Branislav Nušić | |
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.jpg) Nušić in a 1900 photo taken by his godfather and photographer Milan Jovanović. | |
| Born | Alkibijad Nuša 20 October [O.S. 8 October] 1864 |
| Died | 19 January 1938(1938-01-19) (aged 73) |
| Occupation | Playwright • satirist • essayist • novelist |
| Language | Serbian |
| Nationality | Serbia •Yugoslavia |
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Branislav Nušić (Serbian Cyrillic:Бранислав Нушић,pronounced[brǎnislav̞nûʃit͡ɕ]; 20 October [O.S. 8 October] 1864 – 19 January 1938) was aSerbian playwright, satirist, essayist, novelist and founder ofmodern rhetoric in Serbia. He also worked as a journalist and a civil servant.
Branislav Nušić was bornAlkibijad Nuša (Aromanian:Alchiviadi al Nusha,Greek:Αλκιβιάδης Νούσας,romanized: Alcibiades Nousas)[1] inBelgrade on 20 October [O.S. 8 October] 1864. His father, George Nousias (Thessaloniki, 1822 – Priština, 1916), was aSerbianizedAromanian[2][3] merchant whose family had its roots in the village ofMagarevo in thenOttoman Macedonia, while his mother, Ljubica (Brčko, 1839 – Belgrade, 1904), was aSerb homemaker fromBosnia, then underAustro-Hungarian rule.[4]
Young Alkibijad completed hisprimary education inSmederevo, a port town along theDanube, before returning to Belgrade to complete hissecondary education.[4] In 1882, at the age of 18, he legally changed his name to Branislav Nušić.[5] He subsequently enrolled in the Belgrade Higher School (later theUniversity of Belgrade), graduating with a law degree in 1885.[4] That year, at the age of 21, he was conscripted into theRoyal Serbian Army. Nušić's service coincided with the two-week-longSerbo-Bulgarian War of November 1885, which he witnessed first-hand as a Serbiancorporal in westernBulgaria.[6]
Nušić was quick to criticize the conduct of the Serbian Supreme Command during the war, which ended in a Bulgarian victory.[7] He outlined his objections in the bookPripovetke jednog kaplara iz srpsko–bugarskog rata 1885 (The Stories of a Corporal from the Serbo–Bulgarian War of 1885), which was published in 1886.[8] He went on to spend one year's study at theUniversity of Graz inAustria-Hungary.[4] In 1887, Nušić published a poem titledDva raba ("Two Servants"), which ridiculed the Serbian KingMilan for attending the funeral of an unpopular general's mother rather than that ofMihailo Katanić [sr], an officer who died of wounds sustained while saving his regiment's flag. Nušić was subsequently arrested, convicted oflèse-majesté and sentenced to two year's imprisonment. He served his sentence at a prison inPožarevac but was released after only one year due to good behaviour.[8]
In 1889, shortly after his release from prison, Nušić entered the civil service as an official in Serbia'sMinistry of Foreign Affairs.[8] Several years later, in 1893, he married Darinka Đorđević, the 17-year-old niece of the Serbian consul inBitola,Dimitrije Bodi. The couple had three children, one of whom died in infancy. Between 1889 and 1900, Nušić worked as a clerk at the Serbian consulates to the Ottoman Empire in Bitola,Serres,Thessaloniki,Skopje, andPristina.[9] Despite his earlier anti-war rhetoric, Nušić became an enthusiastic supporter of using military means to force the Ottoman Empire out from the Balkans.[7] In 1900, he received a post at theMinistry of Education. Shortly thereafter, he became the head dramaturgist of theNational Theatre in Belgrade.[4] In 1904, he was appointed head of theSerbian National Theatre inNovi Sad. In 1905, he left his new post and moved to Belgrade to work as a journalist.[9] He also worked as an editor for various magazines and feuilletonist forPolitika, writing under thepseudonym Ben Akiba.[10]
Following Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 1908, Nušić led a series of anti-Habsburg demonstrations in Belgrade. He climbed a balcony at the National Theatre, railed against the "plunder" of Serbian lands by Austria-Hungary, and demanded immediate military action.[11] He subsequently rode his horse into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the consternation of Prime MinisterNikola Pašić.[12] The popularity of Nušić's works, as well as those of fellow dramatistPetar Kočić, increased dramatically following the annexation.[11] In 1912, Nušić returned to Bitola as a civil servant. Macedonia was captured and annexed by Serbia following theFirst Balkan War, and in February 1913, Nušić was appointed prefect of Bitola. He was quickly forced to resign after consistently failing to adhere to the demands of theBlack Hand and the ultra-nationalist guerilla bands that formed the backbone of the Royal Serbian Army's occupation force.[13] Despite this, he remained in Skopje, and helped establish the city's first theatre in 1913.[14] The outbreak ofWorld War I brought further personal tragedies Nušić's way; his son Strahinja was killed on the frontline while serving in the Serbian Army.[15] Nušić lived in Skopje until November 1915, when Austria-Hungary, Germany and Bulgaria successfully invaded and occupied Serbia. He took part in theSerbian army's retreat through Albania between November 1915 and February 1916.[16] He lived in Italy, Switzerland and France until the end of the war.[9]
Nušić returned to Serbia a broken man, devastated by the loss of his only son.[17] He was appointed to be the first head of the Ministry of Education's art department, serving alongside the writersBorisav Stanković andStanislav Vinaver.[18] He also became the first post-war director of the theatre in Skopje.[14] He remained at this post until 1923. Afterwards, he was appointed head of theSarajevo National Theatre.[19] In Sarajevo, Nušić wroteRamazanske noći (Nights of Ramadan) under the pseudonym Halil Delibašić. He returned to Belgrade in 1927. InVienna, he acted in the filmParamount Review in 1930. Nušić became a member of theSerbian Royal Academy in 1933.[20] FollowingThe Bereaved Family's 1935 premiere inSofia, he received a medal from the Bulgarian state. He was also awardedOrder of Saint Sava,Order of the White Eagle andOrder of Prince Danilo I.[21] Nušić died in Belgrade on 19 January 1938.[22]
Nušić is more celebrated as a playwright than as a novelist. His incidental novels and journalisticfeuilletons are not always moralistic or polished, but they are lively and amusing sketches of life. He is more prolific in historical drama and comedy.Nušić's ability to blend humor with a biting critque of society ensures that his plays remain relevant and appreciated. Of his plays, the most popular are comediesThe Cabinet Minister's Wife (Госпођа министарка),A Suspicious Person (Сумњиво лице),A Member of the Parliament (Народни посланик),Bereaved Family (Ожалошћена породица),The Deceased (Покојник), andDoctor (Др).
Through his plays, Nušić presented Serbian society and the mentality of the middle class in small towns and counties. He brought to the stage not only the retailers, canton captains, semi-educated officers, and current and former ministers' wives, but also formerly distinguished and overly ambitious householders, their decadent sons, failed students, distinguished daughters of marriageable age, and greedy upstarts.[23]
All-in-all he depicted the Serbian middle class and its morality, which managed to survive despite all the political and social reforms, newly formed educational system and cultural institutions. He also paid special attention to the social conditions of their origins, as they started out with unrealizable desires and insatiable appetites, the distorted family and marital relationships, misunderstandings and intolerance between fathers and sons, unfaithful husbands and wives, officers’ ignorance and corruption and unreal political ambitions. Nušić thus became not only a playwright, observer and interpreter of his time, but also an analyst of Serbian society and its mentality at a specific historical period.[23]
Some of Nušić's major works (with English translation of titles):
Presidents of theAssociation of Writers of Serbia | ||
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