 A hardcover of the 1921 English version | |
| Author | Johannes Linnankoski |
|---|---|
| Original title | Finnish:Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta |
| Translator | W. J. Alexander Worster[1] |
| Language | Finnish |
| Genre | romance |
| Publisher | WSOY (Finnish) Moffat, Yard & Co (English)[1] |
Publication date | 1905 |
| Publication place | Finland |
Published in English | 1921; 104 years ago (1921)[1] |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 240 (Finnish) 256 (English)[1] |
| OCLC | 599685 |
The Song of the Blood-Red Flower (Finnish:Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta) is aromance novel by Finnish writerJohannes Linnankoski, published in 1905; and is considered the author's most famous and personal work. Loosely based on the legend ofDon Juan,[2] it tells the story of a younglog driver who charms women.[3] It was awarded theState Prize for Literature in 1906,[4] and was also given an award by theFinnish Literature Society.[5] An English version, translated byW. J. Alexander Worster, was first published in 1921 byMoffat, Yard & Co inNew York.[6]
There are five film adaptations of the story (three Swedish and two Finnish); the earliest is the 1919 Swedishsilent filmThe Flame of Life [sv], directed byMauritz Stiller,[7][8][9] and the latest is the1971 Finnish film adaptation directed byMikko Niskanen, which is the onlycolor film version. A large number of stage plays have also been made based on the novel, such as H. Välisalmi's play by theEstonian Drama Theatre in 1938,[10] and three Finnish plays at thePyynikki Summer Theatre,Tampere in 1960, 1981 and 2005.[11]
Olof Koskela is a tramp and a logger who has the power to charm one woman after another. He is the son of a farmer who, leaves home after an argument with his father and settles down with a group of log drivers. As he travels along the stream of logs on the River Kohiseva, Olof always charms the most beautiful girl in every village. Olof does not call his charming girls real names, but invents descriptive nicknames such as Clematis, Gazelle, Daisy and Rowan. However, he always forgets his love when moving to a new place. Olof exudes emotion at every moment: “Only while we are young, only while the flood of youth runs free and bright in our veins can we be happy. And they are the greatest who dare to demand their share of life in full, to plunge unafraid into the waters, letting the waves break on their temples and life's salt flood wash their cheeks.”
Faced with the proud and difficult-to-reach Kyllikki of the Moisio House, Olof can't leave her. He asks host of Moisio for permission to marry Kyllikki, but the request is denied. Olof continues his journey and seduces a few more women, but he repeatedly misses Kyllikki. The becomes unbearable and Olof returns to Kyllikki. This time they get married. Olof does not want to start cultivating the inheritance of his family, but decides to start over as aland filler. They build their own house and clear fields. In time, Kyllikki will also become pregnant. However, Olof does not think he has a more light-hearted life and is in great pain as he knows that Kyllikki is still suffering from his old adventures. Olof begins to examine himself until, at the end of the book, he reconciles with his past. Once a young tramp, he has grown into a responsible and aware member of society.
When Linnankoski began writing his successful novel in the summer of 1904 at Vuohensaari inSalo, he had no actual written plan for the plot. However, he had been thinking about the subject for many years before writing, so the final writing was quick and easy. Writing was not nearly as cumbersome as writing his first successful play,Eternal Struggle (Ikuinen taistelu) in 1903. InThe Song of the Blood-Red Flower, Linnankoski made extensive use of his own experiences. He had lived a youth full of passion and controversy, but had been married for a few years to Ester Drugg (1872–1943)[12] when he wrote the book. When trying to write, he wanted to be as truthful as possible in his narrative. The role models and the people and events that ended up in the book were close to each other, but there was no direct reproduction; Linnankoski edited and selected them for his own use. Linnankoski was greatly influenced in the events of the book by his youthful landscape inVakkola,Askola, where he was born; the Kohiseva River, mentioned in the book, may have been thought to have been inspired by thePorvoo River across the Vakkola village.[13]
From the outset, the basic themes of Linnankoski's literary work have been implicated in his production, includingThe Song of the Blood-Red Flower: love, the struggle betweengood and evil in man himself and growth as a human, and the resulting moral problems of guilt, punishment, andatonement for the past.[14] For Linnankoski, theBible was the basic work that, at an ethical level, shaped his worldview.[12] He saw earthly life as a unique event for which man himself and alone is responsible. Linnankoski had three ideas that he cherished and implemented in his own life and in his literary production: educating the people, strengthening the Finnishnational identity, and the humanity hidden in every person.
After its release,The Song of the Blood-Red Flower received good reviews and excellent sales success. The book was published in the spring, but the second edition was ordered in early autumn. The publisher suggested to Linnankoski that he remove a redundant chapter from the new edition, and put forward various suggestions for improvement. However, Linnankoski retained the original text and no changes were made.
The Song of the Blood-Red Flower is one of the best-selling works of Finnish fiction and, alongside theKalevala byElias Lönnrot andSeitsemän veljestä byAleksis Kivi, the most internationally known product ofFinnish literature; it has also been translated into 19 languages, includingCzech,Slovak, andLatvian .[12] It brought Johannes Linnankoski instant literary fame among the people, and his reputation extended beyond the borders of his country. InFrance, for example, over 50 editions have so far been translated.[15]
Despite its great popularity, the romantic scenes in the book, with all their passion, also arousedcontroversy at the time, some claiming that the scenes appear to be almostobscene.[16]
