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THE WRITER'S ART - RESILIENCE THROUGH STORYTELLING

Author(s): Cristina-Daniela Lateș / Language(s): English Issue: 40/2025

The condition of the writer is that of an amphibious being, created to live in another world yet compelled to endure in this one. In Petru Cimpoeșu's vision, the writer’s only way to survive the narrow space between the boundaries of these two worlds is through “resilience by storytelling.” Falling in love proves to be the primary condition of writing, the lover’s gaze, in this sense, arising from something much deeper than words. The writer is portrayed as a passionate creator for whom the act of writing is not merely a vocation but a mode of existence rooted in Eros (as per Roland Barthes). The passion for writing is seen as a fundamental condition for literary quality, and the reflection on the creative act highlights the complexity and responsibility of the writer. Through the power of narrative, stories become a means to preserve authenticity and to endow existence with meaning, saving humanity not as a species, but as an essence. Thus, the writer's role remains that of the voice of a people’s conscience and its moral compass, as long as resistance through storytelling continues.

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EMIL CIORAN: THE POWER OF THE WORD – PHILOSOPHY AS A TOOL FOR TRANSFORMATION

Author(s): Alexandra Nadoș / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 40/2025

The study focuses on several psychological aspects, particularly those related to the life of the writer and philosopher Emil Cioran. An intensely paradoxical figure, Cioran takes us on a journey of personal growth, akin to a kind of Sturm und Drang of his visions. Born in a small, forgotten corner of Romania, which he referred to as "Paradise," he would later, in his adult life, come to embrace another country: France, which would become his home until his death. The article will explore his exile, his youth in particular, as well as his desire for redemption in his later years. Cioran is a free and provocative writer, employing a form of irony that can be challenging for inexperienced readers to fully grasp.

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ECOCRITICAL TROPES IN HERMAN MELVILLE’S MOBY DICK OR THE WHALE

Author(s): Andrei Dimitrie Borcan / Language(s): English Issue: 40/2025

Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick or The Whale” has been analysed by us through the ecocritical lens of a number of Greg Garrard’s tropes of „Ecocriticism” (2004, 2023) (“Apocalypse,” “Wilderness,”“Animals,” “the Earth,” “Indigeneity”), together with other ecocritical concepts: “cornucopia, “ecophilia,” “ecocentrism”, “anthropocentrism,” “anthropomorphism”, “zoomorphism,” “speciesism,” “racism,” “reversed racism,”, “ethnocentrism,” Simon Estok’s “ecophobia”, Stacy Alaimo’s “transcorporeality,” Serenella Iovino’s “porosity”, Timothy Morton’s “hyperobjects”, Gregory Bateson’s “homeostasis”, “double bind” and “schismogenesis,” as well as Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s “rhizomes” and Michel Foucault’s “heterotopia.” The plot of this vast novel, as well as the characters’ analysis has been found to contain ecocritical concepts. The same can be stated about the numerous quotations contained in this study. All the themes of the novel can be read ecocritically, e.g. “the limits of knowledge”; “the deceptiveness of fate”; “the exploitation”. All the motifs of the novel, including “whiteness”; “surfaces and depths,” are interpretable through the ecocritical lens. All the symbols in the novel can be interpreted ecocritically, e.g. “the Pequod “; “Moby Dick”; “Queequeg’s coffin”; “foreshadowing”. Thus, Melville appears to have been a possible fore-runner of the ecocritical writers in his outlook of natural, social, political issues.

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BLAISE CENDRARS OR LITERARY REPORTING FROM AN AESTHETIC ANGLE

Author(s): Anuța Batin / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 40/2025

In this work I have tried to highlight the contribution of Blaise Cendrars to the development of French literary reporting. The innovation consists in writing poem-report, but also in a novel-report called "The Gold". The style is that specific to literature, but I also respect some rules related to journalism. We mention that also during this period, journalism experienced a revolution in reporting, through the introduction of photography: writing being doubled by photographic originality. He adopts a sober style, with short phrases but loaded with deep lyricism.

