Swiftian Irony and the Romanian Novel

Abstract

This paper offers a comparative analysis of two Romanian novels – Gulliver în ţara minciunilor [Gulliver in the Country of Lies] by Ion Eremia and Călătorie în Capricia [A Journey to Capricia] by Mircea Opriţă – which constitute excellent samples of the subversive use of Swiftian irony during the Communist and the post-Communist period. The first comparative level focuses on the ironical use of the Gulliver’s travels (as a trope) by the Romanian novelists. The second comparative level points to the practices of derision in Eremia’s and Opriţă’s hypertexts. Swift, like all great writers, belongs not only to his age. His irony is topical even in historical and political contexts very different from the Enlightenment.