In
\n1848, shortly after the revolutions in the Romanian Principalities were
\nstifled, painter C.D. Rosenthal created, during his exile in Paris, a portrait
\nwhich was soon to become a symbol of the year, titled Revolutionary Romania,
\nand it is still recognized as such. The painting became even more famous thanks
\nto the beauty of the lady featured in the portrait, which became the embodiment
\nof revolutionary Romania: Maria Rosetti, the wife of one of the 1848
\nrevolutionaries, politician and journalist Constantin Alexandru Rosetti (in
\nshort C.A. Rosetti). <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A woman civically and politically engaged in society, a
\ndevoted wife who accompanied her husband in exile in Paris, Maria Rosetti was a
\nScott by birth, Mary Grant on her maiden name. He was born on Guersney Island, the
\nsister of Effingham Grant, a member of the British diplomatic corps established
\nin Bucharest. Her marriage to C.A. Rosetti, the assistance provided to the
\ngroup of revolutionaries that her husband was a member of, and particularly her
\ncontribution to the emancipation of women, to the development of journalism and
\nthe modernization of education, have made of Maria Rosetti a real symbol,
\nraising her at the height of the myth created around Rosenthal’s painting. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Historian
\nNicoleta Roman has more on the reality behind the myth:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Rosetti couple
\ngot married in 1847, although they had known each other as early as 1844. She
\nhelped her husband and the other revolutionaries escape Turkish imprisonment. She
\nwas already a mom back then, as their daughter, Sophie Libert\u00e9, was born in the
\nfirst days of the 1848 revolution. The myth was somehow built with help from
\nthe French friends of the Romanian revolutionaries. I am referring especially
\nto historian Jules Michelet who makes her a beautiful portrait in his work
\ntitled ‘The Legends of the North’. It’s worth mentioning that the Rosettis
\nworked very well as a couple. They were real partners, who understood each other
\nreally well, supported each other, not only from the perspective of domestic
\nlife, but also in terms of what they wanted to achieve in society, in the field
\nof journalism and education. They were both publishing journalistic texts, she
\nwas the director of a newspaper, titled Mother and child, but she was also a contributor to her
\nhusbands’ publications, such as The Romanian. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The fact that Rosetti
\nused to support his wife in her activities outside their home and was
\ncooperating with her in his projects proves that he was a person open to new
\nideas. Nicoleta Roman:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
He was open-minded primarily
\nthanks to the education he had received. Whoever reads his diary, as well as
\nhis correspondence with his wife will notice that even before he met Maria, he
\nknew very well what type of partner he wanted. He loved his mother a lot. She
\nwas a very cultivated person and was born into an old boyar family, Obedeanu.
\nHis wife had to have the same traits, able to make a home feel welcoming and to
\ndebate various political ideas with him, about the modernisation of society.
\nAfter meeting Mary Grant whom he actually called Granta in his diary, he wanted
\nher to accompany him to Paris, to attend the College de France classes, that is
\nto be his partner from all points of view. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She
\nremained such a partner even after their return from exile, in 1857. A Liberal
\npolitician, who was briefly nominated at the helm of the Education Ministry and
\nthen mayor of Bucharest, C.A. Rosetti also launched some legislative
\ninitiatives which he debated, from a journalist point of view, with his wife.
\nIn 1865, Maria Rosetti launched the publication titled Mother and Child, the first weekly magazine of its kind in the
\nRomanian area, Maria Rosetti actually being its main editor and consequently a
\npioneer of Romanian women journalism. Her texts about children
\neducation highlighted the role of mothers in educating future involved
\ncitizens, animated by patriotism. From this way of thinking there emerged the
\ntradition according to which education offered by mothers should not go beyond
\nthe domestic sphere. Despite her pro-active attitude, she had to withdraw from
\npublic activity to take care of her 8 children. However, in their case just
\nlike in the case of other educators, the instruction of their own children fell short of the mark. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here is Nicoleta Roman:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
What’s paradoxical is that, although they
\nboth militated for primary education, they were rather unhappy as regards the
\nresults of their own children. They had put great hopes in their first daughter
\nwho had been born at a moment of national rebirth, she had become some sort of
\na symbol. But she did not live up to her parents’ expectations. Only their son
\nVintila managed to take over from his dad the management of the newspaper.
\nMoreover, their kids were spoiled, whimsical and spendthrift, which bothered
\ntheir parents a lot.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
C.A.
\nRosetti died in 1885 at the age of 68, survived by his wife Maria Rosetti who
\ndied 8 years later, aged 74. Today, 2 streets in downtown Bucharest bear the
\nname of Maria Rosetti and C.A. Rosetti.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A brief look into the life of Maria and C.A. Rosetti<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":169040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45210],"tags":[45482,45481],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-169039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rri-encyclopaedia","tag-c-a-rosetti","tag-maria-rosetti"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n