Barber from Srem in the times of changes Cover Image

Сремски берберин у временима промена
Barber from Srem in the times of changes

Author(s): Ivan Kovačević
Subject(s): Customs / Folklore, Studies of Literature, Recent History (1900 till today), Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, 19th Century
Published by: Филозофски факултет, Универзитет у Београду
Keywords: Legend of fortune acquisition; trimming machine; barber from Srem; transition folklore; myth of fortune loss;

Summary/Abstract: The legend of the barber from Srem, who invented the trimming machine, thus making a fortune from its manufacture, came into the public focus on two occasions. It is constituted by three mythical wholes: the myth of the rise from poverty into the middle classes, as in the novel of the 19th. American author Horatio Alger, the myth of the wealth acquired through creativeness and successful business dealings and a specific myth about the lost treasure whose returning would save the country and economy. Their composition is present both in 1929 and in 2003 in the times of the capitalist expansion, in the times of change and transition, reflecting and constituting the zeitgeist.

  • Issue Year: 2/2007
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 11-28
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Serbian