Ladies, Dames and Madams in I.L. Caragiale's Writings

Abstract

The literary critics and historians that have reviewed I.L. Caragiale's work have repeatedly suggested that Caragiale's heroes are "types" or "symbolic characters" who were said to originate in various characters specific to the Romanian folk plays, or to the Commedia dell'Arte or even to Molière's plays. Among these heroes, a very significant part is played by the feminine characters whom, in G. Ibraileanu's opinion, Caragiale "paints with no satirical pretensions [...]. His women are serious types such as Zoe, Didina and even Ma'am Efimita". Considering G. Ibraileanu's statement as a starting point, the purpose of this paper is to prove the opposite. Therefore, the examples that regard both the character of Caragiale's heroines and their language, i.e. the way they address one another and the names used by the other characters when talking about them: lady, young lady, dame, madam, etc., support our assumption according to which language serves not only to socially identify the speakers, but also to satirize them. The outcome of all these verbal expressions is language comicality, which is a fundamental stylistic trait of Caragiale's work. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Headnote

Key-words: dame, madam, Caragiale

I.L. Caragiale's female characters colour and stimulate the dramatic structure of the literary texts, playing a very significant role. The opinion according to which the playwright "portrays without satirical intent and sense of exaggeration women [that represent] serious types such as Zoe, Didina and even Ma'am Efimita... Comical being only Zita" (Ibraileanu 1984: 302) seems to us too categorical, given that the author's irony and sarcasm are always present when he speaks of his world's doamne [ladies], dame [dames] or cucoane [madams]. In this paper, we will focus precisely on these issues, especially since in the Romanian critics' writings these characters were not given enough attention1. Among the studies that have contributed over time to the definition of the features of the female characters in I.L. Caragiale's work, one has to mention those belonging to Titu Maiorescu, G. Ibraileanu, Paul Zarifopol, Pompiliu Constantinescu, Serban Constantinescu, Serban Cioculescu, G. Calinescu, Ion Constantinescu, Florin Manolescu, etc.

With some exceptions, almost all Caragiale's female typology analyses stress upon the "capital sins" of the ladies and madams of his plays or prose. These women are frivolous, treacherous, they "cheat" their husbands without feeling guilty (Zoe, Mita Baston, Didina, Veta, "the frivolous young woman" from Luna de miere ['Honeymoon'], Caragiale 1964 II: 313); they lie or fantasize excessively. In what concerns the latter feature, Caragiale suggestively notes that "suburb ladies are always extremely skilful in terms of imagining things" (Gogosi, Caragiale 1962: 200). Single appearances or group portraits, women in I.L. Caragiale's writings identify themselves due to the pathos of chattering or through undisguised coquetry and mundane concerns. The author notices ironically all these elements of femininity: "it was found that the percentages of the dames passing by a mirror who can not withhold to look in it are twelve for a dozen" (Caragiale 1962: 197). The introduction to the ladies' dialogue from Five o 'clock brutally contrasts with the immediate reality; thus, one can not help wondering if the preamble statements were nothing but mere proofs of fine irony: "I enjoy... talking to dames from high society. I find in their conversation much more grace than in the conversation between men. Women know how to say extremely many little things in a way much more interesting than men tell the most serious things ever..." (Five o'clock, Caragiale 1964 I: 168).

The interest for the concerns of his characters is so strong in Caragiale that the author seems to identify himself with the feminine spirit even when describing ladies clothing. It is an exacerbated perception, especially visually, of the world motivated by the author through an anthological phrase: "I feel enormously and see monstrously" (Grand Hotel Victoria Româna, Caragiale 1964 I: 44). Seen "monstrously" thorough is the clothing of Madam Georgescu from Tren de placere, ['Leisure train travel'] as well as the apparel of Madam Tarsita Popescu from Art. 214, Miss Henriette, Bonbon's mistress, etc. Women who pretend having skills of writer are the most ridiculed ones2.

In the portrait of the Abracadabrant lady, there are summarized antinomian characteristics on which the writer defines the woman through generalization, as a "very complex being, exposed as an illiterate child, blazed as an exhausted philosopher, both suburb and aristocratic woman, sometimes primitive, other times highly refined. I am crazy about sensational events... Ah! Slander, gossip, scandals... I have a mistress... Fashion! Should it impose me to wear huckaback in winter and fur during summer... I have no choice but to obey trends" (Începem, Caragiale 1984: 245 sqq.). The image of "Românca" and "moftangioaica" represents a "summum" of Caragiale's ironic attacks against the rube woman (Românca, Caragiale 1984: 124-127).

