Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies最新文献

{"title":"King Oscar II of Sweden and his connections with the Romanian freemasonry","authors":"Attila Carol Varga","doi":"10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.25931","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.25931","url":null,"abstract":"The present analysis represents a novel approach to the issue of Romanian-Swedish bilateral relations in the second half of the 19th century. This time, the focus is on the dimension of contacts between Romanian and Swedish Freemasonry. This was conducted in the second half of the 19th century by King Oscar II himself. In 1885 he made an official visit to Bucharest with Queen Sofia. On this occasion, he was made an honorary member of the Grand National Lodge of Romania (M.L.N.R.). Far from being merely a protocol award, it held a special significance. This visit underlined the desire of Constantin Moroiu, Grand Master of the Grand National Lodge of Romania, to gain international recognition for this Romanian Masonic powerIt was a very turbulent period in the history of Romanian Freemasonry, marked by a series of interventions by the Grand Orient of Italy in its internal affairs. With the award of this distinction, Romanian Freemasons sought to strengthen their internal unity through external recognition from all Masonic powers. To this end, the help of the Grand Lodge of Sweden was essential. The desire to consolidate the unity of Romanian Freemasonry was a natural reality, given the fact that Romania was proclaimed a Kingdom in 1881 and became a base of stability in this part of the continent.\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":36723,"journal":{"name":"Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140973248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Homeland in Romanian children’s literature written in the Diaspora","authors":"Cristina Sărăcuț","doi":"10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.25874","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.25874","url":null,"abstract":"Romanian children’s literature has always been situated at the crossways of cultural ideologies. The Romanian texts for children lack innocence due to the implicit level of cultural, social, and historical knowledge they mirror at different epochs. In this paper I investigate how literary texts for children written in Romanian communities living abroad present the idea of homeland. I examine literary works written by three contemporary Romanian writers living in Romanian communities in Serbia: Ana Niculina Ursuleanu, Radu Flora and Slavco Almăjan. My selection includes books published in between 1970 and 2010: Cu Soarele-n Creștet [With the sun on the head], (2006); Soare, Bună Dimineața! [Sun, good morning!], (1998); Cărările Nilului [The paths of the Nile], (2008); Piticii au Uitat să Crească [The dwarfs forgot to grow up], (1987); Pianul cu Păienjeni [The piano with spiders], (1991); Când Vine Primăvara [When spring comes], (1970). In my analysis, I focus upon the role of settings in building the image of an eternal Romanian homeland that transcends the national borders. Thus, I discuss three main types of settings that shape the fiction imagined by the proposed authors, related to the following environments: landscape, family, and school. My analysis considers the theory of landscape proposed by Mitchell (2002, p. 5) in Landscape and Power. According to it, landscape implies the interaction between the human, the natural, the self and the other. For each novel, I analyse the role of settings within the literary texts. I explore Radu Flora’s novel in connection with two elements of setting, landscape and school, respectively. In Ana Niculina Ursulescu’s books I look at the bond between family and landscape, while in Slavco Almăjan’s literary work I highlight the importance of landscape in building the image of childhood. These functions are classified according to a sophisticated range, from the purpose of clarifying the conflict or its function as a symbol (in When Spring Comes by Radu Flora), to the task of mood intensifier attributed to setting (in Balul Strugurilor [The party of grapes] by Slavco Almăjan).\u0000My conclusions validate the idea that literary texts constantly build and convey an image of the Romanian identity and a sense of belonging to the Romanian homeland as marked by borders. I focus on nostalgia and irony as the main feelings the authors transmit about the image of homeland. On the one hand, the image of homeland in the literary works written by these three writers implies nostalgia, a feeling conveyed through an adult’s perspective of childhood. On the other hand, sometimes, as it happens in the case of the novel When Spring Comes, the narrator adopts a humorous perspective on history and human interactions among characters. As a final remark, I show that the selection of these three settings (landscape, family and school) creates the image of homeland in connection with a nationalist ideology. More precisely, children’s bo","PeriodicalId":36723,"journal":{"name":"Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140973414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cărtărescu