Mária Szepes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mária Szepes
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Mária Szepes (born December 14, 1908 – died September 3, 2007) was a famous Hungarian author. She also worked as a journalist and wrote screenplays for movies. From 1941, she became an independent writer focusing on hermetic philosophy, which explores spiritual and magical ideas. Sometimes, she used different names for her writing, like Mária Papir or Mária Orsi.
Her Life Story
Mária Szepes was born Magdolna Scherbach in Budapest, Hungary. Her family was well-known in the theater world. Her father, Sándor Papir, was a very popular actor who enjoyed life, and her mother was a leading actress. Mária felt a deep, spiritual connection with her parents and brother, saying they were like "brothers and sisters in spirit."
From 1916 to 1933, she acted in films, often using the name Magda Papir. In 1931, she married Béla Szepes. A year later, they moved to Berlin, Germany, and lived there until World War II made it unsafe. Mária wrote about her 56-year marriage in her book Magie der Liebe (which means "Magic of Love"). In it, she talked about something called the "Alchemistic Marriage," which is about two people becoming deeply connected and losing their individual "ego" or self to become one.
Mária Szepes studied many subjects in Berlin, including literature (books and writing), art history (the study of art through time), and biology (the study of living things). When she returned to Hungary, she first worked as a journalist, writing for newspapers, and as a screenwriter, writing scripts for movies.
Her first novel, called The Red Lion, was written while she was hiding during World War II. This book became very popular around the world, especially among people interested in esoteric topics, which are ideas that are not widely known or understood. Mária Szepes herself considered her two books in the Raguel series to be her most important works.
About The Red Lion
The Red Lion was Mária Szepes's first novel. It was published in Hungary in 1946 with the original title A Vörös Oroszlán. When the communist government led by Mátyás Rákosi came to power, they thought The Red Lion was too different from their ideas. So, they banned the book and ordered all copies to be destroyed.
However, a librarian and writer named Béla Hamvas managed to save four copies of the book. Then, many of Mária Szepes's supporters secretly typed up the novel, made copies, and shared them underground. Almost 40 years later, the book finally reached the Heyne publishing company. It was translated into German by Gottfried Feidel and released as a paperback in 1984.
Today, The Red Lion has even been turned into a play and is performed in different theaters in the United States.
The Story of The Red Lion
The story of The Red Lion is about a sad young man named Hans Burgner, who was a miller's son in the 16th century. After his father and a beloved teacher die, Hans becomes very afraid of death. He hears rumors about an Elixir of Immortality, a special potion that can make someone live forever. This idea takes over his mind.
Hans becomes a student of a mysterious doctor and alchemist. But instead of listening to the alchemist's kind advice, Hans is overcome by greed and murders him. This is how he gets the Elixir, but he is not ready for it spiritually, and so he is cursed.
This curse starts Hans on a long journey through many centuries. Even though his body can die, the Elixir allows him to remember all his past lives every time he is reborn into a new body and different situations. It also makes him very sensitive to spiritual things. Several times, he tries to perform a "Great Transmutation" to free himself from the curse he brought upon himself.
As Hans Burgner lives through different times in European history, he changes a lot. He starts as someone who doesn't understand spiritual ideas and even does bad things. But through all the challenges he faces, he grows spiritually. He begins as a student, learning about these deeper ideas, and eventually becomes a "Magus" or "Adept," which means he reaches a high level of spiritual understanding and personal perfection.
Movies She Was In
- The Frozen Child (1921)
- Greetings and Kisses, Veronika (1933)
