Constanța Hodoș (October 12, 1860–April 20, 1934) was an

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

-born

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n novelist, playwright and opinion journalist.

Biography

Born in Zimbru,

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( județ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...

, her parents were Constantin Tălaș, a notary, deputy prefect and supporter of the 1848 revolutionaries in the Țara Zarandului area; and his wife Amalia. Her childhood was spent at Aciua,

Hălmagiu Hălmagiu ( ) is a commune in Arad County, Romania. Hălmagiu commune is situated in the basin with the same name, at the confluence of the Hălmăgel and Crișul Alb Rivers, at the foot of Bihor Mountains. It stretches over 8400 hectare The ...

and

Baia de Criș Baia de Criș (; ) is a commune in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania, close to the small town of Brad. It is composed of nine villages: Baia de Criș, Baldovin (''Báldovin''), Căraci (''Karács''), Cărăstău (''Karasztó''), Lunca (''Lu ...

; a graduate of the Romanian girls' school in Hălmagiu, she also took private lessons. Nevertheless, Hodoș, a precocious and voracious reader of literature, was largely self-taught. She married writer Alexandru I. Hodoș, but the union proved a failure, prompting her to move to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, capital of the

Romanian Old Kingdom The Romanian Old Kingdom ( or just ''Regat''; or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia and Moldavia. The union of the ...

, in 1886. There, she undertook sustained publishing activity, penning articles on patriotic, social and cultural themes. She edited ''Revista noastră'' from 1905 to 1916, and also contributed to ''Adevărul literar și artistic'', ''Dacia Traiană'', '' Luceafărul'', ''Lumea ilustrată'', ''Minerva'', ''Revista scriitoarei'', ''

Sămănătorul ''Sămănătorul'' or ''Semănătorul'' (, Romanian language, Romanian for "The Sower") was a Literary magazine, literary and Political journalism, political magazine published in Romania between 1901 and 1910. Founded by poets Alexandru Vlahuță ...

'', ''Sibiul literar'', ''Telegraful român'', ''Transilvania'', ''

Universul ''Universul'' was a mass-circulation newspaper in Romania. It existed from 1884 to 1953, and was run by Stelian Popescu from 1914 to 1943 (with a two-year break during World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 No ...

'', '' Vieața'' and ''Viața literară''. Her writing debut came in '' Familia'' in 1891, under the pseudonym Th. Costan. Using the same name, she published her first volume, the novella ''Aur!'', in 1893. Subsequently, she wrote the short prose volumes ''Spre fericire'' (1897), ''Frumos'' (1905), ''Departe de lume'' (1909) and ''Aci, pe pământ'' (1914), as well as the novel ''Martirii'' (1908). Her plays included ''Aur!'' (1903), ''Mântuirea'' (1920) and ''Judecătorul'' (1922); these were staged at the

National Theatre Bucharest The National Theatre Bucharest () is one of the national theatres of Romania, located in the capital city of Bucharest. Founding It was founded as the ''Teatrul cel Mare din București'' ("Grand Theatre of Bucharest") in 1852, its first director ...

, as well as by amateur troupes in her native

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. Hodoș also wrote plays and stories for children: ''Teatru de copii'' (1914), ''Rodica. În vârtejul războiului'' (1921) and ''Povestiri din viața copiilor'' (1928). She was a member of the governing committee of the

Romanian Writers' Society The Romanian Writers' Society () was a professional association based in Bucharest, Romania, that aided the country's writers and promoted their interests. Founded in 1909, it operated for forty years before the early Communist Romania, communist re ...

, and in 1910 was awarded the Bene Merenti medal, first class.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 868. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodos, Constanta 1860 births 1934 deaths People from Arad County Romanian Austro-Hungarians Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to Romania Romanian women novelists Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian women dramatists and playwrights Romanian children's writers Romanian women children's writers Romanian magazine editors Romanian women editors Romanian opinion journalists Romanian women journalists 19th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century Romanian women writers 19th-century Romanian women writers Romanian women magazine editors