A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve 2015., Új folyam 2. (Szeged, 2015)

A SOKOLDALÚ MÓRA... EMLÉKÜLÉS MÓRA FERENC TISZTELETÉRE - Csizmadia Edit: A feminista Móra. Móra Ferenc és a feministák kapcsolata sajtócikkek tükrében (1908-1928)

Edit Csizmadia

The Feminist Ferenc Móra

The Feminist Ferenc Móra Ferenc Mora's Relation to the Feminist Movement in the Light of Newspaper Columns (1908-1928)

Edit Csizmadia

A less known and so far undiscovered part of Ferenc Mora's life and work is his relation to the feminist ideology and to its local representatives, the Association of Feminists of Szeged. This relationship was, as a matter of course, rather complex. In Mora’s columns published in local daily papers, not only his personal and subjective opinion but also the intensifying social and political changes of the era may be traced. Family ties began to loose and the process of emancipation started. Parallel to this, the idea of the "modern woman" was born: a woman who was fighting for the equality of rights and suffrage. The Association of Feminists of Szeged was founded on 11 January 1914, ten years after the formulation of the national association. Feminists in Szeged played a leading role in the social life of the city. By organizing several social actions, they were considered pioneers of civil initiatives.

Present paper aims to highlight the core points of Mora's shift in approach towards feminism, from complete rejection to commitment. In this process, Ferenc Mora's column addressed to his 11-year-old daughter, Panka, meant a turning

point. The column was published in the local periodical, Szegedi Napló, on 11 January 1914: on the day when the Association of Feminists of Szeged was founded. In this personal piece of writing, entitled Feminism, Móra summarized his views on feminism, outlining the challenges and conflicts of becoming an adult woman in a plastic and dramatic tone.

Ferenc Móra held a lecture at the assembly of the Feminist Association of Szeged for the first time in the autumn of 1915, in the general meeting room of the Town Hall. After this occasion, he maintained a close relation with the association; he devoted several columns to the topic of feminism, to the equality and suffrage of women. The particular historic context, i.e. the breaking of the World War in the summer of 1914 also contributed to the change in Mora’s attitude towards feminism. The war years changed the focus of values in the society, by showing the failure of the world led by men, at the same time giving way to the spread of feminist ideas. The wish for peace shared by the women in the hinterland was in align with Ferenc Mora's social sensitivity and pacifist attitude.

304