vs. Cărtărescu: el imaginario literario de Melancolia, cambio y pervivencia","authors":"Alba Diz Villanueva","doi":"10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.25843","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.25843","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this paper is to analyze the differences and similarities between the latest volume of stories published by the Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu (Melancolia, 2019, Bucharest, Humanitas) and his previous literary production. Although Melancolia has been associated with Nostalgia and indeed exhibits many parallels with the first volume of short novels published by Cartarescu, the truth is that the 2019 volume refers to the literary universe created from other texts as well. By comparing and contrasting Melancolia with some of his main works, from novels such as the three volumes of the Orbitor trilogy (Aripa stângă, Corpul, Aripa dreaptă), Travesti or Solenoid to his poetry, through the stories of Nostalgia, the essay aims to demonstrate how this volume dialogues, more or less explicitly, with all the previous ones while distancing itself from them in some narrative and stylistic aspects. After examining elements such as characters, motifs, symbols, metaphors, subjects, intertextuality, and metafiction, the work focuses on space and time as the two main categories in which the most significant changes take place as they move away from their usual context, communist Bucharest (more precisely, from the late 1950s to the end of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s regime in the late 1980s). This temporal and spatial framework is one of the fundamental axes of all Cărtărescu’s literary texts, which gives them unity, stability, and continuity. However, as the article tries to demonstrate, the change is not total, but Mircea Cărtărescu, through his usual intertextual play, refers indirectly to this space well known by his readers and, consequently, perhaps also to that historical period. To argue this issue, this article outlines the direct allusion to a specific space mentioned in some of the author’s earlier texts. This is the factory where one of the most important episodes of the first story (Punțile) takes place. The spatial descriptions of the first and third stories are also analyzed to check the parallels between them and some settings of Nostalgia, Orbitor or Solenoid. The work also investigates the possible objectives of these changes and similarities. On the one hand, it is possible to identify some of Cărtărescu’s characteristic elements in Melancholy due to its thematic and stylistic permanence (child and adolescent characters, the games as creation and as a gateway to a magical universe, the mother, rites of passage, onirism, the use of polysemic symbols such as the butterfly, duality, symmetry and twins, fractal images, anti-mimetic references, etc.), as well as the allusions (explicit or implicit) to his previous works. On the other hand, by neglecting (at least unequivocally) the preferred space-time frame of his previous works, Melancolia can be universalized, and the fictitious components can prevail over any possible reference to extra-literary reality. In this way, the Romanian writer achieves a work that is both very similar to and very ","PeriodicalId":36723,"journal":{"name":"Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140972456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The legacy of a 20th-century cleric: a Catholic priest’s economic chronicles. Anthropological insights from written documents","authors":"Mária Szikszai","doi":"10.35824/sjrs.v7i1.25912","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v7i1.25912","url":null,"abstract":"This study focuses on a unique collection of personal economic records and additional documents from the 20th century, belonging to a Catholic priest from Satu Mare County, Romania. The material is exceptional, as it represents a rare collection of written documents from the Hungarian-speaking region of the 20th century, authored by a Catholic priest. These records provide an in-depth look into the life of a priest, who, despite his clerical duties, maintained a strong connection to farming, a legacy from his farmer-herdsman parents of Swabian descent. The economic records, which span from 1949 to the 1960s, offer insights into the priest's personal and economic life. They include narratives about managing a parish, engaging in farming activities, and handling personal financial transactions. These documents not only reflect his efforts to balance religious responsibilities with agricultural interests but also illuminate the socio-economic conditions of the time. The study explores the priest's economic decisions, the value he placed on different assets, and his understanding of wealth in a changing society. It also examines the broader context of peasant embourgeoisement in 20th-century Romania, highlighting how a priest and his family navigated the transition from a traditional peasant lifestyle to a more bourgeois existence. This transition