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THE REPEATED LATIN DISCOURSE IN ROMANIAN CULTURE AND THE WORKS OF CONSTANTIN CIOPRAGA: FUNCTIONS, CHARACTERISTICS, AND RELEVANCE

Author(s): Bogdan-Adrian Judeţ / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 40/2025

This paper explores the concept of "repeated Latin discourse," a phenomenon essential to the evolution of language, particularly in Romanian, where Latin has significantly influenced its structure and stylistics. The first chapter defines repeated discourse as the recurrence of linguistic structures (expressions, phrases, or fixed formulas) in different contexts, maintaining a stable semantic core while allowing reinterpretations and adaptations. It emphasizes the importance of repeated Latin discourse in Romanian, both at the lexical and syntactical level. The chapter discusses the key characteristics of this discourse, including its persistence, formal stability, semantic adaptability, and stylistic and argumentative functions. The usage of Latin expressions spans various domains such as law, academia, and literature, contributing to the cultural and linguistic heritage of Romania. Cristinel Munteanu’s contributions are highlighted, particularly his analysis of Latin phrases’ adaptation and their impact on Romanian syntax and style. The second chapter focuses on the role of repeated Latin discourse in Constantin Ciopraga’s work, illustrating how he uses Latin expressions to establish authority, enhance memorability, and foster intertextual connections. His use of Latin phrases reflects a deep-rooted intellectual tradition and strengthens his arguments by providing clarity and legitimacy. Expressions like "Auctoritatis argumentum" and "Non scholae, sed vitae discimus" serve to underscore the educational and cultural importance of literature. The repeated use of Latin phrases also aids in connecting different literary works across time, demonstrating the enduring relevance of classical thought. Cristinel Munteanu's studies on repeated discourse are referenced, highlighting its importance in forming logical structures and maintaining an academic and scholarly style.

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RECLAIMING BLACK AUTHORITY: FROM THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE TO THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT

Author(s): Ștefania Elena Degeratu / Language(s): English Issue: 40/2025

The Harlem Renaissance, an artistic and intellectual movement highlighting the achievements and creativity of African Americans in the 1920s and 1930s, experienced a gradual decline influenced by multiple factors. While no singular event triggered its demise, scholars have identified two primary factors contributing to its rapid decline. The initial factor was a financial crisis, as the Great Depression of the 1930s significantly impacted Harlem’s arts and cultural environment. The second issue involved the migration of numerous African Americans from the region, driven by their desire for improved opportunities and recognition beyond their immediate community. As these factors converged, the influence of the Harlem Renaissance waned and eventually dissipated, leaving a lasting legacy of artistic and cultural achievements that continue to inspire and shape subsequent generations of artists and intellectuals. Therefore, this paper will explore the evolution of Black cultural expression, activism, and resistance to systemic racism in the United States, tracing a remarkable journey from the Harlem Renaissance to the contemporary Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. While these two transformative periods arise from different historical contexts and employ varied advocacy methods, they are intricately connected by a shared purpose: the powerful assertion of Black identity and dignity. Both movements illuminate the ongoing struggle for equality, showcasing the resilience of the Black community in confronting and challenging the profoundly entrenched inequalities that persist throughout American society.

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A MYTHICAL AND FOLKLORIC REPRESENTATION OF FEMININITY IN ION AGÂRBICEANU’S PROSE

Author(s): Laura-Camelia Kovacs / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 40/2025

Ion Agârbiceanu's prose is, for the most part, based on mythic-folkloric representations of some events rendered on the edge of the collision between the real and the fabulous plane, the one in which predominate myths such as that of the bathhouse, of the undead, of the witch, of the flying or falling into hell, of the demon or of various spirits and mythological beings found in Romanian folklore.The present paper captures the main poses of mythical femininity in Agârbiceanu’s prose, poses such as that of the undead woman, a being considered to be evil due to her power of seduction and persuasion, the pose of the volve woman, symbol of the turbulent aquatic feminine, that of the woman-oracle, harbinger of inexplicable events; there are also exponents of the demonic and of degrading adultery, opposed to angelic figures/devoted wives, the pose of the haunted woman, the reproduction of Mary Magdalene, the biblical motif of repentance, the pose of the devil child/wild devil, incarnated evil/"the sole of hell", the Phoenix-woman, and the list goes on.The hermeneutic approach in this paper consists of an ethno-folkloric and, at the same time, a psychological and anthropological interpretation of several female characters consecrated in Ion Agârbiceanu’s prose, from the perspective of analyzing the most relevant myths, signs, symbols and rituals specific to the Transylvanian collectivity at the beginning of the 20th century. At the same time, all these ancestral beliefs will be counterbalanced by the interference of modern elements, thus tracing the impact of the fusion of the two major influences, the old and the new, in shaping the female characters, a phenomenon that will inevitably lead to their desacralization.

