person
Toldi
The hero of János Arany's celebrated narrative poem Toldi (1847), a peasant youth of superhuman physical strength who becomes a knight; invoked in the theater scene as the archetype of raw, embodied heroism in contrast to the Critic's merely verbal destructiveness.
Reading notes
- Only a Joke §5 Toldi
Toldi is the hero of János Arany's celebrated narrative poem Toldi (1847), a peasant giant of superhuman physical strength; Váry flatters the Critic by calling him greater than Toldi — but adds the barb that Toldi at least takes on flesh, while the Critic destroys souls.