Letters of love and loss in a time of revolution

Abstract

While significant attention has been paid to migrant letters, usually as part of a correspondence over time, the single letter has received little attention as it has been suggested that it cannot reveal a depth of psychological insight. However, at times of crisis such as the upheaval of revolution, a single letter may provide insight into the confluence of revolution and family life. Three letters written by different members of one family present firstly, the chaos of family where the whereabouts of family members remain unknown and use coded references to family and friends as the ending of the 1956 revolution created an exodus from Hungary. The letters, written by family remaining in Hungary to a refugee mother and her young daughter, address loneliness and loss across the generations and provide evidence of the irrevocable loss of family ties and friends at the time, as an amnesty for those who left only came into effect in 1963. The letters present linguistic issues in relation to translation, ethics and the position of researcher/recipient with reference to the analysis of the letters which presents personal knowledge of their writers in the form of biographical information.

Keywords::

• 1956 Hungarian revolution
• letters
• migration
• refugee
• translation