Jókai Mór, Kónyi János, Szirmay Antal : Javaslat az anekdotizmus kora újkori előtörténetének kutatására = Jókai Mór, Kónyi János, Szirmay Antal. A Research Proposal About the Early Modern Prehistory of the Anecdote

Balázs, Mihály (2024) Jókai Mór, Kónyi János, Szirmay Antal : Javaslat az anekdotizmus kora újkori előtörténetének kutatására = Jókai Mór, Kónyi János, Szirmay Antal. A Research Proposal About the Early Modern Prehistory of the Anecdote. IRODALOMTÖRTÉNETI KÖZLEMÉNYEK : A HUN-REN BÖLCSÉSZETTUDOMÁNYI KUTATÓKÖZPONT IRODALOMTUDOMÁNYI INTÉZETÉNEK FOLYÓIRATA, 128 (1). pp. 3-58. ISSN 0021-1486 (nyomtatott); 1588-0834 (elektronikus)

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Abstract

The paper begins with the observation that researchers of the anecdotal tradition of 19th–21st century Hungarian literature only look back as far as the mid-19th century (Jókai Mór’s time) in their historical reflections. However, based on the interpretation of Jókai’s inaugural speech held at the Academy (1860), it can be concluded that his most important characteristic from a genre-historical point of view is the lively embellishment of historical episodes. This can be seen in his anecdotes, the de-escalation of sharp conflicts, and the way he does not refrain from the occasional use of fictitious anachronistic moments in his storytelling. Unlike researchers focused on the 19th–21st century, Jókai, however, praises Kónyi János’ and Szirmay Antal’s collection of anecdotes born at the turn of the 18th–19th centuries. The paper contrasts these findings with the insights of later Hungarian researchers. It then outlines how their results can be further expanded by utilizing certain modern trends in the international research of the genre. On the subject of religious life and carnal love, the anecdotes of the two collections mentioned are more openly and boldly formulated than in Jókai’s texts. In the European context, this means that they come close to the Procopian tradition of the anecdote genre, which was rediscovered in Europe in the 17th century, and whose marked presence can be witnessed in the majority of European literatures up to the middle of the 18th century. The final section provides some examples that show that Kónyi not only translated the pieces he found interesting from the international anecdote collections, but he also expanded on the anecdotal core, turning it into a lengthened anecdotal short story.

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