Mahtra sõda

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Mahtra sõda ( Rebellion in Mahtra ) is the title of a novel by the Estonian writer Eduard Vilde (1865–1933). It appeared in the original in Estonian in 1902 and in German for the first time in 1952.

Appear

Eduard Vilde wrote the novel alongside his work as editor of the newspaper Teataja , which he himself founded in 1901 together with Konstantin Päts . According to his own statement, he wrote the novel in the evening and night hours after the daily editorial work. "The manuscript for the next number of the newspaper, which will appear in the evening, was picked up by a messenger from the printer from me early in the morning - sometimes the last lines were still damp."

Memorial plaque on the house at Süsternstrasse 7

On the house in Revaler Süsternstraße (Estonian Nunne tänav ), where he wrote the novel in 1902, a plaque in Estonian reminds of the creation of the work.

The novel was published as a sequel to the six times weekly paper from January 12th (new style 25th) to May 7th (20th), 1902. In the same year the first book edition was printed by Verlag JH Wahtrik, which in 1909 , 1924, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1955, 1958, 1972, 1982, 2007 and 2009 new editions followed. The novel is also available as an audio book.

Vilde had long toyed with the idea of ​​making the social contrasts in the country the subject of a novel, but so far had failed because of the categorical rejection of censorship. It was only through the skilful tactics of the editor of the Teataja with the responsible censor - among other things, he had wine baskets delivered to him - that the sensitive topic could be dealt with in the newspaper. In addition, the censor Vilde even gave access to the government archives, where the author could inspect the official material on the peasant unrest of 1858.

action

The historical background for the novel is the uprising of Estonian peasants in 1858 against the Baltic German feudal lords. It took place from May to July 1858 on various estates, but culminated in Mahtra, where ten peasants and the commander of the Russian soldiers died. Subsequently, numerous leaders were punished with stick blows and banishment to Siberia.

Vilde constructed his novel around these historical events. According to his own statements, he designed three types of characters: 1) historical persons who are called by their real names and who played a role in the unrest or its suppression; 2) People who have a specific prototype, but appear under a different name and are not necessarily related to specific events; 3) free fictional characters who were necessary to make the plot livelier.

In the realistic depiction of the events that took place between 1856 and 1859, all relevant social classes come into play with their own protagonists. The main person among the farmers is Päärn, whose father was once beaten to death and who is now the leader of the farmers. On the opposite side are the landowners of the Helffreich family , who appear here under the name Heidegg. While the older squire embodies the conservative wing, the younger one advocates a more liberal stance. In addition, community workers, the pastor and numerous minor characters come on the scene. Between the chairs stands the Swiss head of house, Juliette Marchand, who shows sympathy for the farmers but cannot do anything because of her position.

In the exciting novel, a love intrigue between the stalls is not missing, and overall a historical panorama of the time was created that "gave many later generations a realistic picture of the recent past of the Estonians and their struggle for freedom."

reception

Together with the two following novels Kui Anija mehed Tallinnas käisid (1903) and Prohvet Maltsvet (1905–1908) he forms the so-called historical trilogy by Eduard Vilde. The connection does not exist in the persons, but in the treated topic, since the author draws from the same historical material.

Mahtra sõda is part of school reading in Estonia and has been described as one of the author's “artistically most mature” novels.

Translations into German

  • Riots in Machtra . German from Dr. Adolf Graf. Berlin: Rütten & Loening 1952. 597 pp.

A new edition of this was announced for 1955, which has found its way into several bibliographies, but has not appeared anywhere so far, and therefore has probably never been printed. It did not take place until thirty years later:

  • Riots in Machtra . German by Adolf Graf. Ill. Günther Lück. Berlin: Verlag Neues Leben 1984. 382 pp.

Translations into other languages

  • Esperanto (excerpt): Milito en Mahtra . Trad. Helmi Dresen. In: Estono antologio 1. Tallinn: Kiirtrükk 1932, pp. 96-134.
  • Finnish: Mahtran sota . Käänt. Lilli Rainio. Jyväskylä: Gummerus 1908. 578 p .; second edition under the title Kapina moisiossa , Jyväyskylä 1917.
  • Latvian: Machtras karś . No igaunu valodas tulkojis Alfred Kempe. Riga: VAPP Daillit. apgadn. 1941, 363 pp.
  • Russian: Война в Махтра . Перевод с эстонского: Л. Тоом; послесловие А. Деев. Mосква: Гослитиздат 1949. 428 p. And numerous new editions.
  • Romanian: Războiul din Mahtra .Traducere [din limba rusă] de C. Toria şi D. Vacariuc. Bucureşti: Editura universală 1966. 431 pp.
  • Ukrainian: Вiйна в Махтра . Киïв: Державне вид-во худож. лит. 1955. 408 pp.
  • Hungarian (excerpt): A Mahtrai háború . Ford. Kálmán Béla, in: Az észt irodalom kistükre. Budapest: Európa 1969, pp. 215-232.

literature

  • Paul Rummo : Mahtra sõda. E. Vilde romaani dramatiseering 6 pildis. Tallinn: Ilukirjandus yes art 1945. 84 p. (Rahvaloomingu Keskmaja toim 3)
  • Voldemar Miller: "Mahtra sõda" kui ajaloouurimus, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 6/1958, pp. 339–345.
  • Herbert Salu : Eduard Vilden historialliset romaanit. Summary: Eduard Vilde's historical novels. Helsinki : Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura 1964. 314 p. (SKS Toimituksia 277)
  • Tiina Kirss: Mahtrad. Sugude, sotsiaalsete suhete ja koloniaalvägivalla kujutamine Eduard Vilde ajaloolise triloogia esimeses romaanis, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 8–9 / 2013, pp. 607–622.
  • Kadri Naanu: Eeldatava lugeja mõju Harriet Jacobsi orjanarratiivile "Incidents in a Life of a Slave Girl" yes Eduard Vilde ajaloolisele romaanile "Mahtra sõda", in: Methis 17/18 (2016), pp. 180-199.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Message from Vilde in the afterword to the book edition from 1924, quoted here after the reprint in the new edition from 2007: Mahtra sõda. Tallinn: SE&JS 2007, p. 412.
  2. ↑ Tallinn: Eesti Pimedate Raamatukogu 1981. 1 CD (20 h, 22 min.). DAISY 2.02.
  3. ↑ Herbert Salu: Eduard vilden historialliset romaanit. Helsinki 1964. pp. 292-293.
  4. ^ Message from Vilde in the afterword to the book edition from 1924, quoted here after the reprint in the new edition from 2007: Mahtra sõda. Tallinn: SE&JS 2007, p. 411.
  5. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt : Estonian literature in German translation. A reception story from the 19th to the 21st century. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2011, p. 339.
  6. ↑ Epp Annus, Luule Epner, Ants Järv, Sirje Olesk, Ele Süvalep, Mart Velsker: Eesti kirjanduslugu. Tallinn: Koolibri 2001, p. 141.
  7. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt : Estonian literature in German translation. A reception story from the 19th to the 21st century. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2011, p. 166.