„Átkos lidércként nehezedett a falura…” A nagyrévi bába, Fazekas Gyuláné szerepe a tiszazugi arzénos gyilkossági ügyekben
“She weighted heavily on the village like a cursed phantom...” The role of the midwife of Nagyréve, Mrs. Gyula Fazekas, in the arsenic murder cases of

Summary/Abstract: The study looks at the ill-famed arsenic cases of Tiszazug from a micro-perspective. It became public in 1929 that in Nagyréve, Tiszakürt, Cibakháza and other villages women used arsenic rinsed out from fl y glue traps to poison those family members for whom providing under the miserable life conditions meant a fatal burden. The contemporary press attributed a lead role to the midwife of Nagyréve in the murders. This research focuses on her person. The paper addresses the question of whether Mrs. Fazekas’ role, tasks, status and being a confidante as a midwife is connected to the poisonings in which she was mainly accused of being the instigator and distributor of poison. How much infl uence could she have on the village dwellers due to her special status? Are the serious accusations and biased characterizations the midwife was subject to entirely true? What can be revealed from personal sources about the life and personality of Mrs. Fazekas? What picture of the social network of Nagyréve is emerging from the testimonies? The paper looks at the case form an entirely diff erent stance compared to the numerous existing studies and analysis hence may enrich the explanation of the poisoning cases with novel elements.

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