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MISOGYNY AND HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE DECADENT STRAIN OF HARLEM RENAISSANCE: AN ANALYSIS OF WALLACE THURMAN’S INFANTS OF THE SPRING

Author(s): Mohammad Roomazi / Language(s): English Issue: 40/2025

This paper examines the intersections of misogyny and homosexuality within the Harlem Renaissance, specifically through Wallace Thurman’s novel Infants of the Spring. The analysis illustrates how Thurman, along with contemporaries like Alain Locke and Langston Hughes, engaged with the intricate socio-cultural landscape of Harlem during the 1920s. By critiquing the patriarchal and heteronormative constructs prevalent during this period, the study explores how these figures perpetuated certain misogynistic attitudes despite their progressive stances on racial and sexual identities. Utilizing Marilyn Frye's theories on male supremacy and homosexual identity, alongside Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s ideas on the epistemology of the closet which reveals the dualities and contradictions within gender and sexual identities, the paper argues that the Harlem Renaissance, while a site of significant cultural production and resistance, also mirrored broader societal contradictions concerning gender and sexuality. Through a close reading of Thurman’s work and the interactions of historical figures at events like the 1924 Civic Club dinner, this study reveals the disparate and contradictory ways in which African American writers and intellectuals both challenged and conformed to oppressive norms.

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INTELLIGENT SATIRE IN THE WORKS OF WRITERS: FRANÇOIS RABELAIS, JONATHAN SWIFT, ANTON PANN, URMUZ

Author(s): Rebeca-Daniela Stănescu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 40/2025

The work highlights the intelligent satire used by the four writers from different literary movements. The emphasis is on defining intelligent satire, which brings as a novelty the fine analysis of elements from folklore: myths, legends, beliefs. The difference between satire, intelligent satire and joke is presented. The paper analyzes the works of the four writers (François Rabelais, Jonathan Swift, Anton Pann, Urmuz) by following the features of intelligent satire. The work highlights the topicality of the writers' works. The work explains the myth of the giants and how they came to be, according to the Bible. The study shows a hypothesis that shows why the earth has 365 days in a year and not 360, appealing to ,,Gulliver's Travels" and the Bible (Book of Joshua). The moralizing teachings in writer Anton Pann's novel are highlighted.The symmetry between Urmuz's Fuchsiade and François Rabelais's novel Gargantua & Pantagruel is highlighted. The paper analyzes Fuchsiada written by Urmuz and emphasizes the causes of dehumanization. Finally, the paper analyzes the works of the four writers, tracing the features of intelligent satire and discovering the truth about the most famous myths, appealing to the Bible.

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"THE SORROWS OF YOUNG WERTHER" AND THE TURMOIL OF THE CONTEMPORARY MAN

Author(s): Gabriela-Cristina Spiridon / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 40/2025

In this paper, we aim to demonstrate Werther's condition in comparison to the one of the contemporary man. Central to this focus on Goethe’s character are his portrayal as a ”Stürmer und Dränger”. First, however, it is important to present both Goethe in the context of the social environment and cultural milieu of his time, as well as The Sorrows of Young Werther in general. Of course, we will also portray the biographical elements present in the novel. Following this, we will introduce the ”Sturm und Drang” movement – a crucial part of this analysis – and highlight its key characteristics. Next, we will delve into deeper questions: Werther in comparison to the contemporary man, Werther’s influence on literature, which has manifested in numerous Wertheriads, and finally, the history of the novel’s reception and the significant Werther effect upon society in comparison to the effect of social media upon today’s society.

