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<p>This study explores the emergence of Nietzschean-inspired masculine figures in the Romanian conjugal novel of late socialism, reflecting a shift from the emancipatory socialist realism of the 1950s to a reactionary literary and ideological climate post-1966. While early socialist realism depicted strong, independent female protagonists aligned with communist ideals, the later decades saw the rise of technocratic, cynical male protagonists who embodied “hegemonic masculinity.” These figures, shaped by Nietzschean struggles and existential skepticism, resisted female autonomy and reasserted patriarchal control, mirroring the broader socio-political rollback of women’s rights, including Ceauşescu’s 1966 anti-abortion decree. Drawing on several Romanian authors, this article analyzes how literature absorbed and redefined Nietzschean thought to justify institutionalized misogyny and individualistic reactionism. By reevaluating these literary shifts, the study contributes to a broader understanding of gender, ideology, and aesthetics in the cultural imagination of Eastern European late socialism.</p>

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Nietzsche’s specters in the cultural imagination of late socialism: the birth of macho superhumans in the Romanian conjugal novel

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月9日

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  • Costi Rogozanu

摘要

This study explores the emergence of Nietzschean-inspired masculine figures in the Romanian conjugal novel of late socialism, reflecting a shift from the emancipatory socialist realism of the 1950s to a reactionary literary and ideological climate post-1966. While early socialist realism depicted strong, independent female protagonists aligned with communist ideals, the later decades saw the rise of technocratic, cynical male protagonists who embodied “hegemonic masculinity.” These figures, shaped by Nietzschean struggles and existential skepticism, resisted female autonomy and reasserted patriarchal control, mirroring the broader socio-political rollback of women’s rights, including Ceauşescu’s 1966 anti-abortion decree. Drawing on several Romanian authors, this article analyzes how literature absorbed and redefined Nietzschean thought to justify institutionalized misogyny and individualistic reactionism. By reevaluating these literary shifts, the study contributes to a broader understanding of gender, ideology, and aesthetics in the cultural imagination of Eastern European late socialism.