Folia historica 23/2

Peterdi Vera: Egy polgárcsalád élete és otthona a Belvárosban és az arisztokrata negyedben a két háború között

fully treated physical and hygienic conditions; the economical, modem and systematic household, run by the staff; the socially defined customs and daily routine; their high qualifications; their children's education in the best church schools; their knowledge of languages; their thorough but conservative musical and literary education; their tactful, decent behaviour; their discipline; their puritan ideal in life; their immaculate moral character and temperance; the foreign travels; the country wines; i.e. a stable social position at the upper level of the middle class. The Halászfy's proved to be much wealthier, hereby more distinguished than others of the same social stratum, owing to their new, uniform, 'historical modern' furniture; their inherited antique silver, crystal, china and majolica services; the family paintings and the outstandingly valuable textiles; all having been the means of preserving social and historical worth. The high quality clothing of the family may be considered as a characteristic of the era: their adaptation to the appearance of the urban high society, in compliance with the expectations. Zoltán Halászfy's act of selling his own bachelor-flat, however, is remarkable, regarding lie did it in order to spend the whole sum of money on a diamond pendant, he made his wife a wedding present of. This gesture was exceptional, although, in the spirit of the strengthening hierarchical approach to society between the two world wars, stress was laid on elements of the gentry's mentality in this social layer Being a gentleman and a highly educated expert, Zoltán Halászfy's personality was a blend of the gentry's and the urban intellectuals' mentality. His children also inherited this complex character. As a special feature, one finds determined, refined women in the family throughout the generations, who were not only reliable partners of their husbands, but voluntarily took on the traditional woman's role at the same time. The Halászfy parents' distinguished love of children may also be regarded as a special family characteristic, which was manifested in the establishment of a children's room with exacting interior, the employment of a governess, creating a loving atmosphere and the consistent, conscious physical and mental education. A considerable part of the family time was spent with sports activities, primarily skating. The parents transmitted emphasised national feelings to the children, dominated by the ideal of romantic patriotism, which was typical of the period. Their musical and literary taste was guided by the same sentimentalism. Their use of objects, however, was definitely practical, as well as their hygienic and eating customs. To accomplish their healthy nutrition, they could make use of various home-grown raw material from Nagykáta, which levelled up the standard of their consumption. The complete and authentic introduction to the story of the family, which would be worth writing, will require further historical research, a more efficient investigation into the material legacy (objects, photographs) and the promised help of our informant: the writing of a memoir dealing with the post1933 period. Fordította: Sallay Gergely Pál 158