excerpts Chapter IIISolitude Generally, the Romanian folk poetry shows a tendency toward an ideal and transparent world, which is full of serenity. The frequency of the optimistic motifs proves to what extent it would be good to know this surface only, but an inner disquiet reveals to man, in spite of himself, the secrets hidden under this smiling mask. So, he is forced to see that life puts up ordeals for him, and very tough ones at that. This mystery is revealed in solitude.The Romanian peasant is particularly solitary – but this typical trait has been dealt with very seldom. Generally, seeing his peaceful humor, his good moods, and his hospitality, analysts have emphasized his great sociability. However, he is bent to solitude. This can be proven not only through the fact that the feeling of solitude has engendered his most beautiful ballads, and most of all his characteristic and favorite song, the doina, but also when other manifestations of his are discussed. In fact people have noticed, for example, that Romanian churches, the really Romanian churches, constructed out of wood, in a style that is much superior to that of the churches in Romanian cities, are never erected in public places, but rather they are constructed on isolated sites, in the middles of gardens. This is irrefutable evidence that, when it comes to the most private matters of the soul, the Romanian tends to isolate himself. The studies of Ovid Densusianu point in this direction; relying on ample documentation, he found mostly shepherds at the origins of the Romanian people. A shepherd has an isolated, solitary life. He is far from home, but he dislikes great adventures: a vagrant, but a passive and contemplative one – these circumstances are extremely favorable to going in-depth in one's inner mind.Solitude is the most profound inspirer for the Romanian folk poet. The nostalgia he feels in his isolation, far away from his native home, awakens feelings in him that are much more painful than those he feels when his sweetheart abandons him. This solitude begets in him the dor, a feeling that includes desire, melancholy, regrets, pain, and nostalgia, with a nuance of hope, and the urat, some kind of a boredom and an oppression man feels in his solitude. The fact that Romanians have created these two words, which are very difficult to translate into other languages, means that they express a feeling that is very typical of the Romanian soul. Actually, the dor and the urat bring the deepest lyrical accents into the Romanian folk poetry, and this is yet another proof that solitude plays a crucial role in the inner life of the Romanian people. The dor and the urat, children of solitude, fill up the heart with sorrow and pain. They do not push it at all to action, they just make man plunge into a state of sad resignation. The dor and the urat endure, even in times of joy, and, because of them, happiness only means laughing through tears. The dor and the urat are permanent obsessions. Of course, out this oppressive and vague state of mind despair is born. But that despair never takes the form of rebellion, it only manifests itself in the form of a painful and resigned regret. Suffering, man prefers not to have been born at all; but, since he lives in spite of himself, he needs to accept his suffering. So we see the Romanian folk poet accepting his painful solitude. Although it oppresses him with the feeling of the unknown that it brings about deep in his soul, it becomes a valuable companion to him, because it helps him go deep into his soul and penetrate its secrets. Therefore, he is not afraid of solitude. And, now that everything and everybody abandoned him, although this abandonment fills him up with the deepest bitterness, he at least feels free and can confine his being inside himself, in order to penetrate his own soul. It is in the absolute silence of this solitude that the tragic meaning of our existence appears to him in all its might. His entire inner freedom, which only solitude can bring about, will help him understand the mysterious, the inexplicable, and the sorrowful in this world. This very pain, which has taught him to find the most precious part of his soul, will also be his consolation. Therefore, the solitude of the Romanian folk poet is not a sign of weakness, it involves courage, the courage to look into one's own soul. This inner effort has given depth to the Romanian folk poetry, because, without such a "heart in torment," the way Dostoyevsky put it, there is no spiritual creation whatsoever. It is only through profound disquietude that the predicament of the existence is revealed to the mind. The soul of the Romanian folk poet usually goes through every torment that underlies every creation: perhaps it feels those torments less strongly, but he still wonders about the meaning of his existence. And the vague answer he will find is always filled with sadness, because undoubtedly it is only in sadness that the meaning of existence becomes clear. Chapter IVDestiny We saw in the first chapter of this book that in the Romanian folk poetry the world appears as given. It appears as a harmony ruled by certain norms; events unfold according to those norms, excluding any and all randomness. This is why man's personal force does not influence things at all – this is why the role played by action is very little perceived in the Romanian folk poetry. The Romanian poet often looks into the depths of his soul, but his inner life is not turned upside down. He will never try to rebel against what is or what happens, he will only take note of it. He feels very deeply that any intervention of his would be useless and futile. In fact, when the Romanian folk poet looks into the depths of his soul, he feels the vibration of life there, but he equally sees death as an inevitable destiny. And this certitude of his tragic destiny fills him with sadness in his profound, true solitude. It is in this feeling that he finds his real inspiration. This is why the most valuable creations of the Romanian folk poetry are those dealing with