Orsinian Tales is a collection of eleven short stories by American writerUrsula K. Le Guin, most of them set in the imaginary Eastern European country of Orsinia.[1]
The stories in the collection share few links, except those derived from the use of a common geographical setting. The only link between characters appears in the storiesBrothers and Sisters andA Week in the Country, both of which deal with members of the Fabbre family (whose history is continued in the later storyUnlocking the Air). Common to all the stories, however, are emotionally moving personal events—often romantic—set against the backdrop of much larger political events such as wars and revolutions. Continually reasserted are the rights of the individual—sometimes alone, but often in conjunction with others—to his or her own thoughts and emotions, not dictated by society, convention, or the State.
The stories are set in afictional country somewhere in Central Europe, at different times during the period 1150–1989 (though only two stories take place before the 20th century). This country, "Orsinia", appears in Le Guin's earliest writings,[7][8] and it was invented by Le Guin when she was a young adult learning the craft of a writer.[9] The namesOrsinia andUrsula are both derived from the Latin wordursus, 'bear' (ursula is the diminutive ofursa, 'female bear';ursinus means 'bear-like). Le Guin once said that since Orsinia was her country, it should bear her name.[10]
The history of Orsinia generally follows that of other countries ofCentral Europe, particularly those that were formerly part ofAustria-Hungary. Formerly an independent kingdom (in "The Lady of Moge"), by the 19th century it was a dependency of theAustrian Empire (inMalafrena). Orsinia was involved in theFirst World War (in "Conversations at Night"), and after that war it was independent for a time. Its fate during World War II is not mentioned, but in 1946 or 1947, it became a satellite state in theEastern bloc. A revolt was attempted in 1956 (in "The Road East"), but it was crushed and followed by reprisals (in "A Week in the Country"); Orsinia remained a repressive police state for several decades. In November 1989, following a series of non-violent protests, the government fell, to be replaced by a transitional regime promising free elections (in "Unlocking the Air"). Le Guin did not publish any Orsinian stories dealing with its history since that event.[c]
The Orsinian stories borrow episodes from (and sometimes explicitly refer to) the history of theCzech lands, in addition toHungary and other countries of Central Europe[d][e]However, the collection is not a mere fictionalization of any real country, but rather one imagined with its own unique characteristics and history, distilled from Le Guin's personal interpretation of and reaction to historical events.[f]
^The short story "The Diary of the Rose"[4] is of uncertain category: Despite characters sharing several names from the Orsinian style (including one,Sorde, which also appears inMalafrena) the story abandons the realism of the others, in favor of ascience fiction premise (explored for its personal and political implications) and never explicitly states the place or time where it takes place (at one point "the twentieth century" is spoken of in past tense). Le Guin has written,
"I don't think 'The Diary of the Rose' takes place in Orsinia, it seems more like South America to me, but the protagonist has an Orsinian name."[5][full citation needed]
^A central theme in the story is demonstrators shaking keys to "unlock the air", was seen in thedemonstrations of 1989. "Today, at exactly noon inPrague, people flooded into the streets aroundWenceslas Square, the central shopping thoroughfare, rattling key chains and tinkling tiny bells. The jingling of keys, acts symbolizing the opening of hitherto locked doors, has become a common gesture in the wave ofdemonstrations ... . OnJungmanova Square,Mr. Havel himself stood beaming broadly on the balcony of abuilding ... . He lustily jingled a bunch of keys."[6]
"As for Orsinia, I have not been able to go back there since 1990, though I have tried several times. The borders are closed. I don't know what's going on. It worries me."[11]
"And of course if there's any country Orsinia is like, it'sCzechoslovakia. It's puzzled me that everyone says Orsinia is likeHungary, but nobody mentions Czechoslovakia."[12]
"I have used the history of Poland, though not in science-fiction stories, in 'main stream' [sic]stories ... . I have written an historical novel,Malafrena, and a collection of stories,Orsinian Tales, all set in an imaginary central European country in the historical past.Malafrena concerns the Revolution of 1830, and you will find certainparallels to Polish history in it."[13]
^Similarities to Czechoslovakia include that Orsinia is landlocked, and in the 19th century rebelled unsuccessfully againstHabsburg rule.
"Another thing important to Orsinia's development was that I became aware politically. The first thing I really noticed and took personally, from a political standpoint, was the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1947 [sic] by theRussians. That's when I came of age and realized I had a stake in thisworld ... . Writing about Orsinia allowed me to talk about a situation that had touched my heart, yet I could distance it, which was very important at that time."[14]
^le Guin, Ursula K (Fall 1959). "Folksong from the Montayna Province".Prairie Poet. Charleston, IL. p. 75.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^le Guin, Ursula K (1961). "An die Musik".Western Humanities Review. Vol. 15. pp. 247–258.
^Cummins, Elizabeth (1993).Understanding Ursula K. le Guin (rev. ed.). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. pp. 126–127.ISBN0-87249-869-7.
