Jump to content

Mitzura Arghezi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mitzura Arghezi
Arghezi inTitanic Waltz
Born
Domnica Theodorescu

(1924-12-10)10 December 1924
Bucharest,Kingdom of Romania
Died27 October 2015(2015-10-27)(aged 90)
Bucharest, Romania
Other namesMitzura Domnica Arghezi
Occupations
  • Actress
  • visual artist
  • politician
  • ballerina
  • book editor
  • museum curator
  • radio presenter
Years active1943–2015
Spouse2 (unknown husbands)

Mitzura Domnica Arghezi(also spelledMițura,bornDomnica Theodorescu;10 December 1924 – 27 October 2015) was a Romanian actress, visual artist and politician, also active as a ballerina, book editor, and museum curator. She was the daughter of poet-journalistTudor Arghezi,the sister of writerBaruțu T. Arghezi,as well as the half-sister of art photographerEli Lotar.Her childhood was spent atMărțișor,her father's estate inBucharest,and became the inspiration for his children's books, which a grown-up Mitzura illustrated. She was trained in dancing byFloria Capsali,and appeared in music shows for both theNational Operaand theNational Theater Bucharest.During and shortly after World War II, she exhibited her work in thegraphic arts,to critical acclaim. Mitzura's career in both visual arts and letters was interrupted by her family's persecution in the early stages ofRomanian communism.Deemed a child "of the bourgeoisie" byScînteia,she was forced to renounce her studies at theUniversity of Bucharestand focus instead on becoming an actress. She graduated from theCaragiale Institute of Theaterjust as Arghezi Sr was undergoingrehabilitation.

Debuting on the screen with the 1951In Our Village,Arghezi returned ten years later with a leading role inDoi vecini—based on a comedic story by her father, and marking the directorial debut of her Institute colleagueGeo Saizescu.This was followed in 1964 by another substantial role, as Gena inTitanic Waltz.Though she continued to appear in films and was part of the National Theater company, from 1967 she became mainly focused on preserving her late father's legacy, and by 1975 was in charge ofMărțișor,reopened as a museum. Following Baruțu's self-exile and Lotar's death, she took full managerial control of the estate, sparking controversy with her rigid interpretation of copyright, and being accused of stealing others' research in her own work as editor of the Tudor Arghezi corpus. She was also criticized for her alleged compromises with communist governments, and, into her old age, remained adamant that Romania under socialism was preferable to the United States.

Despite being part-Székely,Arghezi was an advocate ofRomanian nationalism,and repeatedly voiced suspicion toward theHungarian minority.After theRomanian Revolution of 1989,she entered electoral politics with theRomanian National Unity Party,presenting herself in therace of September 1992.She later joinedCorneliu Vadim Tudor'sGreater Romania Party(PRM); for several months in 1995, she was the inaugural holder of a government secretariat channeling support for theRomanian diaspora.Arghezi was elected to theChamberforOlt Countyin thegeneral election of 1996,and reelectedin 2000(when she was also the first woman to preside over a Chamber session). Openly calling for a ban on theDemocratic Alliance of Hungarians,she was also an opponent of the then-governingRomanian Democratic Convention.Arghezi defended the PRM's image as a moderate-nationalist force, expressed support forEuropean integration,and spoke about her father'sphilosemitism,while remaining loyal to Vadim Tudor throughout the PRM's decline and factional splits. She died in 2015, weeks after Vadim Tudor's own death, and was buried atMărțișoramid a controversy surrounding her inheritance.

Biography

[edit]

Origins and early life

[edit]

Arghezi was born inBuchareston 10 December 1924.[1][2]Her father was Tudor Arghezi, by then a nationally famous writer, who celebrated her birth with the poemCântec de adormit Mitzura( "A Song for Rocking Mitzura to Sleep" ), and composed a new lyrical piece for each of her birthdays.[3]Her mother, Paraschiva, hailing from a rural family ofBukovinaRomanians, was Arghezi's second wife.[4]Specifically, she and her sister Saveta ( "Tătana" ) were from the Burda clan of yeomen, hailing from eitherBunești[5]orPleșești.[6]They had been orphaned early on, after both their parents died of food poisoning.[5]Paraschiva and Tudor's other child,Iosif "Baruțu",was born on 28 December 1925;[7]as observed later by their family friendConstantin Beldie,the couple had been married for 15 years before having either child, who therefore risked being "spoiled" by their loving parents.[6]Tudor had been married to Constanța Zissu, from whom he had another son,Eliazar Theodorescu.[8][9]At exactly the moment of Mitzura's birth, Eliazar had rebelled against his upbringing, leaving Romania to try his luck in France, and establishing his fame there as photographer-filmmaker "Eli Lotar".[8][10]

Paraschiva, Tudor, Mitzura and Baruțu Arghezi on a 1930s outing

Tudor and his immediate family were only officially registered as "Arghezi" from April 1956;[11]though Mitzura took the famous surname, in a 2002 she referred to it as a "sweet burden", which had always seen her compared to her father.[12]Throughout her life, she supportedRomanian nationalism,presenting Arghezi Sr as a "good Romanian",[12]and being herself critical of Romania'sHungarian community.[13]On her father's side, she had ethnically diverse origins. These were long obscured by Arghezi Sr, and only became accessible after archival research in the 1970s. Records brought up at the time indicate that Tudor was born out of wedlock to the Romanian pastry-maker Nae Theodorescu, originally fromOltenia,and took his surname.[14]Tudor's mother, Rozalia, was a domestic servant fromTransylvania(at the time inAustria-Hungary), who also had children from other relationships; one of them was the lawyer Alexandru Arghezi Pârvulescu, who in 1975 revealed that "Arghezi" was also Rozalia's original surname, and not a literary pseudonym invented by her son.[15]Rozalia gave her ethnic origin as "German",reporting that she had converted from Catholicism toRomanian Orthodoxy—though various of her contemporaries already knew her as a Hungarian, and more specifically aSzékely,who had taught her sons to speak her native language.[9]In 2015, journalist István Ferenczes discovered her birth certificate as "Rozalia Ergézi" ofVlăhița,further establishing her origin among theSzékelys of Bukovina.[16]

