„Sie kleiner Mann und großer Eroberer, Sie Napoleon der II.“ Medizinische Bezüge der Jugendbriefe von Max Nordau an József Kiss (1866-1869) Eine bislang unveröffentlichte Quellenedition

Abstract

The names Max Nordau (1849-1923) and József Kiss (1843-1921) stand in the international and Hungarian literary and cultural scene of the late 19th and early 20th centuries for two established men, two destinies, during their youth with several tie points. In the 1870s, however, their lives took completely different directions. After Nordau's move to Paris, experienced they the physical separation but bridged each other through a permanent correspondence. In the 1860s, the high school student Max Nordau wrote several letters to his childhood friend, the later poet and magazine editor József Kiss, in which Kiss’s poetic attempts were scrutinized. In addition, they communicated also about strictly private, familiar affairs from man to man: In all letters in the second half of 1866, Nordau provides information about his physical condition, not least about his complaints of venereal diseases. This study focuses only on the medical aspects of this correspondence, since it is primarily intended to provide an insight into the healing methods of venereal diseases of the concerning era. Schlüsselwörter Max Nordau, József Kiss, Paris, Budapest, Imre Poór, Jüdische Lieder