A fine typological delimitation of the female characters from his writings is done by the writer himself: using skilfully the appellations doamna, domnisoara, dama, cucoana etc., Serban Cioculescu perfectly intuited this: "Iancu... calls Mita «conita mea» - as he would address a madam and when he wants to say that Didina, at night in bed, had refused him, he corrects himself twice, with a prudishness specific to a «gentleman», by periphrasis: «she, pardon my saying, had turned her face to the wall»". If one does not taste this fine language specimen of the high society in a suburb man like Pampon, it means that such a person is not a philologist and does not succeed in enjoying Caragiale's style when the writer wants to emphasize the ambition of suburb inhabitants to upstart in all respects, like the «high» bourgeoisie" (Cioculescu 1984: 396). The terms doamna, dama and madama are the ones mostly used by the writer to name his female characters.

Doamna, both in Caragiale's time and nowadays, is a term extremely polite; when the author uses jointly determinations such as "gratioasa, Încântatoarea, splendida" etc., we can only conclude that for these female characters the author feels a certain sympathy: "gratioasa doamna Guvidi", "gentila doamna Florica", "doamna Cutopolu, cea mai splendida, cea mai infatigabila dintre elegantele bucurestene" (O blana rara, Caragiale 1964 I: 182), "Alheñáis Gregoraschko, tânara doamna, gratioasa doamna, preaamabila doamna" (High-Life, Caragiale 1964 I: 150). Nonetheless, in the Baroque enumeration of compliments, one can discern subtle irony.

The word doamna (Latin dom(i)na)3, is unequivocally full of curtsey in general and certainly in Caragiale's writings. In tandem with the word doamna, as a consequence of the linguistic fashion of the 19th century, appear also the appellative madama and dama (French terms madame, dame), which are partially out of use today. While currently the mentioned words do not have the most elegant connotations meaning loose woman as explicitly expressed in the phrase "dama de companie", in Caragiale's time, madama, dama were synonymous with doamna, being very frequently used by the writer. Starting from the French word madame, Caragiale and his contemporaries adapted to Romanian the appellative which circulated under the form of madam Diaconescu, madam Piscupescu, madam Dascalescu (Lantul slabiciunilor, Caragiale 1964 II); the venerable madam Trahanache, madam Cutopolu (O blana rara, Caragiale 1964 I: 185) etc. in the stormy scenes from Caragiale's plays in which the ladies yell at each other: Mita: "What are you doing here, madama! Didina: But you, madamo, why are you here?" (D-ale carnavalului, Caragiale 1971: 245); both the vocative forms and the dramatic tension of the scene confer the words a suburb like connotation. Besides this, the appellatives madama and dama were compromised in the 20th century and nowadays, currently having only connotations which are not extremely flattering.

In contemporary newspaper articles, the words madama and dama are used just to taunt some female characters in pamphlets and disparaging critiques: "Madama derutata, saraca madama, damele lacking any kind of mystery, o madama and un madam running for electoral college vacancies"4, "Night Club Austria employs dame as dame de companie"5.

The word domnita which in the old Romanian language means "the ruler's daughter or wife is derived from doamna" (NDU, s.v.). It is found rarely in Caragiale's prose fiction, being used for local color purposes: "domnita remained still and started screaming", "Voda's daughter, domnita is whimsical" (Kir lanulea, Caragiale 1962). Today, the appellative domnita is rarely seen in the precious speech of some characters that resemble Iancu from D-ale Carnavalului ['Carnival time']... (see above).

Cucoana (cocoana)6 and the diminutives cuconita and its variant conita are as frequently used as the appellatives doamna, madama, dama. These words of Greek origin have circulated in the Romanian old language in various historical and literary documents. Thus, Caragiale speaks about cocoana Acrivita; coconita (Caragiale 1962: 169) Veta from O noapte furtunoasa ['A Stormy night'] is for Rica Venturiano, either Madam or cocoana: "Madam, cocoana, show mercifulness" (Caragiale 1962: 41). The young man Rica seems to prefer the word madam, as a proof of his French origin instruction. Sometimes the ladies appear in group (Gogosi, Caragiale 1962: 202), "o suma de cucoane" with common interests (politics, loves, fashion). Coana Efimita makes politics (Caragiale 1962: 12, 95), but the most skilful politician is "coana Joitica". She manages to change the election odds according to her own interests. What is interesting is that coana Joitica, is conita for Pristanda, the tormented citizen and Dandanache while for Catavencu, Brâzovenescu and Farfuridi she is madam Trahanache.