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TRANSLATING INTIMACY IN THE WORLD LITERATURE

Author(s): Cristian Dragnea / Language(s): English Issue: 40/2025

This article explores a few strategies of ”translating” (in cultural terms) intimacy and emotions in postcolonial literature, as well as the way that translation shapes perceptions of relationships and identities across cultures. We address the relation between postcolonial and Western writers in the practice of translation, and we proceed to assess its impact on identity reconfiguration. Focusing on local literary and gender studies, we show how intimacy is culturally specific and resists universalization. Case studies, including Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, illustrate how postcolonial narratives preserve cultural authenticity rather than conforming to Western norms.

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DORIAN GRAY AND THE NARCISSISTIC TRAGEDY: A STUDY OF VANITY AND SELF-DESTRUCTION

Author(s): Mihaela C. Sonea / Language(s): English Issue: 40/2025

This current paper is motivated by the attempt to explore the critique of aestheticism in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, focusing on the protagonist’s obsession with beauty and its tragic consequences. Through Dorian's pursuit of external perfection, Wilde critiques the aesthetic movement, which shows beauty as the ultimate ideal while disregarding moral and ethical responsibility. The novel reveals the dangers of this philosophy, highlighting how an obsession with beauty can lead to self-destruction, as exemplified by Dorian’s relationship with his portrait. The portrait serves as a symbol of Dorian's soul, reflecting the degradation of his character while his physical form remains unchanged. Critics, including Josephine M. Guy and Richard Ellmann, emphasize how Wilde uses Dorian's duality to expose the limitations of an ideal that privileges beauty over morality. The essay argues that Wilde’s portrayal of Dorian’s downfall offers a cautionary tale about the dangers of vanity and self-love, echoing the myth of Narcissus. Ultimately, the novel critiques a society that values external appearance over the moral integrity of the self, demonstrating that beauty, divorced from ethical considerations, leads to moral decay and personal ruin. Through this, Wilde presents a modern reinterpretation of the Narcissus myth, warning against the destructive nature of vanity.

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THE ART OF CONSTRUCTING ATYPICAL CHARACTERS

Author(s): Andreea–Maria Țițiu / Language(s): English Issue: 40/2025

Atypical characters challenge conventions, provoke thought and offer fresh perspectives. They portray internal contradictions, doubts or struggles that drive the narrative, and their construction requires careful thought, to ensure they are authentic and integrated within the story. Being exposed to diverse pieces of writing can influence reader’s perceptions of various topics, which can contribute to their personal development and enrich their ability to understand experiences different from their own by allowing them to live vicariously.

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AN INTERWAR DYSTOPIA: ALDOUS HUXLEY’S BRAVE NEW WORLD

Author(s): Andrei Dimitrie Borcan / Language(s): English Issue: 40/2025

Back in 1932, Aldous Huxley wrote a foresighting dystopia that he ironically named Brave New World, using a quotation from Shakespeare (among a profusion of other such quotations used in the book). He created a warning, sardonic and worrying text about the future of our civilization led by technology and engineering even in genetics and family matters. He warned about the disappearance of family, culture and art, religion, love and passion of any kind, of the over-prevalence of sex even in very young children, of the infantilization and reduction of humans to inferior creatures, created and educated by neo-Pavlovian conditioned reflexes and by hypnopaedia to indulge in sexual pleasure and to seek refuge from sufferance in antidepressant euphoria-producing drugs, irrespective of overdosage risks. Life in such a society would be organized in castes delineated by their intellectual limitations, meant to cover the whole range of economy tasks and to produce a people of consumerists. The failure of such a system is symbolized by the tragic suicide of the protagonist, closing the book. Huxley’s clear- sighted warning about the future of mankind in a technologied era has echoes in our time..

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OTHER. ON UNDERSTANDING OF THE RECIPROCAL-DIRECTED EXPECTATIONS WITHIN THE NUMINOUS DYNAMICS

Author(s): Alexandru-Ioan Cânda / Language(s): English Issue: 40/2025

Pursuing the numinous through the effort to make it present and manifest, but also to establish a communication, the mystic finds himself in search of some meaning about this numinous-Other that is to be. This search is not only a travail of crossing, but an encounter with the other in the construction of his own enunciation that tends to develop a language of encounter with this Other – yet still through the construction with which he also participates in communication. Sharing a common meaning, both the mystic and the numinous enunciation become openings of addressing and relationship that will thus impose a new common reality of revealing mutual meanings.

