Fél évszázad „szerelmi dolgai” (Egy altiszti altest önképe és statisztikája)
‘Love Matters’ Through Half a Century. The Self-representation and Statistics of a Non-commissioned Officer’s Abdominal

Summary/Abstract: János József Lowetinszky kept his diary through more than half a century (1882–1935). The notes were compiled very systematically, with the precision of a statistician, and remained in 40 bulky volumes; the author worked as a junior clerk and clerk in most of his life and his diary gives us a remarkably valuable social-historical document of the era that is abounding in data, even if historiography has not discovered it yet. We can observe (through the perspective of Lowetinszky) not only the person but also his surroundings and the age in such minute detail that is unparalleled to other (and other types of) sources. In this study I examine the relations and sexuality of the diarist, together with the narration referring to these; a man who in his relationships demanded much more faith from his partners than from himself, someone who had been a kept man several times in his life. While analysing the text we can see an uncommon life and an uncommon ‘performance’ uncover before our eyes in its entirety, because Lowetinszky, who had sexual relationships with more than 200 women in his life, recorded not only all of his ‘conquests’ and ‘liaisons’ but each and every ejaculation as well (including the solitary ones) – both among the events of the day and in the statistical summaries. According to the conclusion of the study. the diary did not only serve the purpose of archiving and erecting a memorial, but it also constituted an important part of the author’s ‘machismo’, it was its active tool and was perceived as such by the people around him.

• Details
• Contents