Abstract:
This article explores the motif of luck in I.L. Caragiale’s prose and Ioan Slavici’s psychological short story The Mill of Luck (Moara cu noroc). Rooted in the Romanian mythology, beliefs related to fate, destiny, and the unpredictability of luck have been preserved across generations. Luck is a complex concept that has fascinated and concerned humanity throughout history. It is often perceived as a sequence of favourable, unexpected events that bring benefits or happiness. In the Romanian literature, luck appears both as theme and motif. The fact that writers have shown concern in luck and its counterpart – misfortune or bad luck – along the times is proved by such literary titles as Norocul și mintea and Norocul culegătorului (collection Momente și schițe, 1901), and Om cu noroc! by I. L. Caragiale, as well as Moara cu noroc by Ioan Slavici. The concept of luck is depicted from multiple perspectives, shaping the destinies of various characters such as modest clerks, peasants, and businessmen, etc., who oscillate between fortune and misfortune. In conclusion, luck is a complex and multifaceted concept in I.L. Caragiale and Ioan Slavici’s prose. It can be a force of destiny, a result of human actions, a symbol of hope, or a moral theme. Luck is portrayed as a driving force of fate, closely intertwined with the characters’ choices and actions, a symbol of hope. It can also be a destructive illusion, an obsession, a miraculous solution to financial struggles, or a tool for conveying moral messages, etc.
