Anca Mitroi
180
characters speak Romanian, as Verona points out, but mostly everything they refer to in their daily lives is Romanian. Even the mythical
creatures they believe in (“babe”, “staffii”, “serpi de casa” or “balauris”
37 ) have Romanian names. Franz de Telek, in spite of his German /
Hungarian name has his roots in Krajowa (Craiova), which is not in
Transylvania but in Walachia: “Krajowa est une des principales
bourgades de l’Etat de Roumanie, qui confine aux provinces
transylvaines vers le sud de la chaîne des Carpathes. Franz de Telek
était donc de race roumaine − ce que Jonas avait reconnu au premier
aspect.”
38
Moreover, the legends evoked in the novel, such as those concerning “Miorita” and “Manole” are not just from the Romanian
Kingdom, but were seen by Romanians as founding myths of Romanian identity. As Anne-Marie Thiesse explains in La Création des
identités nationales, such legends were written or “discovered” by
Romanian Romantic nationalists like Vasile Alecsandri and Alecu
Russo at a time when many European nations were patriotically “inventing” their national past. Romantic poet and revolutionary politician, Vasile Alecsandri, whose biography bears an uncanny
resemblance to that of Rodolphe de Gortz, not only tried to establish
Romania’s mythical origins through these legends, but was also active
in developing cultural and political ties with France, by writing the
famous song of “The Latin Race” (Cântecul gintei latine).
39 By attributing the construction of the Carpathian Castle to the legendary architect “Manoli”, Verne establishes a cultural and artistic heritage
common to Walachia and Transylvania, which could only please Romanian readers: “Quel architecte l’a édifié sur ce plateau, à cette hauteur? On l’ignore, et cet audacieux artiste est inconnu, à moins que ce
soit le Roumain Manoli, si glorieusement chanté dans les légendes
valaques, et qui bâtit à Curté d’Argis le célèbre château de Rodolphe
le Noir.”
40
___________________________
37 Verne, Château, pp. 28, 103.
38 Verne, Château, p. 111. We may add here that through Telek’s name, Verne is alluding to his source of documentation for his novel, Gérando, who was married to a
Hungarian aristocrat from the Teleki family.
39 See Anne-Marie Thiesse’s comments on creating the Romanians’ nationality as
“sons of the Dacians” and Vasile Alecsandri in the revolutionary moment of 1848, in
La Création des identités nationales, pp. 95-100.
40 Thiesse, La Création des identités nationales, pp. 25-26.
180
characters speak Romanian, as Verona points out, but mostly everything they refer to in their daily lives is Romanian. Even the mythical
creatures they believe in (“babe”, “staffii”, “serpi de casa” or “balauris”
37 ) have Romanian names. Franz de Telek, in spite of his German /
Hungarian name has his roots in Krajowa (Craiova), which is not in
Transylvania but in Walachia: “Krajowa est une des principales
bourgades de l’Etat de Roumanie, qui confine aux provinces
transylvaines vers le sud de la chaîne des Carpathes. Franz de Telek
était donc de race roumaine − ce que Jonas avait reconnu au premier
aspect.”
38
Moreover, the legends evoked in the novel, such as those concerning “Miorita” and “Manole” are not just from the Romanian
Kingdom, but were seen by Romanians as founding myths of Romanian identity. As Anne-Marie Thiesse explains in La Création des
identités nationales, such legends were written or “discovered” by
Romanian Romantic nationalists like Vasile Alecsandri and Alecu
Russo at a time when many European nations were patriotically “inventing” their national past. Romantic poet and revolutionary politician, Vasile Alecsandri, whose biography bears an uncanny
resemblance to that of Rodolphe de Gortz, not only tried to establish
Romania’s mythical origins through these legends, but was also active
in developing cultural and political ties with France, by writing the
famous song of “The Latin Race” (Cântecul gintei latine).
39 By attributing the construction of the Carpathian Castle to the legendary architect “Manoli”, Verne establishes a cultural and artistic heritage
common to Walachia and Transylvania, which could only please Romanian readers: “Quel architecte l’a édifié sur ce plateau, à cette hauteur? On l’ignore, et cet audacieux artiste est inconnu, à moins que ce
soit le Roumain Manoli, si glorieusement chanté dans les légendes
valaques, et qui bâtit à Curté d’Argis le célèbre château de Rodolphe
le Noir.”
40
___________________________
37 Verne, Château, pp. 28, 103.
38 Verne, Château, p. 111. We may add here that through Telek’s name, Verne is alluding to his source of documentation for his novel, Gérando, who was married to a
Hungarian aristocrat from the Teleki family.
39 See Anne-Marie Thiesse’s comments on creating the Romanians’ nationality as
“sons of the Dacians” and Vasile Alecsandri in the revolutionary moment of 1848, in
La Création des identités nationales, pp. 95-100.
40 Thiesse, La Création des identités nationales, pp. 25-26.