Voyage to Faremido
Encyclopedia
Voyage to Faremido
is a fantastic novel
by Frigyes Karinthy
. It presents beings who not only understand the secrets of nature, but they are the secret of nature themselves — they are nature personified.
materials (thus having a superficial similarity to robot
s). The novel describes the adventures of a pilot, who lost his way and came to the world of these beings. They help the protagonist to see the beauty of their world, and help him also to come home.
: sequences of the syllables Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Si. For example: “solasi”, “Midore”, “Faremido” etc. (Such a language has indeed been devised earlier: See Solresol
.) In fact, all terms should be intoned instead of pronounced. Thus, in this world a musical language
is used. The protagonist remarks that their speech is both wise (in the meaning) and beautiful (as music), thus thought and feeling are blurred to be the same for these beings.
(written by Sándor Szathmári
) is another example of utopian-satirical literature. Even its main topic is similar: nature, mankind's relatedness to it; rationality versus emotion; intelligent beings as part of a cosmic order.
Voyage to Faremido is sequelled by another novel, Capillaria
: both are written by the same author, and they are presented as Gulliver's subsequent travels.
is a fantastic novel
Fantastic
The Fantastic is a literary term that describes a quality of other literary genres, and, in some cases, is used as a genre in and of itself, although in this case it is often conflated with the Supernatural. The term was originated in the structuralist theory of critic Tzvetan Todorov in his work...
by Frigyes Karinthy
Frigyes Karinthy
Frigyes Karinthy was a Hungarian author, playwright, poet, journalist, and translator. He was the first proponent of the six degrees of separation concept, in his 1929 short story, Chains . Karinthy remains one of the most popular Hungarian writers...
. It presents beings who not only understand the secrets of nature, but they are the secret of nature themselves — they are nature personified.
Content
These beings consist of inorganicInorganic chemistry
Inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the properties and behavior of inorganic compounds. This field covers all chemical compounds except the myriad organic compounds , which are the subjects of organic chemistry...
materials (thus having a superficial similarity to robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s). The novel describes the adventures of a pilot, who lost his way and came to the world of these beings. They help the protagonist to see the beauty of their world, and help him also to come home.
Language, and title
Term “Faremido” has a clear motivation: the inhabitants of Faremido use a language consisting purely of musical sounds (thus, their language is harmonic in the most literal sense). Every word is transcribed in the novel using syllables of solfegeSolfege
In music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...
: sequences of the syllables Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Si. For example: “solasi”, “Midore”, “Faremido” etc. (Such a language has indeed been devised earlier: See Solresol
Solresol
Solresol is an artificial language devised by François Sudre, beginning in 1827. He published his major book on it, Langue musicale universelle, in 1866, though he had already been publicizing it for some years...
.) In fact, all terms should be intoned instead of pronounced. Thus, in this world a musical language
Musical language
Musical languages are languages based on musical sounds, either instead of or in addition to articulation. They can be categorized as constructed languages, and as whistled languages. Whistled languages are dependent on an underlying articulatory language, in actual use in various cultures as a...
is used. The protagonist remarks that their speech is both wise (in the meaning) and beautiful (as music), thus thought and feeling are blurred to be the same for these beings.
Related works
KazohiniaKazohinia
Kazohinia is a novel written in Hungarian and in Esperanto by Sándor Szathmári . It appeared first in Hungarian and was published in Esperanto by SAT in 1958, and was republished in that language without change in 1998...
(written by Sándor Szathmári
Sándor Szathmári
Szathmári Sándor was a Hungarian writer, mechanical engineer, Esperantist, one of the leading figures in Esperanto literature.-Family background:Szathmári was born in Gyula...
) is another example of utopian-satirical literature. Even its main topic is similar: nature, mankind's relatedness to it; rationality versus emotion; intelligent beings as part of a cosmic order.
Voyage to Faremido is sequelled by another novel, Capillaria
Capillaria
Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy's fantastic novel Capillaria , which depicts an undersea world inhabited exclusively by women, recounts, in a satirical vein reminiscent of the style of Jonathan Swift , the first time that men and women experience sex with one another.Expressing a pessimistic,...
: both are written by the same author, and they are presented as Gulliver's subsequent travels.
External links
- Karinthy Frigyes, Utazás Faremidóba. (complete text online)
- Frederiko Karinthy, Vojaĝo al Faremido, Kapilario, tradukis: Lajos Tarkony, Hungara Esperanto-Asocio, Budapest, 1980. (complete text online)