is evidenced by their adoption of modern goods and technologies, changes in family dynamics, and shifts in career strategies, reflecting the complex interplay between personal, economic, and social factors during a period of significant societal change. Overall, the paper offers a micro-historical perspective on the life of this 20th-century priest, providing valuable insights into his unique experiences and the broader socio-economic transformations of the era.","PeriodicalId":36723,"journal":{"name":"Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140973370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pragmatic strategies in teaching the Romanian language to international students","authors":"Gabriel-Dan Bărbuleț","doi":"10.35824/sjrs.v7i1.26151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v7i1.26151","url":null,"abstract":"The following paper examines effective language-teaching strategies for international students learning Romanian amidst the increasing globalization. Addressing challenges faced by diverse learners, the study employs a methodology encompassing literature review, classroom observations, and interviews with experienced instructors. Emphasizing the importance of pragmatic elements in language instruction, the research explores the integration of technology, cultural immersion, and real-world applications to enhance pragmatic competence. Grounded in sociolinguistic theories, the article underscores the role of pragmatic competence in effective communication. Beyond linguistic structures, language instructors are urged to incorporate nuanced elements reflecting Romanian culture. Pedagogical strategies tailored to international students include task-based activities, role-playing, and language immersion. Assessment involves qualitative analysis of student performance, feedback, and proficiency assessments. The article also delves into the role of technology, discussing the integration of virtual reality, online platforms, and multimedia resources for immersive learning. The study concludes with implications for educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers, advocating for culturally sensitive language curricula. Overall, it contributes to the discourse on language education by emphasizing the interconnectedness of language and culture, promoting pedagogical approaches that foster cross-cultural communication.\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":36723,"journal":{"name":"Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140972237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Construcțiile incidente cu funcție expresivă: analiză cantitativă pe momentele și schițele lui I.L. Caragiale","authors":"Denisa-Maria Bâlc","doi":"10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.26121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.26121","url":null,"abstract":"The present work is composed of two parts: a theoretical part, in which some critical and personal considerations on the incident constructions are exposed, and the second part represents a qualitative-quantitative approach to the moments and sketches of I.L. Caragiale. In the theoretical part, the aim is to present incident constructions, especially in relation to GALR, where a complex and up-to-date classification of them is made from a semantic-functional point of view, into: allocutive incident constructions, direct speech reporting constructions, metadiscursive incident constructions, incident constructions with the role of pragmatic connectors, incident constructions with expressive function, with conative function, and verbal automatisms. However, according to the three basic features of incidents, namely the representation of an additional syntactic structure, the lack of syntactic links to the underlying utterance, and the provision of information of the type comment, explanation or direct speech reporting, it can be seen that not all the categories listed above fall into the narrow class of incidents, which is why we hypothesised that those categories that do not exhibit all three defining features of incidents belong to paranthetic constructions, a superclass of incidents. After this theoretical presentation, I carried out a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the incident constructions with expressive function in Caragiale’s moments and sketches. The analysis was carried out manually and with the software Voyant Tool. From the category of incident expressive constructions, we first considered interjections and imprecations, as these are the most representatives for Caragiale’s work. As far as interjections are concerned, we made an inventory of them according to the number of occurrences, which showed that the most frequent interjections in Caragiale’s work are the interjections: a!, as!, ei! and uf!, followed by ah!, ei aș! o! aoleu! and ehei! Taking contexts and representative examples from Caragiale’s moments and sketches, we have analysed their semantic valences, highlighting the fact that interjections known positively in Caragiale’s work receive many more semantic nuances than those known negatively. Using concrete examples, the main