Mărgărita Miller-Verghy (; first name also Margareta, surname also Miller-Verghi, Miller-Vergy; full name also Marg. M-V.; January 1, 1865 – December 31, 1953) was a Romanian socialite and author, also known as a schoolteacher, journalist, critic and translator. A cultural animator, she hosted a literary club of Germanophile tendencies during the early part of World War I, and was later involved with Adela Xenopol in setting up feminist cultural venues. Her main contributions to Romanian literature include translations from English literature, a history of feminine writing in the national context, a novella series and an influential work of detective fiction. Many of her other works have been described as mediocre and didactic.
Although an accident left her completely blind, Miller-Verghy remained active as both a writer and feminist during the 1920s and '30s. She helped in setting up charity networks, founded some of Romania's first women's associations, and was a pioneer of Romanian Scouting. Around 1940, she was also known for her work in radio drama.
As a socialite, Miller-Verghy was noted for her close relationships with prominent cultural figures of her lifetime. Among them were the acclaimed writers Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, Mateiu Caragiale and Lucia Demetrius, as well as musician Cella Delavrancea.
Biography
Early life Born in the city of Iași, Mărgărita Miller-Verghy was of partial Polish-Romanian descent. Marian Petcu, "Jurnaliste și publiciste uitate" , in the University of Bucharest Faculty of Journalism Revista Română de Jurnalism și Comunicare , Nr. 2–3/2006 Her mother, Elena Verghy, belonged to the boyar aristocracy of Moldavia region;Cojuhari, p.46 her father, Elena's second husband, was a descendant of the Counts Milewski, but used the name Gheorghe Miller. In addition to his teaching career, Gheorghe was politically active, holding a seat in the Senate of Romania.Cojuhari, p.46–47 The family was related to that of authors Ionel and Păstorel Teodoreanu,Cojuhari, p.46, 62 and Mărgărita was also akin to members of the aristocratic Ghica family, being an aunt of socialite Grigore "Grigri" Ghica.Ion Vianu, Investigații mateine, Biblioteca Apostrof & Polirom, Cluj-Napoca & Iași, 2008, p.12, 62–63, 94. ;
Gheorghe Miller died suddenly in 1869. His widow took the daughters to Switzerland, where young Mărgărita, wrongly diagnosed with Pott disease, was supposed to receive specialized treatment.Cojuhari, p.47 They spent some eight years abroad, during which time Mărgărita, a gifted but sickly child, acquired a standard classical culture and learned to speak six languages.
The family settled in Bucharest in the 1870s, having by then spent most of their Miller inheritance. Mărgărita enlisted at the in Bucharest. Elena Verghy ran a girls' school, noted for being the first one in Romania to hold Baccalaureate examinations for women (1874), and for employing as teachers some of Romania's literary celebrities. Mărgărita attended her mother's institution, but took her Baccalaureate at Elena Doamna High School, in 1877.
Around that time, Mărgărita's older sister, also named Elena, married Justice Alexandru Lupașcu. The three Miller-Verghys had effectively adopted Ștefănescu Delavrancea, a debutant writer of lowly origins, who later became a hero of the Romanian neoromantic circles.George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române de la origini pînă în prezent, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1986, p.567 The adolescent Miller-Verghy was especially close to Ștefănescu Delavrancea, with whom she corresponded. Cătălin D. Constantin, " 'Să se știe că în Anul 1883 au fost lipsă iarna' ", in Observator Cultural, Nr. 308, February 2006 He courted her for a while, but ultimately proposed to Mary, the daughter of Alexandru and Elena Lupașcu; they were married in February 1887.
All three women frequented the high end of literary societies, keeping company with V. A. Urechia, August Treboniu Laurian and, allegedly, Edmond de Goncourt.Cojuhari, p.47–48 In the 1880s Mărgărita was also acquainted with Mihai Eminescu, later recognized as Romania's national poet.Nastasă, p.117 She began her own writing career in 1883, when one of her novellas was published by Națiunea daily, under the signature Marmill.Cojuhari, p.49 In 1892, she tried her hand at translating into French some of Eminescu's works, as possibly the first-ever person to have published such poetry translations.Bernard Camboulives, La Roumanie littéraire, Éditions Le Manuscrit, Paris, 2005, p.93. There resulted a volume in her translation, Quelques poésies de Michaïl Eminesco ("Some of Mihai Eminescu's Poems"). Its first draft was published in Geneva in 1901.Angheluță et al., p.346; Cojuhari, p.49 Prefaced by poet Alexandru Vlahuță, it was rated a "remarkable" contribution by the staff of Familia magazine. "Salon. Literatură", in Familia, Nr. 39/1901, p.465 (digitized by the Babeș-Bolyai University Transsylvanica Online Library)
University student and teacher at Elena Doamna
Miller-Verghy went on to study at the University of Geneva, where she graduated in Letters and took a Doctorate in Philosophy (1894–1895).Cojuhari, p.48 "Miller-Verghy, Mărgărita", biographical note in Cronologia della letteratura rumena moderna (1780–1914) database, at the University of Florence's Department of Neo-Latin Languages and Literatures; retrieved April 30, 2009 Upon her second return from Switzerland, Miller-Verghy became a teacher at girls' schools in Bucharest, and was headmistress of Elena Doamna. In 1900, she published her own French teaching aid, pentru usul claselor superióre de liceie și externate ("to be used by high schools and extern schools"), followed in 1903 by a French translation from Vlahuță's Picturesque Romania.Angheluță et al., p.346; Cojuhari, p.49–50 As Ariel, she held a permanent column in the Bucharest newspaper La Patrie, while contributing articles to the literary review Sămănătorul, for which she used the signature Dionis ("Dionysus").Cojuhari, p.52 Additionally, Miller-Verghy became a vice president of the Maison d'Art club, a philanthropic society headed by Princess Elisabeth of Romania.Cojuhari, p.57
Having helped organize the vocational education department at Elena Doamna, and exhibit its work at the Romanian Atheneum (1907), she published a brochure on the subject of arts and crafts (1908).Cojuhari, p.52, 64 Exploring this interest, she patented her own girls' teaching aid, a loom she named Statu-Palmă.Cojuhari, p.61
Miller-Verghy still took interest in Eminescu translations, working with Adela Xenopol on a play that incorporated Eminescu's verse (1909). This was followed by a translation of William Shakespeare's King Lear, used by the National Theatre Bucharest. Gheorghe Bogdan-Duică, "Cronica teatrală", in Luceafărul, Nr. 23/1910, p.564 (digitized by the Babeș-Bolyai University Transsylvanica Online Library) The National Theater also contracted her to translate Macbeth and As You Like It, then Robert Browning's Blot in the 'Scutcheon.