Domnica spent her earliest years atMărțișor,[17]an estate that her father had bought and developed inVăcărești,southern Bucharest, in 1926. This new home was only completely built in 1931,[18]after Arghezi Sr had drained a swamp and extended a paved road.[19]Mitzura and her two brothers were all partly raised by their paternal grandmother Rozalia, who lived with them atMărțișor;he was noticeably discreet when introducing her, leading some of his close friends to assume that she was a governess, rather than the children's grandmother.[20]After his youngest no longer required her services, Tudor forced his mother to move out of the house and into a rented apartment,[4]or, according to Beldie, a monastery. The latter author was once told by Mitzura that Rozalia was Arghezi's stepmother, and was thus punished for having mistreated Tudor in his childhood; she also reported that Alexandru had been similarly shunned by the "Arghezi tribe" for speaking ill of them.[6]Beldie notes that another one of Nae Theodorescu's wives, aGreek-Romanian,was on good terms with the family, and gave Mitzura her first lessons in English.[6]

As reported by Mitzura herself, the writer loved both of his youngest children, and made them the literary subjects of hisBook of Toys,which recounts his fascination with their early development;[17]the book was much criticized by Beldie, who found that its only possible readers were housewives. However, he praised Arghezi Sr for not overindulging his children and for ultimately allowing his "anarchic"worldview to inform his approach to child-rearing.[6]The father's affection is recorded in a September 1927 letter he sent to his patronA. L. ZissufromRâșnov,where he was vacationing when Mitzura was struck by an illness. As he confesses therein: "I was no longer able to write down just one line until today, when the light of her eyes shone again, when she could smile again".[21]Creating his own printing press in Văcărești, he conceived early on of a plan to have Mitzura train as his illustrator, and Baruțu as a typographer.[22]His method was also anti-literary; as he explained in 1935, he never read to his children, since "literature is a strictly intimate thing".[19]As noted by literary historianMircea Zaciu,Mitzura was always less educated than her father: while Arghezi Sr, who had spent time in Switzerland, used competent French in his correspondence, Mitzura's French letters were "puerile [and] immature", as well as ungrammatical.[23]

Both Theodorescu children had an early start in the arts, with Baruțu publishing his first work of prose in 1939.[7]Mitzura worked for a while in the ballet troupe of theNational Opera,and appeared in shows staged byFloria Capsali,[2][13]with whom she was already training in 1943.[24]She ultimately gave up on this career path because, as she put it, "the life of a dancer is very constrained."[12]Though "known primarily as a ballerina and actress",[1]she also debuted as a visual artist, with ink drawings that were taken up by a Bucharest magazine during the same period.[25]Writer and Orthodox clergymanValeriu Anania,who visitedMărțișorduring the 1950s, recalls its walls being decorated with her engravings.[26]In April 1943, at the height of World War II, fifteen of her sketches were exhibited with theGrupul Graficartists' society, and were positively reviewed byIon Frunzetti.Frunzetti argued that she had found perfection inline artand animal drawing, especially with her "delicious panorama" of domestic life.[27]In later musings on these events, Baruțu argued thatGrupul's Dimitrie Dimitriu-Nicolaide was the one who approached his sister to have her featured in the show. As he notes, Dimitriu and his colleagues were "at odds" with the fascist aesthetics promoted by Romania's wartimeConducător,Ion Antonescu.[25]

Marginalization and recovery

[edit]

Soon after, Mitzura's father began openly questioning Romania's participation in the war as an ally ofNazi Germany,and enraged Antonescu with his satirical prose, in which he had targeted AmbassadorManfred Freiherr von Killinger.As Baruțu reported in 1960, the definitive attack on Killinger was first read to a family-only audience, including Mitzura; upon hearing it, Paraschiva exclaimed:iar ți s-a făcut de pușcărie( "it seems you're itching to get back behind bars" ).[28]This work in fact resulted in his briefinternment at Târgu Jiu.[24][29]Mitzura and Paraschiva visited him there in October 1943, and found themselves treated with unusual respect by the localLand Forcesgarrison, whose staff had quietly endorsed Arghezi's patriotic take-down ofNazism.[24]

The returning poet was openly celebrated during the interlude which followedAntonescu's toppling in August 1944.At the time, theRomanian Communist Party,backed by theSoviet Unionand itsoccupation forces,was experiencing an increase in influence. In February 1945, the communist ideologueMiron Radu Paraschivescuaccused the writer of having backed the fascistIron Guard,and of having embracedanti-Sovietism,noting that the Killinger incident was uncharacteristic. According to Paraschivescu, Eli Lotar, who had embraced "revolutionary" ideas and had deserted his family, was "T. Arghezi's first son—his first, and not just chronologically."[30]Other communists were considering Arghezi Sr as an external ally. By August, contacts between the party and the Arghezis were mediated by Radu Bogdan ofScînteia;as he recalled in a 1993 piece, the effort was doomed: "Every person in that home, including Lady Paraschiva, Tătana (her sister), Mițura and Baruțu, not to mention the writer himself, were stunned by the occupation army and its behavior [...]. The family's hopes were directed exclusively toward theAnglo-Americans".[31]For a while, the attempts at a rapprochement did not yet subside. In December 1946, a banquet was hosted in the writer's honor by theMinistry of Culture,headed at the time byMihai Ralea.Performances included a dance number by Mitzura.[32]

