolului al XIX-lea'', Editura Meridiane, Bucharest, 2003. *Daniel Cristea-Enache
''Concert de deschidere''LiterNet
e-book, 2004. *Vicu Mîndra, in I.L. Caragiale, ''Nuvele şi povestiri'', Editura Tineretului, Bucharest, 1966. : **"Prefaţă", p. 5–33 **"Aprecieri critice", p. 267–271 **"Tablou biobibliografic", p. 272–275 *Z. Ornea, ''Junimea şi junimismul'', Vol. II, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1998. *
Perpessicius Perpessicius (; pen name of Dumitru S. Panaitescu, also known as Panait Șt. Dumitru, D. P. Perpessicius and Panaitescu-Perpessicius; October 22, 1891 – March 29, 1971) was a Romanian literary historian and critic, poet, essayist and fiction wri ...

''Studii eminesciene''
Museum of Romanian Literature, Bucharest, 2001. * Tudor Vianu, ''Scriitori români'', Vol. I-III, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1970–1971. *Dan Ionescu, ''Absurdul în opera lui I. L. Caragiale'', Editura Junimea, Iași, 2018.


External links

* * *
Ion Luca Caragiale
(official Facebook page)

(official site)

(official site)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caragiale, Ion Luca Ion Luca Caragiale, 1852 births 1912 deaths Neoclassical writers Realism (art movement) Junimists 19th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights Male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century short story writers 20th-century short story writers Romanian male short story writers Romanian short story writers Romanian humorists Romanian letter writers Romanian memoirists Romanian fantasy writers Romanian collectors of fairy tales 19th-century Romanian poets 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian male poets Romanian epigrammatists Romanian columnists 20th-century essayists Romanian magazine editors Romanian magazine founders Romanian newspaper editors Romanian essayists Male essayists Romanian translators French–Romanian translators Italian–Romanian translators Translators of Edgar Allan Poe People from Dâmbovița County Romanian people of Greek descent Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Conservative-Democratic Party politicians 19th-century Romanian male actors Romanian male stage actors Romanian theatre critics Chairpersons of the National Theatre Bucharest Romanian restaurateurs Romanian civil servants Romanian expatriates in Germany Burials at Bellu Cemetery Members of the Romanian Academy elected posthumously