As an art critic and student of traditional technologies, Miller-Verghy researched the origin of weaving patterns and symbols, making educated assumptions about their pre-Christian origins. She discussed the swastika as both a positive and a negative symbol, and speculated that the Romanians' Thracian ancestors had created the Trojan and Etruscan civilizations.Cojuhari, p.65 Such work resulted in the albums Izvoade strămoșești ("Ancient Sources") and Motifs anciens de décorations roumaines ("Ancient Romanian Patterns and Decorations"), both in 1911.Cojuhari, p.52, 64–65 That same year, she represented Romania at the first World Congress in Pedology.
Miller-Verghy also contributed a series of short prose works, which she signed with the names Marg. M-V., Mama Lola and Ion Pravilă.Cojuhari, p.49; Golopenția, p.839 They comprised memoirs and contributions to children's literature, noted for both their refinement and sentimentality. She was inspired by, and incorporated text from, G. Bruno.Angheluță et al., p.345 Literary critic Bianca Burța-Cernat refers to the style of such books as "romanticized-moralizing prose for all-girl schools." Bianca Burța-Cernat, "Știați că..." , in Revista 22, Nr. 969, October 2008 Others have included her as among the first female representatives of modern literature in Romania. Her contemporaries gave her children's work a good reception: in 1912, her book for adolescents, Copiii lui Răzvan ("Răzvan's Children"), was awarded the Romanian Academy Alina Știrbey Prize.Angheluță et al., p.345; Cojuhari, p.52
Throughout her life, Miller-Verghy contributed to diverse newspapers and magazines, especially Viața Românească, Dreptatea, Flacăra and the French-language La Roumanie.Cojuhari, p.52; Golopenția, p.840 She also had a strong social profile, as a member of leadership committees for several associations, and authored more textbooks. In 1912, Flacăras almanac featured her translation from Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Simona Vasilache, "Contribuții" , in România Literară, Nr. 27/2008 With Izabela Sadoveanu-Evan, Bucura Dumbravă and other women writers, Miller-Verghy was also a founding member of the Româncele Cercetașe Association, an early branch of Romanian Scouting (created in 1915, ancestor of Asociația Ghidelor și Ghizilor din România).Nastasă, p.234
World War I and after
By 1914, Miller-Verghy had become the official translator for Romania's English-speaking Crown Princess (from 1916, Queen-consort) Marie of Edinburgh. This literary duo debuted with the tale Visătorul de vise ("Dreamer of Dreams"), edited by Flacăra, followed by Ilderim, Poveste în umbră și lumină ("Ilderim: A Tale of Light and Shade").Angheluță et al., p.213, 346; Cojuhari, p.52 A year later, Miller-Verghy also contributed the Romanian version of Marie's story "Four Seasons from a Man's Life" (Patru anotimpuri din viața unui om), in an edition illustrated by painter Nicolae Grant. Simona Vasilache, "Poveste pentru Cella" , in România Literară, Nr. 32/2006 Queen Marie took an interest in Miller-Verghy's other work, and was enthusiastic about her rendition of Rabindranath Tagore's Gardener. She also published, in 1915, the Romanian version to Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese.Angheluță et al., p.346
In 1914–1916, the period between the outbreak of World War I and the Romanian Kingdom's affiliation to the Entente Powers, Miller-Verghy was the animator of a Bucharest-located cultural circle noted for its Germanophilia and support for the Central Powers. Paul Cernat, "De la Barbu Cioculescu citire", in Observator Cultural, Nr. 319, May 2006 This club was notably attended by pianist Cella Delavrancea (Barbu Delevrancea's daughter) and by the poet Mateiu Caragiale. It was here that Caragiale met Marica Sion, whom he would marry in 1932. Miller-Verghy extended her patronage on the impoverished Caragiale, and, according to Grigri Ghica, helped him store his belongings in a stable she owned. Ghica also reported his aunt's astonishment upon discovering that Mateiu Caragiale was using the building to house his destitute mother. According to one critic's interpretation, Miller-Verghy inspired the character Arethy in Caragiale's prose work Sub pecetea tainei ("Under the Seal of Secrecy", 1930).Ion Vartic, "Sâmburele de cireașă al celui din urmă senior", in Mateiu I. Caragiale, Sub pecetea tainei, Editura Echinox, Cluj-Napoca, 1994, p.122.