death. This is the tragic moment of the Romanian folk poet: he does not have enough powers to overcome the menace he feels in the depths of his being. He feels nothing will be able to save him from his implacable destiny, and he only finds solace in his fatalist faith. That is his only refuge. Unconsciously, he feels that the destiny of the world and his own individual destiny are independent of his individual will and force, that the course of life is established and ordained once and for all. This deep conviction determines his attitude on death: the necessity seen in life's course proves to him that his own personal end is inevitable and certain. This is how destiny is portrayed in the Romanian folk poetry. The Romanian people even have a consecrated, characteristic saying: "What has been ordained for you is written on your forehead."Seen this way, the issue of existence acquires a whole new aspect in the Romanian folk poetry. It is true that the world is harmonious, confesses the Romanian folk poet, it is true that everything that troubles the logic chain of things down here is counterweighed by a compensating action, that the world is not left to randomness, and, therefore, it is governed by an imminent necessity. But this absolute necessity, which, at a superficial look, may seem a reason to feel secure, becomes a source of disquietude when a deeper aspect of the existence enters the game and makes us understand that our own individual destinies will be fulfilled according to the same necessity. Destiny must be accomplished, because the harmony of the world is so perfect, that there is no possibility of escaping the implacable rigor of its laws. Running away from what is ordained would mean destroying that very harmony. Chapter VThe Romanian Folk Poet's View of Destiny Faced with this cruel truth, the Romanian folk poet will be content to comprehend destiny in all its proportions. His profound intuition suggests to him the deep inner belief that death and suffering are unavoidable, and that any rebellion is futile. He accepts suffering silently, without murmuring. And he does not even feel the need to confess to this, he will shut himself in a noble, silent sadness, and he will contemplate the world, accepting it. His consolation is the melodious doina, because, in his moment of deepest sadness, man's only consolation is in his tears.However, we do not see an act of weakness in this attitude. This resignation is marked by a certain heroism. He has the courage to go deep into the existential issue, namely death, without fear and without defiance. His sadness comes from the deep comprehension of pain. This is a crucial moment in his inner life, because it raises him to his highest spiritual level. His hunch of destiny fills him with disquietude and penetrates his entire being, but this fear of suffering is transformed into the courage to suffer. The large number of sad Romanian folk poems prove that the folk poet is so well adjusted to his grief, that he finds, if not pleasure, at least his true "climate" in it. If destiny appears as inflexible to him, at least he has the courage to put up with it in serenity, and this is his supreme spiritual conquest. This explains his lack of any and all rebellion or hate, and his extreme tranquility in the face of death. This attitude is marked by a certain elevation of the spirit. Through it, a high moral law is affirmed: the transformation of necessity and of the inevitable into an act of free will. This transformation of the self-preservation instinct into an act of voluntary sacrifice is his superiority.The Romanian folk poetry, with its peaceful but firm tones, expresses one of the paradoxes of man's spiritual life: his love for life, for which the poet often finds pathetic accents, does not exclude at all the free acceptance of suffering and death. In the deep unconscious of the Romanian folk poet a truth of great meaning is revealed: that life and death come from the same source. Actually, owing to his very nature, he tends to achieve perfect harmony out of both. Life only has meaning in terms of harmony, and this is his supreme ideal. But perfect harmony, the ideal balance, is also an annihilation of action – namely death. So, the supreme ideal of his life is only attained at its highest level in death. Even in the pulsation of life he feels the germ of death. All his hunches suggest to him that his life can only reach its supreme attainment in death. Therefore, it is normal not to rebel against what he bears in himself, since the origins. He feels that life and death are indissolubly tied, that existence is nothing else than the progressive accomplishment of destiny. But existence experienced this way is not without its tragic meaning. That meaning comes from the fact that life, by its very essence, implies death. Whence the atmosphere of sadness in the main creations of the Romanian people. This sadness is metaphysical, and its roots go deep. Undoubtedly, the Romanian folk poet is far from questioning the secret reasons of his sadness, rather he feels their consequences as an echo coming from sources far away. He feels he has to sacrifice everything he has learned to love, as if he had to expiate for some sin. This is the accomplishment of destiny. He is happy in this world, among his sheep and the flowers of the fields, with his sweetheart. Feeling that he has to leave them, he feels deep sorrow, but he does not chase that sorrow away at all, because "what is ordained" will be accomplished. The fact that the Romanian poet loves spring so much, despite the hard work that begins in spring, has deeper reasons, we believe, which go beyond practical ones: with the rebirth of nature the folk poet, who identifies with nature completely, is also born again. If nature is his haven and his last hope, how could he not have the strongest feelings of love for spring, when nature springs forth in a new dawn? from Le sens de l'existence dans la poésie populaire roumaine, Paris, Librairie Felix Alcan, 1935 Translated from the French by Monica VOICULESCU
by Liviu Rusu