Mitzura was by then appearing as a backing dancer inMarin Iorda's version ofScapin the SchemeratGiulești Workers' Theatre—that institution's inaugural production.[33]Overseen by Capsali, she and her fellow ballerinas were praised byTudor ȘoimaruinAdevărulas "agile and graceful".[34]Her return as an illustrator had occurred earlier that year, when she designed the cover for the Romanian edition ofKenneth Grahame'sWind in the Willows.[35]Her drawings and one watercolor were showcased at an independent exhibit atCăminul Arteiof Bucharest. They earned her encouragement from art criticGeorge Oprescu,who found her drawings reminiscent ofHenri MatisseandNicolae Tonitza,"that which is not a bad thing."[36]Such work was continued in early 1947, whenEditura Socecissued Tudor Arghezi'sȚara Piticilor( "Land of the Dwarfs" ) with his daughter's vignettes.[37]On Christmas Day, Arghezi Sr completed another cherished project by working with his two children on a self-published, artisanal, booklet,Drumul cu povești( "A Pathway of Stories" )—it retains value as a collectible item.[10]In June 1948, Mitzura and Baruțu, alongside Cora Benador and others, appeared in a ballet recital at theNational Theater Bucharest.[38]

During the early years ofRomanian communism,introduced as apeople's democracyin early 1948, Tudor Arghezi was lambasted inScînteiaeditorials penned bySorin Toma.Toma depicted him as a voice ofdecadent literature;one episode of his expose discussed Arghezi's belief invitalityas a principle in educating his own children. The article suggested that the very notion displayed Arghezi's preaching ofindividualism,against the "preservation of collective life", and that it fit well with raising his son and daughter as "children of the bourgeoisie".[39]The writer was then virtually banished by thecensorship apparatus.These circumstances were aggravated after December 1948, when Baruțu used the family's printing press to publish an anticommunist manifesto—he was arrested in 1949, and held in custody until 1950, when his father successfully negotiated his release with thenomenklatura.[40]At this stage, the family was reduced to living from unusual sources of income, including cherries from the orchard, that Tudor Arghezi would sell to passers-by.[41]According to Anania, this commercial activity was also embraced by Mitzura and Baruțu.[26]

In 1951, Mitzura had a small, uncredited part in the filmIn Our Village.[42]Initially, she followed the literary path. Enlisted at theUniversity of BucharestFaculty of Letters, she was expelled due to political pressures in 1948.[2][12]She was allowed to study at theCaragiale Institute of Theater,after reciting a Soviet poem in front of the examination board, which includedAura Buzescu.She went on to perform in a variety of small parts at the National Theater, but had to skip a year due to her poor health.[12]By 1953, she was in the same class as the aspiring directorGeo Saizescu,who greatly admired her father; as noted by Saizescu, she remained "rather skimpy on details regarding [his] earthly sufferings".[41]Some records suggest that she was originally enlisted in the Institute's film section, and only later transferred to the drama section.[2]

Baruțu, Tudor and Mitzura Arghezi, photographed in May 1960

From 1955,[40]Arghezi Sr agreed to participate in communist propaganda, and was admitted into the regime's literary community. According to diary entries by his anti-communist friendPetre Pandrea,this pact was sealed due to material constraints, and in large part because of Mitzura's persistent pleas.[43]Also according to Pandrea, this change of status allowed Mitzura, who had been married once before, to begin her second marriage, to a fellow actor whom he does not name. The wedding, which took place somewhere in Oltenia in October 1956, was a lavish affair with over 1,000 guests and a "strictly Orthodox ceremony" —since, despite the officially endorsed atheism, major cultural figures who supported the regime's agenda were now allowed publicized exceptions.[44]She had moved out of the family home the previous year, and spent time at various addresses. In 1964, she and her family moved toDorobanți,[12]in a recentlynationalizedtownhouse on Grigore Cerchez Street.[45]

Artistic and editorial fame

[edit]

Censorship also became more lenient by 1957, around the time of her graduation.[41]Mitzura Arghezi had begun work as a voice actress with theRomanian Radio Broadcasting Company,including with a rendition ofMihail Sebastian'sJocul de-a vacanța,for which she recorded alongsideRadu Beligan,Dina CoceaandColea Răutu.[46]The following year, a new edition of theBook of Toyscame out, atEditura Tineretului,and featured her drawings as illustrations.[47]Mitzura received positive notice for her role as one of The Neighbors inFederico García Lorca'sThe Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife—a January 1959 production at the National Theater, which saw her sharing the stage withDraga OlteanuandEliza Plopeanu.[48]In that context, she invited Saizescu toMărțișor,where he and Tudor Arghezi discussed a film project.[41]These talks resulted in the 1961 comedy filmDoi vecini,[2]which was submitted by Saizescu for the completion of his film degree, and which featured Mitzura in her second film credit.[42]In 1964, she was given a major role inTitanic Waltz,as Gena.[42]She noted her overall disappointment with this career choice, recalling her father's warning that the acting career "will bring one few satisfactions [...] if there's no one to support you, if you're not a director's wife, a manager's wife, this and that man's girlfriend, there's no way forward, you can be as gifted as can be, there will still be two parts for women and ten for men".[13]

During the early 1960s, Mitzura was spending some of her time inGeneva,where Arghezi Sr was undergoing treatment for what he termed "sclerosis" and "loss of vision".[49]She also began contributing toScrieri,the definitive corpus of Arghezi Sr's works. Its seventh volume, appearing in 1965, featured theBook of Toys,again illustrated with her drawings.[50]Around 1964, Mitzura and Baruțu (who was by then a physical education teacher in Bucharest)[18]had monopolized editorial work on their father's newer poetry. Their effort was criticized by Pandrea, who argued that they exercised poor judgment, allowing "idiocies" to seep into definitive volumes.[51]The two siblings looked after Arghezi Sr from 1966, when he became a distraught widower.[52]Shortly after his death in 1967, Mitzura was made custodian of his papers, including his unpublished literary works. In 1970, she created controversy by refusing to authorize a critical edition, which had been proposed to her by researcher G. Pienescu.[29]In a 2004 article, Pienescu further accused "Domnica Theodorescu, the writer's biological successor", of having borrowed his documentary collection under false pretense, of never returning it, and of then fraudulently using it for her own Arghezi editions.[53]

