Dissonance
is an avenue to creative expression for change, indicated in Imre Madách's
play...
In his 1860 play, "The Tragedy of Man," Imre Madách uses iconic
realism to illustrate cultural awareness of the value in humanity's
ability to understand the simple gifts of our Lord. He questions societal
expectations by moving his audience through a journey of social
outcry against pettiness in his depictions of Adam, Eve and Lucifer,
entangled in episodic adventures that transcend historical boundaries.
They travel to ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, the middle ages and
London, Madách’s radical, textual dissent against the provincial
establishment reveals his personal truth by eliminating story line
constrictions of time and space. He deliberately places Adam and Eve
in these unusual settings for this couple to illustrate that the
journey of self worth and independence and includes the worthiness of
nation, beginning with the attainment of self-knowledge.
He presents Eve as the mother of humanity, with the conviction that her
children will move humanity forward in their quest for true knowledge.
Similarly, Madách holds onto the hope that his Hungary would develop
autonomy and maintain its unique culture and language.
In his 1918
book, The Resurrection of Hungary, Arthur Griffith writes,
“Ireland’s heroic and long-enduring resistances to the destruction of her
independent nationality were themes the writers of Young Hungary dwelt
upon to enkindle and make resolute the Magyar people” (xxiv). Griffith’s
association of Ireland and Hungary illustrates that artists living
within the contrived constraints of both of these countries use the power
of a dissonant pen to motivate.
