Urania Interdisciplinary Academic Journal

Márton Kakas at the theatre

Tamás Gajdó — 2025-12-18

Appearing first in the Vasárnapi Ujság in 1856, Márton Kakas, Mór Jókai’s character, quickly gained great popularity. The figure, created in the likeness of characters from satirical journals, also voiced his opinions on theatre performances in his letters sent to the editor. Márton Kakas later became a regular character in Jókai’s satirical journal, Üstökös, and evolved into Jókai’s alter ego, offering his value judgments with a superior feel on the National Theatre during the era of absolutism. Readers were not presented with classical critiques; rather, they were informed about the daily life of the theatre, behind-the-scenes secrets, and, of course, Jókai’s thoughts on the National Theatre’s role and position and the relationship between opera and drama. This was not the first time Jókai had written about the theatre. His very first article, published on January 2, 1847, in Életképek, sparked a polemic. His surprising perspective undoubtedly contributed to Jókai not being typically mentioned among the theatre critics of the era, even though his accounts draw attention to lesser-known years in the history of the National Theatre.

Jókai’s drama of the Hungarian conquest period, Levente

Géza Balázs — 2025-12-18

The five-act dramatic poem Levente by Mór Jókai is centred on the death of Árpád’s four adult sons in the ethnic clashes of the Hungarian Conquest Period. The work was written to mark the millennium of the Hungarian Landtaking, or Conquest, and although the National Theatre announced its premiere several times in 1898, and even prepared a musical version, it was never performed there or on any other stage. Reading the text from today’s perspective, its performance could at best be imagined as a Gesamtkunstwerk of “poetic theatre.” As in all his works, Jókai also indulged in linguistic antiquities. Levente thus remained a book drama for those interested in linguistic archaisms. This study also covers the afterlife of the dramatic poem.

Adaptations of Jókai’s novels in the 1910s

Csaba Galántai — 2025-12-18

This study explores the circumstances surrounding the premieres of Jókai’s novels Az új földesúr (The New Landlord), Egy magyar nábob (A Hungarian Nabob), Kárpáthy Zoltán (Zoltán Kárpáthy), A kőszívű ember fiai (The Baron’s Sons), which were adapted for the stage by Sándor Hevesi and performed at the Magyar Theatre in the 1910s, as well as the critical reception of those performances. In preparation for the management of the Magyar Theatre, László Beöthy announced a triple playwriting competition for which entries were expected from adaptations of Ferenc Herczeg’s Szíriusz (Sirius), Kálmán Mikszáth’s novel Szent Péter esernyője (St. Peter’s Umbrella), and Jókai’s Az új földesúr. Hevesi entered the contest with his stage adaptation of Az új földesúr, and although it was judged the best, his winning work was not premiered until six years later. And because the audience then received the play with enthusiasm and love, the author began dramatising other works by Jókai, and thus four novels by the romantic writer-prince were staged at the Magyar Theatre between 1913 and 1918.

Jókai and the national fashion

Csilla Kollár — 2025-12-18

In the first part of my study, I deal with the history and spread of national fashion in the 19^th century, paying special attention to Mór Jókai, who, as an acclaimed writer and popular public figure, played an important role in fashion throughout his life. As an influencer of the era, Jókai had a great impact with his appearance and his works. In his novels, we often learn about the attire of his characters through detailed descriptions, thus making the reader’s impressions more complete. I was very interested in how the clothing outlined in Jókai’s novels from the Reform Era, this politically and ideologically complex and culturally rich period, would appear in film adaptations. To what extent did the costume designers remain faithful to the text? To what extent does their work reflect a deep knowledge of the fashion and lifestyle history of the era? In my work, which ultimately focused on the novel A kőszívű ember fiai (The Baron’s Sons) and the film based on it, I was also able to gain insight into the impressive oeuvre of Rudolf Láng.

Keresd a szíved (Search Your Heart),

Balázs Lázár — 2025-12-18

Mór Jókai (1825–1904) was not only closely connected with the theatre as a private man, through his two wives, but he also wrote the stage versions of eleven of his own short stories and novels. His novel adaptations had already achieved great success at the National Theatre when, on 16 May 1886, he submitted his play Keresd a szíved (Search Your Heart), based on A kőszívű ember fiai (The Baron’s Sons), to the review committee. However, the premiere did not take place until 25 April 1896, at the Budai Nyári Színkör (Buda Summer Theatre Group), which was then called the Fővárosi Nyári Színház (Capital City Summer Theatre) and was led by Ignác Krecsányi. What had happened in those ten years? Why was the first stage version of one of the best known and most popular Hungarian novels not staged at the National Theatre and why did it take so long? This is strange, given that Jókai had long enjoyed great popularity internationally. I seek answers to the above questions by studying contemporary documents and works on theatre history, examining the reasons behind the choice of title and the dramaturgy of the stage version. In addition, I discuss the venue of the premiere, the Budai Nyári Színkör, and its director, Ignác Krecsányi, in more detail.

Linguistic devices expressing national identity

Zoltán Bódi — 2025-12-18

Mór Jókai’s play, Olympi verseny (Olympic Competition), was written to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the National Theatre and was staged in 1887. The play presents the role of the past and the present in theatre through a debate between Past and Present, but it also transcends this: it compares the significance of historical past and present symbols of national identity. My aim in this study is to present general approaches to the concept of identity and the layers of identity, focusing primarily on the means of expression of national and linguistic identity. In my research, I examine the lexical, rhetorical, stylistic, and semiotic linguistic devices used by Jókai in his play Olympi verseny to represent elements of national identity. Based on this, I attempt to outline what kind of national image and identity Jókai could have envisioned in this play.

The theatrical world of Mór Jókai

Beáta Huber — 2025-12-18

Many people know Mór Jókai, the great storyteller of Hungarian literature, for his novels, but few know that his oeuvre was linked to the world of theatre in many ways. The Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute (Országos Színháztörténeti Múzeum és Intézet, hereinafter referred to as OSZMI) presented this unique segment of his oeuvre in an exhibition prepared for the 200^th anniversary of the birth of the Prince of Writers.