Arghezi with a group ofYoung PioneersatMărțișor,June 1975

Though he had reconnected with his family, visiting Romania in 1958 and 1959, Eli Lotar was left out of the disputes and publication projects—he died in his self-imposed exile in 1969.[8]Instead, Mitzura's activities involved her younger brother: in December 1972, the two of them appeared in public inCraiova,at a festivity marking both the relaunch ofScrisul Românescpublishing house and the publication of their father's last poems.[54]The following year, they issued withEditura Eminescutheir own anthology of his poetic manuscripts, asCălătorie în vis( "Dream-journey" ). It was poorly reviewed by M. Camil inMilcovulnewspaper, primarily because "none of the book's poems is an Arghezian masterpiece."[55]In 1974, Baruțu opted to settle in Switzerland, and took with him all of his father's explicitly anticommunist manuscripts, that he intended to publish abroad.[40]On his departure, he left his sister the remaining rights of usage for all other parts of the estate.[2][56]By 1975,Mărțișorhad become a museum, and Mitzura had been appointed its curator—calling this "my most important achievement".[57]Serving continuously to her death in 2015, she organized it as a venue used by theMuseum of Romanian Literature.[1][2][12]

Arghezi's contribution as in the literary field went in parallel with her film and theater career. In 1966, she appeared as a provincial wife in the interwar-themed satireCalea Victoriei,and, as criticD. I. Suchianuargued, proved "excellent" for the part;[58]she also reunited with Saizescu, with a role in his new project,La porțile pamîntului.[59]Still employed by the National Theater, that same year she was noted for her performance as anomadic RomaniinAndrei Corteanu'sCopiii pămîntului.[60]In 1967, she appeared inMoni Ghelerter's production ofSiringa—written by her father during his Antonescu-era internment, it had its inspiration in the author's real-life illnesses and his disdain for the medical profession.[61]The year 1970 brought a celebrated performance as a servant girl inHoria Lovinescu'sAl patrulea anotimp,as produced by the National Theater.[62]The following year, she debuted in amateurrallying:in June, she and Adrian Mureșan, driving aDacia 1300,took bronze in an actors' competition held atDinamo Stadium.[63]In 1973, she appeared inSergiu Nicolaescu'sUltimul cartuș,followed in 1978 byEu, tu, și... Ovidiu,and in 1980 byDrumul oaselor.[2]Between these, in March 1974 she was cast in theRomanian TelevisionspecialCând trăiești mai adevărat( "When You Live out Your Best" ), directed byIon Cojarfrom ateleplaybyPaul Everac.[64]

Arghezi also found steady employment as a voice actress: the Radio Broadcasting Company had her appear in numerous radio plays, including at least two by her father, and also made her a co-host of the showDe toate pentru toți.[2]AlongsideLudovic Antal,she voiced a version of theBook of Toys,which, beginning in 1984, was sold as a collectibleLPbyElectrecord.[65]Also in 1984, she starred in the comedyThe Secret of Bacchus,followed in 1987 byThe Secret of Nemesis.[2]She was allowed to travel in the West, and visited the United States at some point in the 1980s. As she reported in 2002: "I did not like it, I wouldn't have defected there, not for a million dollars".[13]

Political debut

[edit]

Following theRomanian Revolution of 1989,Arghezi's activities atMărțișorcould explore topics that had been forbidden under the communist regime—in mid-1990, she and the Romania–Israel Friendship Society co-hosted a soiree dedicated to her father'sphilosemitism.[66]She also provided theCentre Pompidouwith images of her half-brother, which were used at the Eli Lotar retrospective of 1993–1994.[8]In 1992, she sealed an agreement with the Romanian state, whereby the latter would acquire her rights toMărțișorupon her death.[2][56]Her own home on Cerchez Street, which she now shared with theNational Institute for the Study of Totalitarianism(INST), fell under scrutiny, because any records of previous ownership had apparently been misplaced.[45]

By her own account, Arghezi joinedCorneliu Vadim Tudor'sGreater Romania Party(PRM) in 1992, this being her first political affiliation.[12]However, she was originally affiliated with another nationalist group, theRomanian National Unity Party(PUNR): she ran on its Bucharest list for theChamber of Deputiesin theelections of September 1992;[67]although unsuccessful, in mid-1994 she was serving as vice president of the party's Bucharest section. In this capacity, she publicly accused a party colleague,Cornel Brahaș,of irregularities, such as investing the party funds in aPonzi scheme.[68]She had ultimately defected to the PRM by 1995—according to journalistIon Cristoiu,she "seamlessly moved on" from one group to the other.[69]A decade later, Arghezi described her involvement with the PRM as being motivated by her belief that "too many concessions are being made to the Hungarians", and by her perception of Vadim Tudor as a "patriot [and] one of the few honest politicians."[13]In one of her speeches in 1997, she noted that the party doctrine was "national, but not extremist".[70]According to a press report inGazeta de Sud,during that interval Arghezi was suspected of leaking classified information preserved by her INST neighbors to the PRM's magazines,România MareandPolitica.[45]

The PRM joined theVăcăroiu Cabinetcoalition (the "Red Quadrilateral"), awarding Arghezi a position as Executive Secretary of the governmental department forRomanian diasporaaffairs in early 1995. The department had been created as a special request by Vadim Tudor, and had Arghezi as its inaugural leader.[69][71]In September, Cristoiu panned her activity as a sample of graft, describing Arghezi as a "failed actress" and one of her father's "worst creations".[69]Arghezi only served in the department to November 1995, when she voluntarily resigned as a result of reshuffles.[72]In July, she had been shortlisted by Vadim Tudor for an adjunct position in the Ministry of Culture, but rejected by MinisterViorel Mărginean—allegedly, because the latter found her too old and unattractive.[73]The following month, she went public with criticism of the government, noting that it was too lenient toward theDemocratic Alliance of Hungarians(UDMR). In that context, she demanded that the UDMR be outlawed for instigating a "civil war" in Transylvanian constituencies.[74]

