 The first words of the novel in Finnish | |
| Author | Aleksis Kivi |
|---|---|
| Translator | Alex Matson,Richard Impola,Douglas Robinson |
| Language | Finnish |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Finnish Literature Society |
Publication date | February 2, 1870; 155 years ago (1870-02-02)[1] |
| Publication place | Finland |
Published in English | 1929; 96 years ago (1929) |
| Pages | 333 pp (Finnish four-volume version) 397 pp (English translation) |
Seitsemän veljestä (Finnish pronunciation:[ˈsei̯tsemænˈʋeljestæ]; literally translatedThe Seven Brothers, orThe Brothers Seven[2] in Douglas Robinson's 2017 translation) is the first and only novel byAleksis Kivi, the national author ofFinland.[3] It is widely regarded as the first significant novel written in Finnish and by a Finnish-speaking author, and is considered a real pioneer of Finnishrealistic folklore. Some people still regard it as the greatest Finnish novel ever written,[4] and in time it has even gained the status of a "national novel of Finland".[3][5] The deep significance of the work forFinnish culture has even been quoted internationally, and in aBBC article by Lizzie Enfield, for example, which describes Kivi'sSeitsemän veljestä as "the book that shaped aNordic identity."[6]
Kivi began writing the work in the early 1860s and wrote it at least three times, but no manuscript has survived.[7] The work was largely created while Kivi lived inSiuntio'sFanjurkars withCharlotta Lönnqvist.[8] It was first published in 1870 in four volumes, but the publication of a one-volume novel did not happen until 1873, a year after the author's death.[7]
Published in1870,Seitsemän veljestä ended an era dominated by Swedish-speaking authors, most notable of whom wasJ. L. Runeberg, and created a solid basis for new Finnish authors likeMinna Canth andJuhani Aho, who were, following Aleksis Kivi, the first authors to depict ordinary Finns in a realistic way.
The novel was particularly reviled by the literary circles of Kivi's time, who disliked the unflattering image of Finns it presented. The title characters were seen as crudecaricatures of thenationalistic ideals of the time. Foremost in this hostile backlash was the influential criticAugust Ahlqvist, who called the book a "ridiculous work and a blot on the name of Finnish literature"[9] and wrote in a review published inFinlands Allmänna Tidning that "the brothers' characters were nothing like calm, serious and laborious folk who toiled the Finnish lands."[10][11] Another critic worth mentioning was theFennoman politicianAgathon Meurman, who, among other things, said the book was "a hellish lie about Finnishpeasants" and stated that "Mr. Kivi regards the printing press as his poeticrectum."[5]
Literary scholar Markku Eskelinen considersSeitsemän veljestä to be very exceptional compared to his time of birth and the state of Finnishprose literature at that time. According to Eskelinen, the work is more tense and aesthetically complex than the realistic novels of the significant generation of writers who followed Kivi. Eskelinen also highlights Kivi's linguistic play with genres: although the work uses a lot ofbiblical and otherwise religious language for understandable reasons due to the dominance ofreligious literature at the time, its attitude to religious authority is not submissive, unlike other prose literature of the time. In Eskelinen's opinion, Finnish-language prose works comparable to the richness and multilevelness of Kivi's work began to appear only in the next century.[12]
The novel is referred to in thecoat of arms of theNurmijärvi municipality, the birthplace of Kivi. The explanation of the coat of arms is “in the blue field, the heads of seven young golden-haired young men set 2+3+2.” The coat of arms was designed by Olof Eriksson in accordance with the idea proposed by B. Harald Hellström, and was approved by the Nurmijärvi Municipal Council at its meeting on December 18, 1953. The coat of arms was approved for use by theMinistry of the Interior on April 14, 1954.[13][14]
At first, the brothers are not a particularly peaceful lot and end up quarreling with the localconstable, juryman,vicar,churchwarden, and teachers—not to mention their neighbours in the village of Toukola. No wonder young girls' mothers do not regard them as good suitors. When the brothers are required tolearn to read before they can acceptchurch confirmation and therefore officialadulthood—and the right to marry—they decide to run away.
Eventually they end up moving to distant Impivaara in the middle of relative wilderness, but their first efforts are shoddy—one Christmas Eve they end up burning down their sauna. The next spring they try again, but are forced to kill a nearby lord's herd of bulls and pay them back with wheat. Ten years of hard work clearing the forest for fields, hard drinking—and Simeoni's apocalyptic visions fromdelirium tremens—eventually lead them to mend their ways. They learn to read on their own and eventually return to Jukola.
In the end, most of them become pillars of the community and family men. Still, the tone of the tale is not particularly moralistic. Symbolically, the brothers represent the Finnish-speaking people and culture in the midst of external forces that force them to change.[15]
Seitsemän veljestä has been translated three times into English and 56 more times into 33 other languages.[16] Many significant Finnish artists have been responsible for illustrating the book, includingAkseli Gallén-Kallela (1908),Marcus Collin (1948), Matti Visanti (1950), and Erkki Tanttu (1961).[17]
The first English edition was translated by Alexander Matson and published in 1929 byCoward-McCann.[18][19] Revised editions of Matson's translation were published in 1952 and 1973 byTammi Publishers, with Irma Rantavaara conducting the third edition's revisions.[20]
A translation byRichard Impola was published in 1991 by the Finnish American Translators Association.[21]Douglas Robinson translated the book in 2017 under the titleThe Brothers Seven for Zeta Books in Bucharest.[22]
TheFinnish National Theatre produced the first stage version of the novel in 1898 andArmas Launis composed the first Finnishcomic opera based on the novel in 1913. The first film adaptation was made byWilho Ilmari [fi] in 1939.[23]
In 1989, a television series calledSeitsemän veljestä [fi] directed byJouko Turkka caused wide controversy because of its portrayal of the brothers.[24]
The novel was adapted into a children's picture book in 2002 with all the characters changed into dogs or birds, which was titledThe Seven Dog Brothers: Being a Doggerel Version of The Seven Brothers, Aleksis Kivi's Classic Novel from 1870.[25] The book was credited toMauri Kunnas, a Finnish children's author, and Tarja Kunnas. Mr. Clutterbuck fromGoodnight, Mr. Clutterbuck, also by Mauri Kunnas, makes an appearance in the story.[26]
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