Radoje Domanović (RAH-do-yeh Do-MAHN-o-veetch) (1873 - 1908) was a Serbian writer and teacher, most famous for his satirical short stories. He died of tuberculosis. This illness, along with the affection he inspired in all who knew him, surrounded his work with a romantic, sentimental aura.
During his short literary career he developed the great powers of the satirical novel, although some of his stories are distorted by pessimism. Below are two examples:
The Suffering, an allegory in which he castigated the ruthlessness of the authority and submissiveness of its subjects.
The Leader, a story about incompetent leadership: people who chose a person they'd never seen before to lead them to a better place. After suffering through a long trip, they realize that their leader is blind.
6 comments:
That poor statue has hair growing out of it! ;-)
It's a sad fact that the world lost a number of people who made real contributions due to TB. Today, it isn't a problem for most people.
I remember when we first got a vaccine for polio...we rushed to get our kids the shots with great relief...that was in the early 60s.
Oh yes, he died in 1908 at the age of 35. I believe he was the first satirical writer in Serbia.
Did you know that TBC is called in medicine a romantic disease, since so many great novels and books have characters that suffered from tuberculosis.
Interesting post Bibi, I hadn't heard of Domanovic before, but will now find out much more about him. Fascinating to learn that tuberculosis was known as the romantic disease.
Love the statue with the hair growing out of it! He looks a bit haunted...perfect for a literary persona...
In the foothills just NE of Glendale is Tujunga...well known in the early 1900's as an area for people suffering from TB to go to and recuperate. My grandfather had TB at some point in the early 1900's and fortunately recovered...he was an artist...and an immigrant...quite a romantic history!!!
Today he'd probably live to a ripe old age (like my great-aunt, who had TB as a young woman and lived well into her 90s). So do we have a
"romantic" disease these days?
I think he's got some spider webby stuff on his face .. still his eyes are hauntingly intense
Post a Comment