Arghezi was Vadim Tudor's campaign manager ahead of ageneral election in November 1996.[75]She herself ran in for the Chamber, winning a seat inOlt County.The PRM list enjoyed unexpected success in that province, taking 7% of the vote.[76]This win made her one of the 21 (out of 341) deputies who were of the female gender, including PRM deputiesDaniela BuruianăandLeonida Lari.[77]The PRM as a whole was in opposition to the governingRomanian Democratic Convention(CDR). By mid-1998, Arghezi had involved herself in the national polemics. On one of her frequent tours of her constituency, she responded toConstantin Ticu Dumitrescu,an activist and former political prisoner who had publicized documents depicting Vadim Tudor as a longtime informant of the communistSecuritate.According to Arghezi, the dossier was fabricated from falsified evidence by forces operating from "outside the country's borders". In her counterclaim, she alleged that Dumitrescu had been involved incommunist reeducation,and was therefore not a victim.[78]

During theminers' protests of January 1999,Arghezi visitedSlatina,and spoke out against theVasile Cabinetfor not allowing protesters to exit theJiu Valleyand complete their march on Bucharest.[79]She came to serve on the Chamber's Committee on Human Rights, where, as she put it, she clashed with the UDMR, whose representatives she regarded as single-minded: "they are unified and they keep on advancing [their agenda]."[13]In this capacity, she also helped strike downMariana Stoica's project for thelegalization of brothels.During the final deliberation of 6 October 1999, she argued that medical tests as outlined in that bill were not sufficient guarantees against theAIDS epidemic.[80]The former actress was reelected in theelections of December 2000.She and Vadim Tudor were on show together to celebrate the PRM's unexpectedly good result, as the second-ranking party nationally.[81]Arghezi went on to preside upon the new Chamber's inaugural meeting, as the most senior member of the house; this also made her the first woman to ever preside over a meeting of Chamber.[82]

Old age and death

[edit]

Arghezi's other work was with the committee on theFrancophonie,which allowed her to "travel quite a lot", including in French-speaking Africa, and to observe that "black people are rather smart".[13]She was also supportive ofRomania's projected accessioninto theEuropean Union.[57]Around the same time, she became embroiled in controversies regarding her party's ideology and stances ongovernment corruption.During April 2000, CDRPrime MinisterRadu Vasilesupervised an audit of the diaspora department, which produced allegations that Arghezi had engaged in embezzlement of public funds—including by not being able to account for electronic devices sent to theRomanians in Ukraine.[71]In early 2001, Arghezi attended a festivity inRahova,where a local high school was being named afterRomanian JewishnovelistMihail Sebastian.Arghezi's presence was described as inappropriate byMinimum,the Romanian-language Israeli magazine, who saw it as part of a PRM publicity stunt: "as if the party led by C. V. Tudor is head over heels in love with us Jews."[83]

At the PRM national congress, held at thePalace of the Parliamentin November 2001, Arghezi read out a congratulatory message from theChinese Communist Party;this event, which saw party delegates issuing renewed calls for the UDMR's outlawing, was not attended by guests from Romania's otherparliamentary groups.[84]During July 2001, she had been scheduled to appear as Vadim Tudor's witness in a civil suit for libel, brought up by the CDR'sGavril Dejeu.She was fined in September for failing to appear in court.[85]On the first days of 2003, Arghezi and Vadim Tudor signed up to aclass actionagainst Prime MinisterAdrian Năstase,accused of having breached theRomanian constitutionby allowingCluj-Napocato carry a second official name, in Hungarian.[86]In mid-2002, Arghezi, alongside her former colleagueSergiu Nicolaescu(who had similarly become a national legislator), proposed controversial legislation that would have resulted in deputies receiving a significantly increased state pension, as compared to the average Romanian.[87]The bill was vetoed by, among others, Vadim Tudor, who argued that Arghezi had "signed on to it without knowing what it was all about".[88]Those months introduced speculation that Arghezi was growing senile, especially after, during a PRM rally atSibiu,she dozed off in her chair, slipping and breaking her arm as a result.[89]

Arghezi still continued to serve for another full mandate in Chamber, down tofull-term elections in November 2004.She ran on the PRM Chamber list inBuzău County,[90]but was no longer successful. She carried on as a PRM representative on the Radio Broadcasting Company board (2005–2010).[1][2]This period saw Arghezi reaffirming her loyalty to Vadim Tudor: during the party schism organized in mid-2005 byCorneliu Ciontu,she remained affiliated with the Vadim wing, and served as head of its female section.[91]In November 2005, she was confirmed as a member of the PRM's Permanent Bureau.[92]Political scientistTom Gallaghermade a note of her dedication to the cause, as part of a larger phenomenon: "Proportionately more women sit on the parliamentary benches of the PRM than for any other party [...]. No woman has been among the numerous senior defectors from the PRM, so Vadim may have grounds for feeling that his position is secure if they are given a prominent role in party affairs."[93]

Before the end of her Chamber mandate, Arghezi filled out a mandatory wealth declaration. It reportedly showed her as one of the least affluent MPs, who owned to her name some threehectaresof agricultural land, aDacia Nova,and an apartment.[94]In 2002, she complained that all the expenses atMărțișorwere covered by her, and that the Museum of Literature was not fulfilling its tasks. She noted having never had children of her own, but also that she was looking after a relative, born with a major speech impediment.[12]She was also involved in animal-welfare causes.[57]Arghezi was also noted, and criticized, for her strict application of copyright law when it came to her father's poetic works: in 2005, she reportedly sued a publishing house for releasing an unauthorized version of her father's children's rhyme,Zdreanță.[95]Four years later, she was criticized for charging exorbitant sums to anyone wishing to reprint any of her father's writings. This stance reportedly threatened private publishing houses, who could no longer afford to include them in literary textbooks, and considered skipping them entirely.[96]Similarly, actorIon Caramitru,who was performing poetry recitals to music byJohnny Răducanu,was forced to omit Arghezi's verse, but improvised with allusive references to it during a show held inBudapest.[97]Arghezi teamed up withVasile Voiculescu's legatee, Andrei Voiculescu, accusing the publishing houses of collecting large profits that "they do not wish to share with anyone else", and revealed that they never collected copyrights from texbooks that were made freely available to schoolchildren.[98]