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TERMINOLOGICAL RANGE OF FOLK PLANT NAMES FORMED BY FOLK ETYMOLOGY

Author(s): Andrei-Ionuț Popa / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 40/2025

The purpose of this article is to present in the form of a terminological series the folk etymologies of plants lexicalized in nomenclatural works, a series which proves to be not only rich and varied but also expressive and local.

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FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE PROCESSING - A COGNITIVE AND LINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE

Author(s): Alexandru Cornel Selyem / Language(s): English Issue: 40/2025

Fictive motion, a subtype of figurative language, describes static objects in a way that implies movement. Phrases like “The highway cuts through the valley” create an impression of motion without any physical displacement. This linguistic phenomenon is linked to cognitive and neural mechanisms, including embodied cognition, mental simulation, and neural activation in brain areas such as the left inferior frontal gyrus and posterior superior temporal sulcus. Research indicates that fictive motion engages both linguistic and perceptual-motor systems. Studies utilizing eye-tracking and the visual-world paradigm provide empirical insights into how fictive motion is processed. Participants exhibit longer fixation times and increased saccadic movements when interpreting fictive motion sentences, suggesting mental simulation of movement. These findings support the embodied cognition theory, which argues that language comprehension is grounded in sensory and motor experiences.

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THE LINGUISTIC WORLD PICTURE AS A REFLECTION OF THE NATIONAL ETHOS

Author(s): Corina Iordan / Language(s): English Issue: 40/2025

The concept of the linguistic world picture underscores the significant differences in how communities perceive the world through their languages. E. Coșeriu defines the linguistic world picture as a precise and systematic organization of the content of a language. He emphasizes the dual nature of language as both a tool for constructing and representing reality. The language not only serves as a means of expressing linguistic identity but also provides access to understanding the essence of the reality itself. The linguistic world picture is a critical concept in linguistic and anthropological research, offering insights into how the language reflects and shapes cultural perceptions, values and worldviews. It captures the interplay between vocabulary, grammatical structures and other linguistic features in conveying the cultural and social identity of a community. This dynamic interaction reveals how language mediates and molds human experience. By analyzing the linguistic world picture of a specific language, researchers uncover subtle cultural nuances embedded in linguistic expressions. This approach highlights the interconnectedness of language and culture, showcasing how the linguistic features both reflect and influence cultural practices and values. The concept serves as a vital analytical framework for understanding the role of language in constructing, transmitting and preserving cultural identities.

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THE LANGUAGE OF BOTANY

Author(s): Daniela Suciu (Fodor) / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 40/2025

The distinction between general vocabulary and specialized vocabulary is frequently addressed in contemporary terminology. The purpose of this study is to review the main features of the language of botany, which is characterized by a varied lexicon. We have attempted to highlight the interdisciplinary nature of botanical terminology, especially considering that the designation of concepts is achieved not only through hermetic terms, but also by means of words from the general vocabulary. The conclusion drawn is that the language of botany distinguishes itself, compared to other scientific fields, by the phenomenon of duplicating—even triplicating—the scientific term with botanical lexical elements.

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THE VERB SAY IN THE INCIDENT SENTENCES: CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS FRENCH-ROMANIAN

Author(s): Elena Aurelia Popescu-Motomancea / Language(s): French Issue: 40/2025

This article questions the behavior of the verb say in the incident sentences of Michel Houellebecq's novel, Map and territory. Through a contrastive analysis based on the method of Lucie Gournay (2013), this article aims to identify the occurrences of the verb say, semantic and pragmatic equivalents, as well as non-equivalences in their translation into Romanian. The conclusion is that Romanian keeps as much the structure of the statement in French as the semantic and pragmatic values of this verb, although there are situations where the Romanian translator chooses a verb that highlights the linguistic and narrative specificities of the Romanian language.

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