Zsigmond Móricz (; 29 June 1879,
Tiszacsécse – 4 September 1942) was a major
Hungarian novelist and
Social Realist
Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...
.
Biography
Zsigmond Móricz was born in
Tiszacsécse in 1879 to Bálint Móricz and Erzsébet (). On his mother's side, he came from an impoverished but ancient noble family while his father was the descendant of
serfs
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed dur ...
. He studied at the
Debrecen Reformed Theological University (1891–1893), Sárospataki Kollégium (1894–1896), and in
Kisújszállás
Kisújszállás is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary.
Geography
It covers an area of and has a population of 12,869 people (2002).
Politics
The current mayor of Kisújszállás is ...
and
Szakoly (1896–1898). In 1899, he enrolled at the Debrecen Reformed Theological University to study
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
, but transferred into law after only six months.
In 1903, he began to work as a journalist at the newspaper ''Az Újság'', remaining there until 1909.
During the revolutionary government after
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he was vice president of the
Vörösmarty Academy. After its fall, his plays were not performed in the National Theater, and his work was published only in ''
Nyugat'' and ''Az Est''. At the end of 1929, he became the prose editor for ''Nyugat''.
In 1905, Moricz married Eugénia Holics. Suffering from depression, she committed suicide in 1925. He married for a second time in 1926 to .
His novels express the lives of the Hungarian peasantry and dealt with issues of poverty.
Works
* ''Kivilágos kivirradtig'' (Until the Small Hours of Morning) (1924)
* ''Légy jó mindhalálig'' (Be Faithful Unto Death) (1920), a classic of Hungarian literature. It is the story from the viewpoint of an 11-year-old boy at a boarding school in
Debrecen
Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...
.
* ''Úri muri'' (Very Merry) (1928)
* ''Rokonok'' (Relatives) (1932)
* ''Hét krajcár'' (Seven Pennies and Other Short Stories) (1907)
* ''Az ezüstkirály sípja. Iromba J'' (Silver King's Flute; Broody Jankó)
* ''Sárarany'' (Gold in the Mud: A Hungarian Peasant Novel) (1911)
* ''Az Isten háta mögött'' (In the Godforsaken Hinterlands: A Tale of Provincial Hungary) (1911)
* ''Árvácska'' (Orphalina) (1941)
Criticism
* ''The Novels of Zsigmond Móricz in the Context of European Realism: A Thematic Approach'' (by Virginia L. Lewis) (2023)
Legacy
*
Móricz Zsigmond körtér in Budapest is named after him, as is its
metro station
A metro station or subway station is a train station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the syste ...
.
*
Móricz Zsigmond Gimnázium in Budapest is named after him.
References
External links
*
*
Babelguides: Zsigmond Móricz*
1879 births
1942 deaths
People from Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County
Hungarian male novelists
Burials at Kerepesi Cemetery
20th-century Hungarian novelists
20th-century Hungarian male writers
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