semantic nuances identified were admiration, determination, disappointment, disapproval, dissimulation, exaltation, hesitation, anger, irritation, irony, melancholy, satisfaction, puzzlement, dissatisfaction, disbelief, fear, hope, surprise, suspicion, confusion, disappointment, indifference, irony, joy, boldness or even suffering. The semantic analysis of the interjections identified in Caragiale’s work was followed by a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the imprecations, which produced an impressive list of imprecations that suggest the linguistic inventiveness of the Romanian prose writer and support the orality of his style. Interestingly, most of the imprecations are found in the te","PeriodicalId":36723,"journal":{"name":"Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140975063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The anxiety of influence unbound. Shelley’s Prometheus and Philippide’s Prometheus in the looking glass","authors":"Sorin Ciutacu","doi":"10.35824/sjrs.v7i1.26041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v7i1.26041","url":null,"abstract":"The paper draws a brief parallel between the works of Percy Bysshe Shelley Prometheus Unbound (1820) and of the Romanian Alexandru Philippide The Banishment of Prometheus (1922). It starts from the Greek writers’ image of Prometheus in Hesiod’s Works and Days and Theogony and in Aeschylus’ Prometheus Unbound. It also discusses Harold Bloom’s theory as it analyses the potential anxiety of influence of the Greek writers on Shelley and Philippide and it shows forth this effect seen as a “revisionary ratio” and named by Bloom (1973) a tessera, which means “completion and antithesis”. Both authors create a complex Prometheus character who holds multiple facets. Both authors shape Prometheus as a figure that contains the Western core of values, be they positive or negative. Prometheus actually commits the original sin for man’s sake. This haughty act can be compared to the biblical theft of forbidden knowledge. The author claims that the aim of this theft and the punishment meted out to Prometheus by Zeus are destined to estrange man from nature and from God and to push man into hubris. These also kindle man’s Faustian propensity which turns man into his own divinity, or which recasts the divinity according to man’s own design. If Shelley’s Prometheus turns out to be the Romantic hero achieving moral and intellectual perfection, being uplifted by authentic, selfless and noble goals, Philippide’s Prometheus is the disillusioned, bitter hero from a well-wrought ars poetica, who seeks another mankind on whom to bestow his love and selfless goodwill gestures. His poem represents a symbol of the artist living in his ivory tower failing to be understood by his fellow beings.\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":36723,"journal":{"name":"Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140975076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Considerații privind valoarea de optativ a conjunctivului românesc și bulgăresc în propoziții independente","authors":"Boryana Emiliynova, Silvia Mihăilescu","doi":"10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.25974","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.25974","url":null,"abstract":"The Romanian and Bulgarian languages share common features stemming from the Balkan linguistic aria. Among the distinctive grammatical constructions in Balkan languages is the new-type analytic subjunctive, a replacement for the infinitive in various languages such as Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Albanian, and Greek. The subjunctive can manifest in present, imperfect, perfect, and pluperfect tenses in most languages. However, Romanian has more limited combinations, employing only the present and perfect tenses. Despite these differences, the subjunctive shares structural, semantic, and usage similarities across Balkan languages. The use of the subjunctive in optative sentences is a common feature in Balkan languages, conveying achievable desires in the present and strong but unrealizable wishes in the past. This paper aims to broaden the research on the Balkan-type subjunctive by illustrating parallels in the modal values of this mood in Romanian and Bulgarian in independent optative sentences. The research underscores numerous correspondences in the use of the subjunctive in optative sentences in Romanian and Bulgarian. In both languages, within the optative context, the subjunctive expresses various sentiments such as desire, wishes, regret, protest, and indignation. The expression of both factual and counterfactual desires using present and past subjunctive forms is also similar in both languages. The present forms of the subjunctive express a factual desire, meaning an achievable wish that could be fulfilled in the future. The present subjunctive forms are very often encountered in idiomatic expressions that convey wishes and imprecations. Many similarities are noted between expressions in the two languages, both in terms of structure and in semantics and lexical means. The use of present subjunctive forms is not typical for