Language and Literature paper by Lewis, Virginia L.
Northern State University

Dehumanization in Zsigmond Móricz’s Árvácska

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Abstract (max. 250 words):
Written in 1941, Árvácska is one of Hungarian author Zsigmond Móricz’s last, and most important, novels (the author died in 1942). It depicts, in dark and devastating terms, the miserable life of an orphan of the state (“orphan of the state” could be considered a rough translation of the title). In this paper I will address how Móricz offers, in condensed form, an intensely emotional exhibit of the various mechanisms of dehumanization that all too often accompany modernity, particularly as it impacts people who are reduced to objects by economic and governmental forces. In particular, Móricz depicts here a society where ethics and morals have been corrupted to the point where they no longer exist. His assumptions regarding how this state of affairs came about will be investigated and analyzed in light of theoretical concepts surrounding the modern state and dehumanization in the work of thinkers including Val Plumwood, Emile Durkheim, and Julia Kristeva. This glimpse of a traumatizing past in mid-20th-century Hungary will make it possible to appreciate Móricz’s contributions as an outspoken social critic.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Ginny Lewis received her Ph.D. in Modern German Literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989. She is currently Professor of German at Northern State University. Lewis has authored a translation into English of Zsigmond Móricz’s novel Sárarany, and has written numerous articles on German, Austrian, and Hungarian literature. ginny.lewis@northern.edu