Kabdebo, Thomas: Attila József. Can you take on this awesome life? (Budapest, 1997)
5. Socialism of a personal kind
Márta's József Attila was finished in 1942 but only appeared in 1975,18 shortly before the author's death. Although naturally subjective, and gilded with remorse and love, it is nonetheless sufficiently objective and perceptive to be among the handful of informative and well rounded primary material for Attila's life. Apart from the fascinating details of their life and the struggle of their love, Márta gave as good a psychological portrait of Attila as any, and an unforgettable physical description of him, aged twenty-three: 'His huge palm jutted out at the end of his thin arm in a sharp angle... the energy in the movements he was able to exercise with his hand! - it was amazing. .. There was nothing forceful nor eager in his movements. They were the summary of an intense, an experimental reach for the world.'19 My summary of their relationship, and Attila's documented concern, closely follow Márta's reporting. The love between Márta and Attila developed and intensified rapidly. They had both been unattached, intellectually eager, emotionally keyed up, and strongly attracted to one another. Attila wanted, as soon as he could, a physical relationship, but Márta, who was a virgin, would not let him come nearer than passionate kisses and cuddles. Attila was introduced to Márta's circle of friends and welcomed by Márta's family for many a supper, Sunday lunch, tea, or to gatherings of writers and artists who all used the Vágó home as an anchor with great ease and frequency. Márta, who was studying Social Sciences, was a great friend of the Kecskeméti Brothers. They*became Attila's friends and sparring partners in friendly debates about the present state and the future development of society. Márta, over-impressed by scholarly achievement, chose Karl Mannheim - a friend of Georg Lukács, and a friend of the Vágó family - as her 'guru', and in as much as she tried to influence Attila's mental development (a womanly instinct only a few can resist) she wished Attila to read heavy tomes in the original, not in translation, and cherished the hope that he would finish his university studies and progress further on the academic route or get a job that secured a position in society. Slowly - by the Summer of 1928 - she realised that Attila József will pick and choose his own sources, that he was a poet of exceptional talent and originality - with a specific mission, and that he deserved to be partly followed, partly served in his needs. Meanwhile, Attila had asked her to marry him, she accepted, the parents did not object, but asked for one trial year of separation. Márta was sent to London, enrolled in a Social Work course, and the relationship continued, for a number of months, by way of correspondence between London and Budapest. Excerpts from Sept. 12 1928: 'Do you know how long this one year is? How many times one has to go to bed, then wake and get up? And how many person's moods I will spoil because mine is rotten? I will study and the job I'll get will be taken seriously.' (Attila) 81