Nicolae Steinhardt

Nicolae Steinhardt
Nicolae Steinhardt during his time at Rohia Monastery, 1980s
Born	Nicu-Aurelian Steinhardt (1912-07-12)July 12, 1912 Pantelimon, Ilfov,Romania
Died	March 30, 1989(1989-03-30)(aged 76) Baia Mare,Romania
Nationality	Romanian
Occupations	Writer translator monk lawyer

Nicolae Steinhardt(Romanian pronunciation:[nikoˈla.eˈʃtajnhart];bornNicu-Aurelian Steinhardt;July 29, 1912 – March 29, 1989) was aRomanianwriter,Orthodoxmonk and lawyer. His main book,Jurnalul Fericirii,is regarded as a major text of 20th-century Romanian literature and a prime example of Eastern European anti-Communist literature.

Biography

Early life

He was born inPantelimoncommune,nearBucharest,from aJewishfather and aRomanianmother. His father was an engineer, architect and decoratedWorld War Iparticipant (following theBattle of Mărăști). Due to his lineage from his father's side, he was subjected toantisemitic discriminationduring the successivefascistgovernments ofWorld War II Romania.

Between 1919 and 1929, he attendedSpiru Haret High Schoolin Bucharest, where, despite his background, he was instructed in religion by a Christian priest. His talent for writing was first noticed when he joined theSburătorulliterary circle.

Early career and World War II

In 1934, he earned his diploma from the Law and Literature School of theUniversity of Bucharest.Under thepseudonymAntisthius(taken fromLa BruyèresCaractères), he published his first volume, theparodicnovelÎn genul lui Cioran, Noica, Eliade...( "In the Manner ofCioran,Noica,Eliade... "). In 1936, he earned hisPhDin constitutional law, and between 1937 and 1938, he travelled toSwitzerland,Austria,France,and theUK.

In 1939, Steinhardt worked as an editor forRevista Fundațiilor Regale(a government-sponsoredliterary magazine), losing his job between 1940 and 1944, due to antisemitic policies, first under theIron Guardregime (theNational Legionary State), and then the government led by GeneralIon Antonescu.Despite this, he would forgive Antonescu, and even praise him for allegedly having saved several hundred thousand Jews (which heclaimed had occurred after a face-to-face debate withAdolf HitleratBerchtesgaden).

Communist persecutions and imprisonment

In 1944, afterRomania switched sides and joined the Allies,Steinhardt was reinstated at theRevista Fundațiilor Regale,and held his job until 1948, whenKingMichael Iwas forced toabdicateby theCommunist Party of Romania.

From 1948 until 1959, he experienced a new period of persecution, this time from theRomanian Communist regime,during which non-communistintellectualswere deemed "enemies of the people".In 1959, during theshow trialof the fascist collaborator (and Steinhardt's former school colleague)Constantin Noica,he refused to take part as a witness against Noica. As a consequence, he was accused of "crimes of conspiracy against social order", he was included in the "group of mystical-Iron Guardist intellectuals", and sentenced to thirteen years offorced labor,inGulag-like prisons. He would serve eight years of his 13-year jail term atJilava,Gherla,Aiud,and other prisons.

While in prison, Steinhardt converted toOrthodox Christianity.He wasbaptizedon March 15, 1960, by fellow convictMina Dobzeu,a well knownBessarabianhermit.Emanuel Vidrașcu,a formerchief of staffand adjutant of Antonescu, served as Steinhardt'sgodfather.Witnesses to the baptism included the politicianAlexandru Paleologu,twoRoman Catholicpriests, twoGreek-Catholicpriests and aProtestantpriest. He would later state that his baptism had an "ecumenicalcharacter ".This episode in his life would serve as the basis for his best-known and most celebrated work,Jurnalul Fericirii( "The Happiness Diary" ).

Later years

After his release from prison in 1964 (due to the general amnesty of political prisoners) he began a successful career in translation and publishing. His first celebrated literary works,Între viață și cărți( "Between Life and Books" ), andIncertitudini literare( "Literary Uncertainties" ) were published in 1976 and 1980, respectively.

A new chapter in Steinhardt's life began in 1980, after being accepted to enterRohia Monastery.He worked as the monastery's librarian, while at the same time dedicating himself to writing. During this time, his fame as a counsellor andfather-confessorhad grown, attracting dozens of visitors to Rohia every week.

He died on March 29, 1989 at theBaia MareCounty Hospital. His funeral, under surveillance by theSecuritate,was attended by many of his close friends and admirers.

In 2017, Steinhardt was posthumously elected a member of theRomanian Academy.

TheHappiness Diary

The first manuscript ofJurnalul Fericirii( "The Happiness Diary" ) was confiscated by the Securitate in 1972, and restituted in 1975, after an intervention by the Association of Writers (Asociatia Scriitorilor Bucuresti). Meanwhile, Steinhardt had finished writing a second version of the book, which was, in turn, confiscated in 1984 by the State Security Services (Securitate). In the end, Steinhardt had written and edited several different versions, one of which had reached the expat writers and dissidentsMonica LovinescuandVirgil IeruncainParis.Lovinescu would later broadcast the book in a series of episodes throughRadio Free Europe.

Works

Due to political reasons, most of his work has been published post-mortem in its uncensored version (after theRomanian Revolution).

• În genul... tinerilor(In the Manner of... Youth) – published 1934;
• Între viață și cărți(Between Life and Books) – published 1976;
• Incertitudini literare(Literary Uncertainties) – published 1980;
• Geo Bogza - Un poet al Efectelor, Exaltării, Grandiosului, Solemnității, Exuberanței și Patetismului(Geo Bogza – A Poet of Effects, Exaltations, Grandiosity, Solemnity, Exuberance and Pathetism) – published 1982;
• Critică la persoana întâi(First-Person Critique) – published 1983;
• Escale în timp și spațiu(Stop-over in Time and Space) – published 1987;
• Prin alții spre sine(Through Others Towards Self) – published 1988;

Post-mortem

• Jurnalul fericirii(Happiness Diary) – published 1991;
• Monologul polifonic(The Polyphonic Monologue) – published 1991;
• Dăruind vei dobândi(Giving You Will Receive) – published 1992;
• Primejdia mărturisirii(The Danger of Confessing) – published 1993;
• Drumul către iubire(The Road to Love) – published 1999;
• Taina împărtășirii(The Miracle of Communion);
• Călătoria unui fiu risipitor(Travel of a Prodigal Son);
• Drumul către isihie(The Path TowardHesychia);
• Ispita lecturii(The Temptation of Reading);
• N. Steinhardt răspunde la 365 de întrebări adresate de Zaharia Sângeorzan(N. Steinhardt Answers 365 Questions Posed by Zaharia Sângiorzan);
• Între lumi(Between Worlds);
• Dumnezeu în care spui că nu crezi... (Scrisori către Virgil Ierunca)(The God in Whom You Say You Don't Believe... Letters To Virgin Ierunca);
• Eu însumi și alți cîțiva(Myself And a Few Others);
• Eseu romanțat asupra unei neizbînzi(Romanticized Essay About a Failure);
• Timpul Smochinelor(Time of Figs)