THE ”BIBESCO PRINCESS” IDENTITY AND THE MODERN INTIMACY

Abstract

In this article, I have argued that the reconsideration of Marta Bibescu's
personality and, above all, her work should be reevaluated and placed within the
zeitgeist of the modernism, involving concepts such as in-betweenness, fluidity, and
intimacy in this reevaluation. The central theme of Marta Bibescu's writings concerns
with the way in which the narrator/author performs his/her identity in a space full
of intimacy in which the Self constantly moves towards others. The writer places
herself in the context of her efforts to negotiate the connection between her
birthplace and her place of residence, to connect the public persona with the core of
the self. In the case studies briefly discussed, the narrator in "Isvor..." and the voice
of the biographer in "The Destiny of Lord Thomson of Cardington..." move towards
the deep self, whose profile emerges either from Romanian origins (Romania, the land  of willows) or from the perfect connection with the loved one (Christopher Birdwood,
Lord Thomson of Cardington). By means of a programmatic development of the
European supra-identity and her positioning as an active defender of the Romanian
emancipation and national identity, Marta Bibescu belongs to the category of writers
who embrace modernist identity. Her work is largely based on the personal
direction imposed by her family and the social status in order to build an identity
between the two cultures - Romanian and French. We consider the specificity of her
literary style, her favorite themes, her negotiation with the literature of the time, her
characters, her stylistic devices etc. We have shown that, although the dialogue
between Romanian and French culture was already well established during Marta
Bibescu's lifetime, her contribution to this continuum has not been included yet in
the Romanian canon. We believe that this writer's work needs to be repositioned
within the national literary canon, considering her, along with other writers in exile,
as an active mediator between the national literatures of Europe (after all, the
"nymph of Europe" is a political trope of solidarity) as well as a perfect example of
transnational European culture. Her writings may serve as a reflection of that
invisible, intimate bridge, not only between cultures, but also between historical and
political processes, designed to generate a biunivocal influence, beyond apparent
inadequacies