feledés

Feledés is a Hungarian term that denotes oblivion or forgetfulness. In everyday language it refers to the act of forgetting as well as the state in which people, events, or cultural artifacts fade from memory.

Etymology and usage: The word is tied to Hungarian roots associated with forgetting. It is commonly used in philosophical, literary, and cultural discussions to describe memory that recedes over time, as well as the sense that certain phenomena or histories may disappear from public awareness.

Psychological and cultural dimensions: In psychology, forgetting is studied as a cognitive process affecting memory retention and retrieval. In literature and arts, feledés conveys more than a simple lapse; it often poses questions about identity, time, and the fragility of human experience, highlighting how memory shapes self-understanding and historical narrative.

In literature and culture: Feledés functions as a motif in Hungarian poetry and prose to evoke the passage of time, the inevitability of disappearance, and the ethical considerations of remembrance. It can reflect personal grief, societal neglect of marginalized memories, or the tension between what is recalled and what remains hidden.

See also: Oblivion, forgetfulness, and concepts of collective memory and historical erasure.