The instructed characters (Catavencu is a lawyer, as well as Brânzovenescu and Farfuridi), who are French proficient characters or who are at least familiar with the politeness formulas, prefer the appellative madame, although they use in tune with the crowd's voice the words conita, coana, cuconita, assimilated especially from the colloquial language of the time since they are extremely frequent in the language of different social classes. That is why the policeman, the tormented citizen and the decrepit Dandanache use it preferably.

Therefore, criteria such as the characters' degree of culture, the local atmosphere influence the selection of the appellatives doamna, dama, cucoana, so that words would match patterns, dressing them accordingly, adding additional elements to the female physiognomies portraying.

Domnisoarele and madmoazelele (French terms) also appear in Caragiale's writings "madmoazela chatted or froliced in the back stage Lantul slabiciunilor, (Caragiale 1964 II: 96, 43), "an alleged demoazela of 20 years", domnisoara Nina, a little devil, gentila domnisoara Florica, domnisoara Mari Popescu (Caragiale 1964 II: 247), etc. It is common knowledge that the difference between doamna and domnisoara resides in the social status of the married, respectively unmarried woman. With the same fine irony, the author comments on a letter of a doamna or perhaps of a domnisoara "for we cannot know this for sure, it depends on how she feels" (Art. 214, Caragiale 1964 II: 300) and leaves unsolved the social "discrimination" issue which affects sometimes the female characters in his work. In the following dialog:

Lawyer: Are you the reverend's daughter, domnisoara?

Young woman: I am not a domnisoara, sir.

Lawyer: Dama, then? Dama!

Young woman: Indeed, sir, dama.

Lawyer: So young! How old are you, doamna?7;

it seems unacceptable to be a dama at 18 years old and, probably, domnisoara, at 60 years old. Therefore, the age criterion associated to the status of married or unmarried woman and dama, domnisoara appellatives can lead to embarrassing situations (Teatru la tara, Caragiale 1964 II: 300)8.

Caragiale's irony is found also in the association of the names of misses and madams with surnames with a grotesque, rough sounding: "Dame: Zamfira Zambatu, Sultana Buleandra, Stanca Boaica, Smaranda Poblete and domnisoarele: Nita Sontoroaga, Ancuta Fleasca, Ilinca Zambatu, Sultanica Pârtan" (Caragiale 1964 II: 276, 192 and Lantul slabiciunilor, Caragiale 1964 II: 233, 209). Attributing such great importance to proper names, we cannot believe that the appellatives doamna, dama, cucoana, etc. which, usually precede the names were used by the writer by chance. In order to reflect the local colour or the realism of the dramatic scenes, I.L. Caragiale also uses other appellatives: baba, babuta, sora, signorina, fatuca, fetica, chera, fetita, tata, maica, granmama ("mamitica mamiticii puiului"), mamita, mamitica, puica, fa!, tanti Lucsita9, etc.

Caragiale's preference for words such as madama, dama, madmoazela has also stylistic motivations. The aforementioned appellatives, neologisms of French origin, were used to bring in the 19th century also an air of modernity. Although Caragiale also used older words such as cucoana (Greek) and derivatives cuconita, conita, he avoids the appellatives jupâneasa (with the derivatives jupânita, jupânesica (Creanga 1961: 220) and duduca, duducuta, duduie (from the Turkish dudu10).The author felt that those words were unfit for his characters. The same fine perception of the "right words" is found in Mihai Eminescu. His female character has an image that the appellatives duduca, jupâneasa, conita, dama would deprive it of dignity"11.

In conclusion, in I.L. Caragiale's writings, the protagonists' language has an essential role in defining their character. The appellatives doamna, dama, cucoana are not only meant to socially identify female characters among other characters, but also enhance the stylistic charm of the literary text. In this regard, Titu Maiorescu's observation about the language of Caragiale's characters seems highly relevant:

The types of characters present in Caragiale's comedies must speak as they speak since only in this way they can preserve the illusion of the reality they emerge us to (Maiorescu 1967: 196).

Sidebar

Abstract

The literary critics and historians that have reviewed I.L. Caragiale's work have repeatedly suggested that Caragiale's heroes are "types" or "symbolic characters" who were said to originate in various characters specific to the Romanian folk plays, or to the Commedia dell'Arte or even to Molière's plays. Among these heroes, a very significant part is played by the feminine characters whom, in G. Ibraileanu's opinion, Caragiale "paints with no satirical pretensions [...]. His women are serious types such as Zoe, Didina and even Ma'am Efimita". Considering G. Ibraileanu's statement as a starting point, the purpose of this paper is to prove the opposite. Therefore, the examples that regard both the character of Caragiale's heroines and their language, i.e. the way they address one another and the names used by the other characters when talking about them: lady, young lady, dame, madam, etc., support our assumption according to which language serves not only to socially identify the speakers, but also to satirize them. The outcome of all these verbal expressions is language comicality, which is a fundamental stylistic trait of Caragiale's work.

