Written by Szabó Emília

Tranlated by Hofffer Ildikó 

Julia Maria Berde descended from a black-coated family.She took up her studies in the College of Nagyenyed where she was oneof the first female students. At the University of Kolozsvar, she got adegree in Hungarian, German and Romanian. Hidden behind an pseudonymshe started to publish her pieces early. Later on, she became one ofthe unique protagonists of the Transylvanian literature. Since 1919,she got a membership in the Transylvanian Association of Literature.Romanticism and feminism were really characteristic to her pieces inthe beginning. In her later works, she sought answers to the actual  questions of her era .Although she gained reputation by her poems written before the WorldWar I., her plays and novels are worth mentioning as well. In her worksshe suggested getting closer to the people and having accordance withRomanian citizens and black-coats to avoid backsliding. One of herprominent pieces is the Tüzes kemence of which heroes are portrayedphychologically perfect; and of which tone is rather pacifist; and inwhich she works up her old theme that is a moral reflection of'women-men' relationships. I honestly hope that the memory of MariaBerde will not be effaced. She does not belong to the most well-knowncanonized writers; there are readers though who prefer reading her kindand well-written pieces.