During the final stages of her life, Mitzura Arghezi joined Traian Radu in putting out the Tudor Arghezi corpus, which was being continued byEditura Minerva.These included the 42nd volume, appearing in 1999, with unedited and uncensored articles from the 1940s. It was praised for its documentary value by literary historianZigu Ornea,who also criticized the editors for not including relevant information, and for tolerating "many typos."[29]Arghezi survived her younger brother, who had returned to Romania—where he managed to publish his own edition of his father's secret works, in 2010.[40]He died inAradon 26 August of that year.[7]Mitzura ceased her activities in September 2015, when she checked herself into Elias Hospital.[56]She was later relocated to a nursing home in Bucharest'sSector 1.[2]

This episode divided Arghezi's extended family and circle of friends, with Baruțu's daughter Doina Elena reporting her as missing; she was found to be sharing the lodging with Traian Radu, whom she had designated as her sole heir.[56]Vadim Tudor spoke out against Radu onAntena 1,criticizing his decisions on Mitzura's behalf. This was reportedly his own last television interview, followed shortly by his death on 14 September.[99]Mitzura herself died on the morning of 27 October; she was aged 90.[1][2]An Orthodox funeral service was held for her atMărțișor,where she was buried, in a tomb shared with her parents. This had been her request, included in the donation she had negotiated with the Romanian state.[2]The ceremony was interrupted by another dispute around her remaining wealth, manifested as a heated exchange between Traian Radu and Doina Arghezi.[56]

Selected filmography

[edit]
  • Doi vecini(1959) – Marița
  • Furtuna(1960)
  • Celebrul 702(1962)
  • Titanic Waltz(1964) – Gena
  • Michael the Brave(1971)
  • Șantaj(1981)
  • Secretul lui Nemesis(1987) – The Neighbour
  • Iubire și onoare(2010) – Varvara

