Emily was interested in the Angel Makers of Nagyrév, the group of women living in Nagyrév, Hungary between 1914 and 1929 and said to have poisoned to death around 300 people. These women were supplied arsenic by a midwife named Mrs. Susanna or Júlia Fazekas. The women were said to have poisoned their husbands and others for various reasons like oppression, abuse, drinking and so on. Emily decided to perform this story mainly through the voice of Júlia Fazekas. As she wrote, "This is a performative sound piece depicting Fazekas, the leader of the group of women who became known as the Angel Makers of Nagyrév. After undergoing forced marriages and abuse, these women began to poison their 'loved ones' using arsenic, this went on for about 18 years." Emily further explained in her reflection that her "main goal became justifying the actions of these women through the [performed] voice of Júlia Fazekas."
Emily set out to get inside the mind of Fazekas through her own performance. She writes in her reflection of this process, "I am hoping mine produces a feeling of empathy that a video could not do because instead of painting the pictures for the listener, I am leaving it up to the sounds I used. I want the music and sound clips to move them in a way a video or simple paper could not."
Transcript of "Angel Makers of Nagyrév"
[light, twinkling percussion music]
Júlia Fazekas: Um, let's see. I guess if I were to give an estimate, I'd say about 300. Yes, I suppose I am responsible for about 300 deaths.
[string instruments join in, music turns ominous; then music changes to new, different light percussion]
I first lived in Budapest for many wonderful years of my life. I was married and a midwife, but had no children of my own. But one day I woke up and my husband—my husband—that was given to me when I was just 13 years old was no where to be found. [music fades out] I didn't know how to go on, until I decided to move to the beautiful Nagyrév, probably 60 miles southeast of Budapest.
There was farm life everywhere [music starts again; rooster crows], and I quickly became friends with all of the women in this small area. With no husband, I felt so much love from everyone in the village. And because of my practices as a midwife, I became the closest thing to the doctor in the village.
The longer I spent there, the more the women in the village began to confide in me. [murmuring of women's voices] Young girls, barely 11 years old, were being married off to awful men, four times their age. Men that would beat them with anything they could get their hands on. [banging noises] Men that would come home, drunk [bottles breaking, man yelling], and just demand sex. There was no escape, for divorce was socially unacceptable, and you would be left with nothing, because the families kept the money.
As these women grew and bore unwanted children, I would have to help them bring life into a world they did not want any child to be a part of. [faint screaming in the background] Sometimes, the girls would be so young or the women too distraught to care for any child [baby cries], that I would assist in abortions, simply to ease their mind and calm them until they became pregnant again. My heart ached for every unhappy woman in that village.
[light piano] Until the day the men went to fight in the war—the very first world war—for Austria-Hungary. Because Nagyrév was so rural, we were the perfect spot for prisoners of war, and although it may seem grim, the women were never happier. Affairs with the foreigners became so common it was bragged about among the women in the village. [lively background talking; upbeat music] Smiles were seen on faces I thought would crack if they ever chuckled. The women were finally in good spirits.
But then came the day the husbands came back. And although they quickly discovered the affairs, they expected everything to go back to how it used to be. [more ominous music builds] The abuse began once again and women became more and more displeased and depressed. I knew I could do something. I was considered a doctor. I knew I should do something to bring back joy into these women's lives. And so I did.
I began making arsenic. Small amounts. By boiling the lethal residue off of fly paper strips and then having it delivered to their homes. The women could do with it what they pleased. Put it into their husband's nightly drink. Slip it into their morning tea or coffee. Before I knew it, we were the murder district. Women were smiling. Husbands were dying.
But no suspicion would rise for my cousin was the clerk who filed the death certificates. [paper ruffles] And I was a doctor. If something was questioned by an authority poking his nose in circumstances he did not understand, it was easily covered up, and they would turn around and leave the village. Women were given a chance to escape the dreadful situation they were stuck in. Yes, they began giving it to family members. [lighter music begins again; sounds of birds chirping] And yes, even children. But they needed a fresh start. They needed a clean slate. One without having to fear for their own life. One where they could live.
Emily: Eventually, after this had gone on for about 18 years, an investigation was once again started. And this time, it was successful in convicting over 30 of the women involved in poisoning their supposed loved ones. Júlia Fazekas, the leader whose voice was portrayed, ended up committing suicide by poisoning herself. And many of the other women involved were either given the death sentence or put into prison for life. These women were in prison for wanting to live their own lives without having to constantly submit to the patriarchal figure and the demands of their families. They are now known as the Angel Makers of Nagyrév.
Performative Sound Piece Reflection
by Emily
Before I go into the rhetorical and aesthetic aims used in arranging my audio, I should give a warning that I changed my topic very last minute. Originally, I was going to cover Charles Cullen, but after trying different voices from three different guys, all were quite uncomfortable and did not produce the sound I really wanted. I then made the decision to switch my project so that it would be primarily a female voice talking. I chose Júlia Fazekas and the Angel Makers of Nagyrév. This group of women poisoned their husbands and family members shortly after the time of World War I. This death spree continued for about 18 years until an investigation was started and the murders came to a halt. My main goal became justifying the actions of these women through the voice of Júlia Fazekas.
I began first by recording my own voice as that of Júlia Fazekas, to be used as the main source of commentary. I tried to keep my sentences as short as possible while still making sure my thoughts were complete. My goal was to start off with something shocking (such as the estimation of 300 deaths) and then continue with the events leading up to the murders in order to draw in the listener and produce a feeling of suspense. I also incorporated longer pauses, some to let the music control the emotion but others to emphasize what was just said. I layered music throughout most of the sound piece, but at moments I wanted the point of the story to truly stand out, I had just my voice. To provide more of visualization, I also focused on including as many sound effects as possible. For example, when the farm-life is mentioned, I layered animal sounds behind my voice, and even towards the end, when I mentioned that her cousin was a clerk who filed death certificates, I integrated the sound of paper being sorted. This way, the audience can truly get a sense for what is going on and hopefully remain captivated.
The most difficult part for me was figuring out how to include a reflection. I decided on having a final statement, done in a voice other than my own, to explain whom exactly was meant to be talking and how long the murders went on for. I also wanted to use that final proclamation to truly get the listener to feel empathy towards the women in Nagyrév. Most of the music used is either somber or hopeful to further produce this feeling of empathy.
Before this class, I could not explain where to even find Audacity, let alone use it, but after getting a feel for it and watching tutorials, I now realize just how unique and interesting of an approach it is to archiving. It can be more powerful than creating a video. You are archiving using only sounds and music; the pauses you decide to include is your missing information that you were choosing not to fill in for the audience because you want them to do it on their own. You leave it up to the listener to imagine what your sound piece shows them. I am hoping mine produces a feeling of empathy that a video could not do because instead of painting the pictures for the listener, I am leaving it up to the sounds I used. I want the music and sound clips to move them in a way a video or simple paper could not. Although my goals may be a little too high for this being the first project using audacity, I am hoping overall, mine demonstrates how I tried to build off of the This American Life radio, story-telling style.
