Kalla Zsuzsa: Beszélő tárgyak. A Petőfi család relikviái (Budapest, 2006)
Rita Ratzky: Sándor Petőfi, his tastes and style
furnished and equipped. The house itself changed little over the years; its size and the extent to which it was equipped reveal a love of work of someone who had recovered from bankruptcy more than once. All in all, it must have provided a harmonious backdrop to Petőfi’s wandering years, and his mother did all she could to ensure her family had a comfortable life. Petőfi’s childhood and the material world of the parental home left deep traces in his poetry, and not only in those works which are about folklore; the signs are also there in his similes and turns of phrase. During his years as a soldier and strolling player, the material environment in which he lived was constantly changing: the clothes he wore changed according to his financial situation and, with the exception of a chest and a few pipes, no objects from this period have survived. There was a constant, however: his desire for a family home. At the end of June 1844 Petőfi made Pest his permanent home. Thanks to his earlier acquaintances from Pozsony and Pest he was accepted into the literary circles of the capital, where he spent his time in salons and coffee houses, places frequented by the lower middle-class and art intellectuals. One of the most important places was the salon of Sándor Vachott, which Petőfi visited regularly from the autumn of 1844. The memoirs of Vachott’s wife provide a great deal of information about events both great and small in the everyday life of this circle, from arranging the formalities of social life, name-day parties and balls to home theatre performances and Christmas celebrations. This was probably the first time Petőfi had seen at close quarters the everyday lives of an intellectual lady at home and a master who kept open house. The interests of a lower middle-class lady remained within the home. Her job was to equip the home, decorate the family’s belongings, and introduce reading, music, and fine and applied arts, practising them in the security of her own home with a suitable degree of moderation. City men spent their days in various offices and official establishments. In the evenings they liked to refresh themselves in the company of their educated, well-read women, who were far removed from the trials and tribulations of earning a living, and who provided their husbands and guests with an ideal environment centred around the joys and pleasures of life. The Vachott family’s salon provided much for Petőfi to delight in: the intimate world, the warm, friendly atmosphere, the company of visitors including the Erdélyi, Vörösmarty and Kossuth families. Here Petőfi met and became very fond of Mrs Vachott’s sister, Etelka Csapó and, had her untimely death not interceded, may well have married her, thus securing a permanent place for himself in these circles as her husband. After Etelka’s death he lived with the Vachott family for two months, and was able to see them in their everyday lives. He was given Etelka’s room where, undisturbed and surrounded by her memory, he could safeguard the painful experience which was to inspire an entire cycle of poems. Petőfi was probably influenced by this ideal of womanhood when he thought about settling down. The women he chose, although not aristocrats, were nevertheless ladies. The fathers of both Berta Mednyánszky and Júlia Szendrey managed the estates of wealthy landowners, and lived in the manor houses. Petőfi’s friends tried to warn him - he was, after all, a young man of low extraction - but in vain. Fully conscious of his talent, he believed that he belonged among these people. His young wife, Júlia Szendrey, was at home in the world of salons: she embroidered trinkets decorated with pearls for her husband, such as tobacco pouches, pen cases, wallets and night-caps. Probably as a result of her upbringing, the otherwise emancipated Júlia was quite happy doing these things. She may have shared qualities with other women of the time hut she also looked beyond the home. She wanted to be a partner to her husband in both literature and the revolution, and during the War of Independence she chose to follow her husband all the way to Torda, from where Petőfi went in search of Bern’s army, rather than to remain in the safety of her father’s house. A picture of the home Petőfi and his wife created can be formed from objects which have survived, recollections, the inventory of property seized in 1849 and auction records from 1850. Petőfi made great preparations for his first home. He asked his friend Gábor Egressy to rent a flat for them while they were away on honeymoon. A letter Egressy wrote shows that he carried out Petőfi’s request conscientiously, and also just how particular Petőfi was: A place has been rented for you, but I’m not happy with my choice, because although the flat is beautiful, it is very expensive. It is close to us, in Dohány utca, first floor, Kozmovszky the Marcibányi prefect lives there at the moment. It has three rooms which look onto the street, alcove, vestibule, farm-kitchen etc. for 650 forints, 213