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^abcdeMuseum of Romanian Literature,"A încetat din viață Mitzura Arghezi", inRomânia Literară,Issue 45/2015, p. 16
  2. ^abcdefghijklmno(in Romanian)Mădălina Ceban,Mitzura Arghezi a fost înmormântată, joi, în grădina Casei Mărțișor, alături de părinții ei,Mediafax,29 October 2015
  3. ^"Tineret. Poezia lui Tudor Arghezi în contextul literaturii interbelice", inFoaia Românească. Săptămânal al Românilor din Ungaria,Vol. LXIII, Issue 20, May 2013, p. 6
  4. ^abFerenczes, p. 47
  5. ^abBaruțu T. Arghezi,"Hotare de aer. Remember", inSteaua,Vol. XXIII, Issue 14, July 1972, p. 12
  6. ^abcdeConstantin Beldie,"Memorii și memorialiști. Acasă la Arghezi (III)", inArgeș,Vol. XVIII, Issue 2, February 1983, p. 12
  7. ^abc(in Romanian)Baruțu Arghezi, fiul scriitorului Tudor Arghezi, a încetat din viață,Mediafax,25 August 2010
  8. ^abcdIon Pop,"Meridiane. Expoziție Eli Lotar la Paris. Un 'vagabond de rasă'", inRomânia Literară,Issue 50/1993, p. 26
  9. ^abFerenczes, p. 40
  10. ^abȘerban Cioculescu,"Breviar.L-am cunoscut pe Tudor Arghezi",inRomânia Literară,Issue 9/1982, p. 7
  11. ^Ferenczes, p. 38
  12. ^abcdefghiIoana Florea, "Acasă la... Tudor Arghezi, cu fiica sa, Mitzura", inCuvântul Liber,4 December 2002, p. 4
  13. ^abcdefgIoana Florea, "Acasă la... Tudor Arghezi, cu fiica sa, Mitzura (II)", inCuvântul Liber,5 December 2002, p. 6
  14. ^Ferenczes, pp. 37–39
  15. ^Ferenczes, pp. 39–40
  16. ^Ferenczes, pp. 40–44
  17. ^abMitzura Arghezi, "L-am cunoscut pe Tudor Arghezi. Mărțișorul, 'mica noastră patrie'", inLuceafărul,Vol. XXII, Issue 20, May 1979, p. 7
  18. ^abValeriu Fărcaș, "Memoria vie. Amintiri cu Tudor Arghezi la Mărțișor", inVatra,Vol. XLII, Issues Issues 495–496, 2012, p. 168
  19. ^abValer Donea,"O vizită la Tudor Arghezi", inAdevărul Literar și Artistic,20 October 1935, p. 4
  20. ^Ferenczes, pp. 40, 47
  21. ^Solomon Savin, "Scrisori inedite ale lui Tudor Arghezi", inRevista Cultului Mozaic,Vol. XII, Issue 168, September 1967, p. 2
  22. ^Felix Aderca,"Amintiri și mărturii despre Tudor Arghezi. Pledoarie pentruBilete de Papagal",inViața Romînească,Vol. XIII, Issue 5, May 1960, p. 18
  23. ^Mircea Zaciu,"Exerciții de despărțire (XXXVIII)", inVatra,Vol. XXIII, Issue 270, September 1993, p. 15
  24. ^abcBaruțu T. Arghezi,"Hotare de aer....sub matricola 5624", inSteaua,Vol. XXV, Issue 1, January 1974, p. 24
  25. ^abBaruțu T. Arghezi,"Hotare de aer. Evenimente literare", inSteaua,Vol. XXIV, Issue 7, April 1973, p. 4
  26. ^abValeriu Anania,"L-am cunoscut pe Tudor Arghezi. Amintiri la statura ceasului de-acum (II)", inLuceafărul,Vol. XXIII, Issue 6, February 1980, p. 6
  27. ^Ion Frunzetti,"Plastica. Grupul Grafic (Sala Prometeu)", inVremea,4 April 1943, p. 15
  28. ^Baruțu T. Arghezi,"Tudor Arghezi și ziaristica", inFoaia Noastră. Organul Uniunii Democratice a Romînilor din Ungaria,Vol. IV, Issue 10, May 1960, pp. 6–7
  29. ^abcZigu Ornea,"Cronica edițiilor. Din publicistica lui Arghezi", inRomânia Literară,Issue 16/2000, p. 9
  30. ^Miron Radu Paraschivescu,"Un impostor: d. Tudor Arghezi", inRomânia Liberă,21 February 1945, p. 2
  31. ^Radu Bogdan, "Din ineditele harului arghezian", inRomânia Literară,Issue 26/1993, p. 12
  32. ^Șerban Cioculescu,"Breviar. Gala și Theo", inRomânia Literară,Issue 33/1980, p. 7
  33. ^Ioan Massoff,Teatrul românesc: privire istorică. Vol. VIII: Teatrul românesc în perioada 1940—1950,p. 335. Bucharest:Editura Minerva,1981
  34. ^Tudor Șoimaru,"Teatrul Muncitoresc: 'Vicleniile lui Scapin' comedie in 3 acte de Moliere", inAdevărul,23 May 1946, p. 2
  35. ^"Cărți – reviste", inDreptatea,15 March 1946, p. 8
  36. ^George Oprescu,"Grupul 'Luchian–Paciurea'", inUniversul,24 August 1946, p. 3
  37. ^R. L., "O carte pe zi. Tudor Arghezi și Mitzura Arghezi:Țara PiticilorEd. Socec ", inAdevărul,16 April 1947, p. 2
  38. ^"Recital extraordinar de dans", inUniversul,17 June 1948, p. 5
  39. ^Sorin Toma,"Poezia putrefacției sau putrefacția poeziei. Ce exprimă 'peisagiul sufletesc' și 'climatul liric' al poeziei lui Arghezi. III", inScînteia,9 January 1948, p. 2
  40. ^abcdIon Simuț,"Tudor Arghezi în anii împotrivirii tăcute: 1948–1953. Disidența din sertar. Poezia politică de atitudine", inRomânia Literară,Issue 37/2014, p. 12
  41. ^abcdGeo Saizescu,"Întîlniri cu Poetul", inCinema,Vol. XVIII, Issue 5, May 1980, p. 4
  42. ^abcGheorghe Tomozei,"Interviu. Intîlnire cu Gena...", inCinema,Vol. II, Issue 12, December 1964, p. 17
  43. ^Pandrea (2011), pp. 78, 498, 499
  44. ^Pandrea (2011), pp. 78, 497–499
  45. ^abcAugustus Costache, "Afaceri veroase la Academia Română. Contabilul Institutului Național pentru Studiul Totalitarismului scrie Istoria Romanilor cu 32.500 de lei pagina", inGazeta de Sud,31 May–1 June 1997, p. 3
  46. ^Ioana Mălin, "Radio-t.v. Luni seara", inRomânia Literară,Issue 15/1986, p. 17
  47. ^"Cărți noi.Cartea cu jucăriide Tudor Arghezi ", inDrum Nou,20 August 1958, p. 5
  48. ^Radu Popescu, "Cronică teatrală. Poeme și teatru de Federico Garcia Lorca", inRomânia Liberă,15 January 1959, p. 2; Florian Potra, "Cronica. Aproape de Lorca", inTeatrul,Issue 1/1959, p. 54
  49. ^Pavel Țugui,"100 de ani de la nașterea lui Tudor Arghezi. Avatarurile spulberării unor erori...", inSteaua,Vol. XXXI, Issue 5, May 1980, p. 15
  50. ^"Memento. Cartea", inFlacăra,Vol. XIV, Issue 10, March 1965, p. 4
  51. ^Petre Pandrea,Reeducarea de la Aiud,p. 571. Bucharest:Editura Vremea,2000.ISBN973-9423-53-1
  52. ^Barbu Brezianu,"Mențiuni și opinii. Doamna Paraschiva", inSteaua,Vol. XVII, Issue 9, September 1966, p. 125
  53. ^G. Pienescu, "Rapt intelectual. Cum se fură o ediție", inRomânia Literară,Issue 31/2004, pp. 16–17
  54. ^Ion Trăistaru, "Medalion. Moment inaugural. Scrisul Românesc", inRamuri,Vol. IX, Issue 12, December 1972, p. 7
