The Technologizing of the Word and the Realms of Memory: Károly Eötvös' A Journey around Lake Balaton from the Perspective of Medium Theory and Print Capitalism

The influential Hungarian non-fiction writer, liberal politician and lawyer Károly Eötvös (1842–1916) chose a peculiar position as an author. He deliberately addressed future generations as his audience. In his major, widely read work, A Journey around Lake Balaton (Vol 1-2: 1900; Vol 3: 1909), he collected the oral traditions (true stories, legends, family histories) around the lake and sent them to the future as messages in a bottle. His work may be considered an early form of literary journalism and ethnography. The book may also be interpreted as an encyclopedia of patriotism that features positive patriotic examples and preserves them as cultural heritage. As a liberal patriot, Eötvös wanted to contribute to the development of a modern, democratic Hungarian national identity that would to integrate national minorities within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His Balaton book invites three interpretive frameworks: Ong's medium theory contrasting oral and written cultures, Benedict Anderson's analysis of the co-emergence of nationalism and publication by mass printing, and French historian Pierre Nora’s notion of the realms of memory.

Keywords: cultural memory, genius loci, liberalism, lieu de mémoire (site of memory), oral culture, print capitalism, national identity, patriotism, written culture, cultural heritage