Absztrakt

This study analyzes the manifestations of fatherly love and the caregiving attitude of a pater familias in the correspondence of Ignac Szendrey from the 1850s and 1860s. This steward of the estates of wealthy rich aristocrats, who was regarded as an outstanding expert in economics, is known today as the father-inlaw of Hungary’s famous nineteenth-century poet, Sandor Petőfi. He is known in part because he sought to hinder the marriage, so the image of Ignac Szendrey established in Hungarian historical memory is that of a grim and unforgiving father. The hitherto unpublished sources used in this study which survived in the manuscript legacy do not support this image, but rather suggest that Ignac Szendrey aimed to support his two daughters both financially and emotionally. He fulfilled the expectations placed on fathers at the time with regards to their daughters and also became involved in the tasks and challenges involved in the creation of a home. His letters to Maria Szendrey, his younger daughter, allow us to analyze his conduct as a father, the values he sought to transmit, the character of the parent-child relationship he aimed to create, and the advice and support he gave his daughters in the various stages of their lives. Thus, we do see him in his roles as a father, grandfather, head of family, and considerate and magnanimous patron of his sons-in-law, Arpad Horvath and Pal Gyulai, both of whom had careers as scholars.