  55. ^M. Camil, "Lumea cărților.Călătorie în visde T. Arghezi ", inMilcovul,21 July 1973, p. 3
  56. ^abcde(in Romanian)Mădălina Ceban,Averea Mitzurei Arghezi, disputată de 4 potențiali moștenitori, care se vor lupta în instanță,Mediafax,29 October 2015
  57. ^abcIoana Florea, "Acasă la... Tudor Arghezi, cu fiica sa, Mitzura (III)", inCuvântul Liber,6 December 2002, p. 4
  58. ^D. I. Suchianu,"Film.Calea Victoriei",inGazeta Literară,Vol. XIII, Issue 9, March 1966, p. 6
  59. ^"La porțile pamîntului",inClopotul,27 April 1966, p. 4
  60. ^Ion Biberi,"Carnet teatral.Copiii pămîntuluide Andrei Corteanu la Teatrul Național ", inGazeta Literară,Vol. XIII, Issue 22, June 1966, p. 6
  61. ^Tibor Molnár, "Tudor Arghezi otthonában", inÚj Élet,Issue 14/1967, p. 14
  62. ^Nicolae Carandino,"Viața artistică. Cronica spectacolelor din București", inSteaua,Vol. XXI, Issue 1, January 1970, pp. 91–92
  63. ^"Primul raliu al actorilor — o reușită", inSportul,21 June 1971, p. 2
  64. ^"7 arte în 7 zile. Premiere. Teatrul T. V.", inInformația Bucureștiului,11 March 1974, p. 2
  65. ^C. Eugen, "Actualitatea culturală bucureșteană. Pentru discofili", inInformația Bucureștiului,29 September 1984, p. 2
  66. ^Victor Bârlădeanu, "Noi", inMinimum,Vol. IV, Issue 41, August 1990, p. 13
  67. ^Aura Alexa Ioan, "Nume sonore pe listele electorale din Capitală: Mitzura Arghezi pe lista PUNR pentru Camera Deputaților", inEvenimentul Zilei,28 August 1992, p. 4; Radu Călin Cristea, "Comentarii politice. Inspecție de front", inRevista 22,Vol. III, Issue 36, September 1992, p. 3
  68. ^Crina Nedelcu, "Într-o scrisoare trimisă conducerii partidului, Mitzura Arghezi îl acuză pe deputatul Cornel Brahaș că a implicat PUNR-ul în jocul de întrajutorare 'Gerald'", inEvenimentul Zilei,26 May 1994, pp. 1, 4
  69. ^abcCronicar, "Revista revistelor. O invenție epocală", inRomânia Literară,Issue 37/1995, p. 16
  70. ^Dana Constantinescu, "Mitzura Arghezi, deputat PRM, afirmă: 'Politica dusă de PRM este una națională, nu una extremistă'", inGazeta de Sud,26 May 1997, p. 5
  71. ^abIstván Barabás, "Az élet fonákja. Tolvaj testvér", inHargita Népe,15 April 2000, p. 4
  72. ^Dorina Sgaverdia, "Congresul Spiritualității Românești, Băile Herculane. Consolidarea și instituționalizarea structurilor care se ocupă de românii de pretutindeni", inTimpul de Caraș-Severin,24 November 1995, p. 4
  73. ^Remus Andrei Ion, "Cultură. Singurul inginer din Ministerul Culturii a ajuns secretar de stat", inFlacăra,Issue 33/1995, p. 11
  74. ^"A polgári engedetlenség miatt Mitzura Arghezi vádjai", inHeves Megyei Nap,5 August 1995, p. 2
  75. ^"Belekötünk a levesbe... A szomszéd veszett kecskéje", inErdélyi Riport,Vol. IV, Issue 23, June 2005, p. 52
  76. ^Dan Bălășescu, Ion Franțescu, Mihaela Vîlcu, "Opoziția din România a cîștigat alegerile parlamentare. Olt", inGazeta de Sud,5 November 1996, p. 4
  77. ^V. B., "Însemnări. Promovarea femeilor lasă de dorit", inCuvântul Liber,25 February 1998, p. 3
  78. ^Visi Ghencea, "La PRM se știe că Ticu Dumitrescu ar fi fost torționar", inCuvîntul Libertății,1 July 1998, p. 3
  79. ^Carmen Rădulescu, "Deputatul PRM de Olt, Mitzura Arghezi: Puterea îngrădește libertatea de mișcare a minerilor", inGazeta de Sud,18 January 1999, p. 2
  80. ^"Deputații spun 'nu' legalizării prostituției. Parlamentarii au respins proiectul de lege privind înființarea, organizarea și funcționarea localurilor intime", inMonitorul de Sibiu,7 October 1999, p. 4
  81. ^Șt. Frătean, "Politică. România și-a ales conducătorii cu care dorește sa pășească în noul mileniu. Pe loc de frunte: Iliescu și Tudor, PDSR și PRM", inFoaia Românească. Săptămînal al Românilor din Ungaria,Vol. III, Issue 48, December 2000, p. 5
  82. ^"Összeült az új parlament", inNépújság,12 December 2000, p. 1
  83. ^"30 de zile. Ne place......Nu ne place", inMinimum,Vol. XV, Issue 168, March 2001, p. 16
  84. ^"Partidele parlamentare nu și-au trimis reprezentanți la deschiderea Congresului PRM", inCuvântul Nou,24 November 2001, p. 2
  85. ^"Martorii absenți în procesul dintre Gavril Dejeu și Vadim – amendați", inTribuna Sibiului,19 September 2001, p. 19
  86. ^"Judecata tribunilor", inMonitorul de Cluj,9 January 2003, p. 5
  87. ^Tia Șerbănescu,"Editoriale. Național. Chemări", inMonitorul de Sibiu,5 July 2002, p. 14
  88. ^Nicolae Cătană, "Am citit pentru dv.", inTimpul de Caraș-Severin,5 July 2002, p. 8
  89. ^Marius Gheorghiu, "Paharul de vorbă. S-au ieftinit pensiile...", inMonitorul de Sibiu,8 July 2002, p. 6
  90. ^Leștie, "Infobazar", inCuvântul Nou,16 October 2004, p. 4
  91. ^"Panoramic. Excluși din PPRM", inTimpul de Caraș-Severin,1 June 2005, p. 2
  92. ^"Corneliu Vadim Tudor – reales președinte al PRM", inCuvântul Libertății,21 November 2005, p. 2
  93. ^Tom Gallagher,Theft of a Nation. Romania since Communism.London:C. Hurst & Co.,2005.ISBN1-85065-716-5
  94. ^"Actualitate. Averea deputaților – de la căței, pînă la case de vacanță în SUA", inCuvântul Libertății,23 May 2003, p. 2
  95. ^Dragoș Bako, "Pe scurt: și bune, și rele", inTribuna Sibiului,16 July 2005, p. 11
  96. ^"Versek utórezgései", inSzékely Hírmondó,Vol. XIV, Issue 10, March 2009, p. 27
  97. ^G. E. E., "Evenimente. Dialogul poeziei românești cu muzica jazz pe corzile sufletului", inFoaia Românească. Săptămânal al Românilor din Ungaria,Vol. LX, Issue 49, December 2010, p. 3
  98. ^Alina Purcaru, Steluța Voica, "Moștenitorii clasicilor acuză editorii de nesimțire", inCotidianul,26 February 2009, p. 7
  99. ^(in Romanian)M. Z.,Ultimul interviu dat de Corneliu Vadim Tudor a fost pentru Antena 1,Antena 1,14 September 2015

References

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mitzura_Arghezi&oldid=1252923643"