ROMANIAN IDENTITY BETWEEN PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

The paper points out the difference between the Romanians' image of themselves in relation to the Other and the image that the Other has formed about the Romanians, as Strangers. Romanians' auto-images reflect either an exaggerated sense of unrealistic pride or a bitter assertion of marginality, inferiority or "nothingness", while their hetero-images still do not differ much from the ones that their ancestors had of the Other. The selection of imagotypical texts gave priority to those written by I.L.Caragiale, E.M. Cioran and Matei Visniec whose selfimposed exile conferred them the special status of being partly assimilated by the Other, becoming thus, insiders and outsiders at the same time. Stereotypes and prejudices also dominate the perception of Romanians by Others, although in the comtemporary context of globalization it is easier to counteract them.