expressing counterfactual wishes (unrealizable or difficult to achieve) but occurs in specific contexts. Wishes expressed through past subjunctive forms are counterfactual because the circumstances in which they could have been realized are omitted. Such statements convey the speaker's regret regarding an unfulfilled desire. In Romanian grammar, detailed treatment of the uses of the perfect subjunctive is lacking, but it is noted to have optative value. In Bulgarian, counterfactual wishes are expressed using three past tenses of the subjunctive – pluperfect, imperfect, and perfect. In this regard, the capabilities of the perfect subjunctive in Romanian stand out for expressing multiple meanings. With the exception of some meanings of the imperfect subjunctive in Bulgarian, the perfect subjunctive in Romanian can convey nearly all the meanings of the three past tenses in Bulgarian. The study highlights numerous similarities in the use of the subjunctive in Romanian and Bulgarian in optative sentences, offering observations that contribute to a deeper understanding of this mood within the field of Romanian, Bulgarian, a","PeriodicalId":36723,"journal":{"name":"Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140975372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Eminescu and Kabbalah","authors":"Andrei Victor Cojocaru","doi":"10.35824/sjrs.v7i1.25345","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v7i1.25345","url":null,"abstract":"In the pages of this article, we will bring together a series of interpretations of Eminescu’s writings that prove the influence of the mysticism of Kabbalah on the great Romanian author. The understanding of Eminescu’s poems through the lens of Kabbalah is a perspective adopted by several scholars. For example, starting with G. Călinescu, Hyperion (from the poem “Luceafărul”) was compared to a sefirah. Since the influences of the Far East seem to be much more significant in the literary context in question, we will start from them and, later, correlate them with elements from the ideological background of Near Eastern mysticism. We will also point out certain aspects of the symbolism of the elements and, above all, of water – which is, ultimately, an emblem of the primordial space from which existence is born. Thus, starting from the perspective of Gaston Bachelard’s poetics of the elements, we will investigate the correlation with the mysterious Ain Soph of Kabbalah.","PeriodicalId":36723,"journal":{"name":"Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140977135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Decline of a national icon: Derogatory representations of the Romanian peasant in recent television programs","authors":"Anca Șerbănuță","doi":"10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.25952","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v7i2.25952","url":null,"abstract":"Intellectuals and artists have been crafting an image of the Romanian peasant as the building block of the nation since the second half of the 19th century. The process went hand in hand with the modernization of the elites, and the peasant was thus mainly ‘discovered’ within the cultural framework of Romanticism, as the ‘eternal autochthon’ (Mihăilescu,2017, p.173), creator of the specific Kultur of the Romanian people.  However, dramatic social transformations such as the difficult transition period of the ʹ90s have shifted the focus from a complimentary representation of the peasant as the national foundation – and all the positive characteristics of his/her habitus in terms of material, spiritual and aesthetic values– to a rather alienated and anachronistic figure coming across as a burden that has to be carried into modernity by the enlightened social strata. This paper uses visual analysis, grounded in Barthesian semiotics, to explore the changes in modes of representation of the peasant in popular media from the depository of national values to a marginal lower class, striving to keep up with the urban lifestyle. Various portrayals of peasants in TV series and sketches, movies and memes point to the degradation of the peasant figure in the public imagination. Images of poverty, bad taste and a lack of hygiene seem to pollute the bodies, garments and home environments of the rural characters, with a toxic effect on their language and behaviour as well. Although there have always been derogatory images of the peasants in the discourse of the elites (Mihăilescu also coined the term ‘domestic primitive’ for the representation associated with the historical tendency to portray the peasants as a backward population incapable of progress), in recent times this tendency has prevailed, especially with the rural-themed successful TV series Las Fierbinți, for mainly ideological reasons which will be discussed. Thus, apart from deconstructing a national myth, I argue that the representation of contemporary peasants and their degenerating habitus also contributes to the polarization in the Romanian society.","PeriodicalId":36723,"journal":{"name":"Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140974246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}