Re: Matca Marin Sorescu Pdf 12
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Matca - Marin Sorescu: A Symbolic Play about the Human Condition
Matca (The Matrix) is a play written by the Romanian poet and playwright Marin Sorescu (1936-1996), published in 1973. It is the third part of a trilogy that also includes Iona (1968) and Paracliserul (The Paraclete, 1970), which explore the existential themes of alienation, absurdity, faith, and death. Matca is considered one of Sorescu's most complex and profound works, as it combines elements of myth, folklore, history, and philosophy in a symbolic representation of the human condition.
The play is divided into 12 scenes, each corresponding to a month of the year. The main character is Moşul (The Old Man), a peasant who lives in a remote village with his wife Baba (The Old Woman) and his son Ion. Moşul is obsessed with building a house that would last forever, as a way of defying death and leaving a legacy for his descendants. He spends his days cutting down trees, digging stones, and making bricks, while neglecting his family and his land. He also has a strange habit of talking to himself, as if he were addressing an invisible interlocutor or a higher power.
The play follows Moşul's gradual descent into madness, as he becomes more and more isolated from his surroundings and from reality. He encounters various characters who represent different aspects of his psyche, such as the Priest, the Doctor, the Teacher, the Soldier, the Poet, the Philosopher, and the Devil. He also meets historical figures who have influenced Romanian culture and history, such as Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave), Constantin Brâncoveanu (a martyred prince), Ion Creangă (a folklorist and writer), Mihai Eminescu (a national poet), and Nicolae Iorga (a historian and politician). These characters challenge Moşul's worldview and question his motives, but he refuses to listen to them or to change his course.
The play culminates in a tragic irony, as Moşul finally finishes his house, but realizes that he has no one to share it with. His wife has died of old age, his son has left him for the city, and his village has been destroyed by war. He also discovers that his house is built on a fault line, and that an earthquake will soon demolish it. He then decides to enter his house and wait for death, while singing a folk song that expresses his resignation and acceptance of fate.
Matca is a play that explores the themes of identity, memory, tradition, modernity, progress, and decay. It reflects Sorescu's vision of the human condition as a paradoxical struggle between the desire for immortality and the inevitability of mortality. It also criticizes the social and political realities of Romania under communism, as well as the cultural and spiritual crisis of the modern world. Matca is a play that challenges the audience to reflect on their own values and choices, and to question their place in history and in the universe.
If you are interested in reading Matca by Marin Sorescu, you can find a PDF version of the play online [here] or [here]. You can also read more about Sorescu's life and works [here].
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