Két világ határán: egy dualizmus kori országgyűlési képviselő mentalitásának rendi és modern elemei = On the border of two worlds – traditionalism and modernism in the mentality of a 19th century hungarian member of parliament

Szabó, Zsolt (2024) Két világ határán: egy dualizmus kori országgyűlési képviselő mentalitásának rendi és modern elemei = On the border of two worlds – traditionalism and modernism in the mentality of a 19th century hungarian member of parliament. In: A rang kötelez : Rendi és rendies magatartásformák a középkortól a 20. századig. Eszterházy Károly Katolikus Egyetem Líceum Kiadó, Eger, pp. 343-355.

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Abstract

The existence of the “Hungarian gentry” and their role within the Hungarian middle class is still a question of Hungarian historiography. It is difficult to describe it precisely, but the current view of historiography is that it can best be described as a behavioural sociological category. I will try to capture the mental-historical characteristics of this category through the recollections of Gábor Várady, a late 19th century politician and journalist from Máramaros, and his articles in the “Máramaros” newspaper. The narrative of his recollections is a story of decadence, the struggles of a man of noble character who manages to survive the turbulent years of revolution and neo-abolitionism, but by the time of the Compromise in 1867 he is less and less aware of the society around him, which he sees as pervaded by immorality, materialism and the pursuit of office. His typical behaviour is most identifiable in his antipathy towards stock speculators, journalists and the aristocracy. It would be simplistic, however, to explain the peculiarities of his way of thinking in these terms. The pitfalls of his personal career, such as his corruption cases arising from his debt, the turn-of-the-century transformation of Hungarian political life, and his isolation in old age, all lead the elderly politician to develop an aversion to modern elements of Hungarian society and to idealise certain elements of the old world. The interesting thing about his thinking is that, alongside all this, modern elements of liberalism and nationalism are equally present.

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