„IT WAS ON SUCH ROADS THAT I GOT TO KNOW THE SOUL OF THE LANDSCAPE, WHICH IS ALSO MINE”

Abstract

The puszta (and its numerous synonyms) is especially important in Hungarian literature and history of thought, and functions as a trope of the complex structure of meanings; it not only serves as a theme or setting of various genres but also carries distinctive symbolic meanings, which it has accumulated over the centuries. The puszta occupies this position owing to mirroring, expressing and determining Hungarian identity, thus accounting for the historical, psychological and anthropological reflections on it, and explaining the related motifs and series of metaphorizations as well. It is no surprise then that these reflections vary from harsh criticism to mythicizing admiration, as does the inventory of works that reinterpret the trope range from romantic poetry to sociographical novel. The presentation covers the mostly demythicizing representations of the puszta from the first half of the 20th century, which, also stem from the structures of meaning inherited from Romanticism and the romantic concepts of national character. The study focuses on Gyula Illyés and his novel The People of the Puszta.