Language and Literature paper by Kulin, Borbála
How to Stay Pure in an Impure World? Gyula Illyés: Cathars
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
The artistic and political role of Gyula Illyés in the Hungarian cultural life of the twentieth century is still a question of debate. He is often charged by taking unprincipled compromises with the nationalist and communist power also. His conflict on this question with Sándor Márai is well known: Márai chose defection to stay morally integer, while Illyés decided to stay politically and artistically active in his country despite the communist dictatorship.
The best way to see clear in the question if Illyés can be charged by unprincipledness is not only to investigate historical documents but the analysis of his artistic works that deal with the question of political power and moral integrity. Most of these works are dramas written in the sixties. In this paper I will argue that it is his drama, the „Cathars” that shows us the most clearly how Illyés sees the dilemma of the must of acting and moral integrity. This drama reveals not only the strong self-reflectiveness of the author but the theological inspiration of his ethos and literary anthropology, too.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Borbála Kulin is a PhD student at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, Department of Literature and Cultural Studies. Her dissertation topic is "The poetic representation of the transcendent in the oeuvre of Gyula Illyés".
In 2004 she received her degree of Latin and Hungarian language and literature at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
Borbála Kulin's professional experiences include: editor of the Hungarian periodical of arts, culture and literature A Vörös postakocsi; (www.avorospostakocsi.hu) and of the Hungarian popular science magazine called T.H.E. She taught Latin in a highschool in Nyíregyháza and was the cultural manager responsible for international relationships at the Mustárház Youth and Cultural Center, Nyíregyháza. Her publications include articles on Gyula Illyés and co-edition, with Ildikó Józan, of Hadúr megfizet érte, reméljük. Illyés Gyula és Gara László levelezése. (2007)