Footnote

1 "The weight of the feminine element was not passionately enough observed" (Cioculescu 1971: VII, notes). In a recent work published in Cluj, Frustrare si nesat - Personajul feminin in proza si teatrul lui I.L. Caragiale, the author, Ioana Blaga Frunzescu (2011), confessed that she was determined in her essayistic approach by the lack of concern shown by the literary critics in terms of Caragiale's female characters. Ioana Blaga Frunzescu's attempts to define Caragiale's female typology, present taxonomies based on various criteria of the female characters and give annexes of inventory for the feminine characters and feminine names in Caragiale, bring to light, of course, new information in the Romanian literary portraiture in general, and in the construction of the literary portrait of woman in particular.

2 See the portrait of Nastasia or Gratiela, the author of the study "Femeia În istoria si poezia poporana a românilor in prezent, trecut si viitor", from Tal! (Lantul slabiciunilor, in Caragiale 1964 II: 49-50).

3 NDU, s.v., notes that "doamna is a term of politeness used before the name of a married woman". Nonetheless, in the historical Romanian document, inversions were current: Doamna Zmaranda (1813), but also Rucsanda Doamna (1799) according to Ioan Caprosu (2009: 42, 243), Zoita Doamna (1808), but also Doamna Zoita (1808).

4 See Bogdan Cretu, the article Iubesc femeia, in "Ziarul de Iasi", 6 martie 2012, nr. 54, (6273), p.6A; 15 februarie 2012, nr. 37 (6256) p. 6A and the newspaper "Buna ziua Iasi" (an 14, nr. 4149, 9 ianuarie 2012).

5 "Evenimentul", 8 iunie 2012, an XIX, nr. 5813, p. 39.

6 The meaning of this term is according to the already mentioned work Dictionar universal ilustrat, that of daughter of a ruler, woman from the high society, wife of boyar; it stands as a polite word for a woman from the high society.

7 In the article Orasul fara domnisoare (in "Ziarul de Iasi", 13 ianuarie 2011, nr. 9, 6228, p. 8A), there are stated the following things: "in a small locality in France, it was prohibited the use of the appellative domnisoara (mademoiselle) as it was considered to be discriminatory. At that moment, in this small city from Britanny, there were no domnisoare, adolescents, grandmothers and unmarried women over 30 years being named doamna (madame), in the same manner in which men of all ages were called domn (monsieur). This decision questions the use of the word mademoiselle in French. Germans renounced to the equivalent in their language, fraulein in 1972, while in Anglophone countries the use of the appellative Miss is in decline, being preferred the abbreviation Ms, both for domnisoare and doamne. Nonetheless, in France, Spain and Italy, where are being used the appellatives: seniorita and respectively signorina, this differentiation between married and unmarried women is still kept... Waiters can compliment a woman passed of a certain age, calling her domnisoara, while in the same time, the same appellative coming from officials may express condescendence".

8 In terms of "proper names in Caragiale's comedies", one has to mention the article of G. Ibraileanu in which is being stressed that the "name is part of the creation process" in Caragiale. Names in Caragiale's work must characterize social class, old or new of the characters, their ethnic origin, their social role. Names in Caragiale's work illustrate in their own way the history and sociology of Romania in the second half of the last century, being summarizing formulas" (according to Ibraileanu 1968: 292).

9 Used by Caragiale as slujnica, barely is jupâneasa appellative used in the writer's works ("jupâneasa batrâna mi-a deschis poarta", according to Caragiale 1962: 109).

10 NDU, s.v. In D. Bolintineanu, V. Alecsandri, B. Petriceicu Hasdeu et al., duduca appellative is quite frequent. "For the short novel Duduca Mamuca, Hasdeu was dismissed from his position of history teacher, being accused of indecent behaviour" (according to Hasdeu 1970: LXIII).

11 When the poet wants to get the woman offfrom the pedestal, depriving her of the image of Înger, copila, craiasa, doamna, he calls her dama: "Dedicând brosuri la dame ale caror barbati ci spera/ C'ajungând cândva ministri le-a deschide cariera"; "si când dama cocheteaza cu privirile-i galante..." (according to Mihai Eminescu, Scrisoarea II, Scrisoarea V, in Eminescu1964: 142, 161).

References

Bibliography

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