Põrgupõhja uus Vanapagan

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Tammsaares house from 1931-1940, where he wrote his last novel

Põrgupõhja uus Vanapagan ( The New Devil from Hell's Ground ) is the title of a novel by the Estonian writer Anton Hansen Tammsaare (1878–1940) from 1939.

Appear

Anton Hansen Tammsaare wrote his last novel in the summer of 1939. The book was published in December of the same year by Noor-Eesti in Tartu and was reprinted a year later. After the war, new editions quickly followed in Soviet Estonia as well as in exile, the ninth edition appeared in 1985 as the 13th volume of the eighteen-volume collected works by Tammsaare.

action

With the annual distribution of souls, the devil goes away empty-handed one day, because a different policy is being pursued in heaven, as Peter explained to him: the question was whether man could ever achieve bliss on earth. If this is not the case, the notion of punishment for man in hell would be invalid, because no one could be made to pay for something for which they are not responsible. However, if the devil could prove that a person is responsible for his own salvation, he is still entitled to receive his share of human souls every year. The distribution would take place as usual, that is, the devil would get the souls of those people who had behaved badly.

To provide this evidence, the devil goes to earth in human form. As a farmer Jürka, he has to show that a person can take care of his soul. He works honestly and tirelessly, defies all strokes of fate and endures the intrigues of his hostile neighbor. This neighbor, Ants, however, takes Juerka by the line and thread and takes advantage of him wherever he can. Little by little, Jürka loses everything, eventually he is also brought around the house and farm and ekes out his existence as a tenant on the land of Ants. As if that weren't enough, the latter also wants to chase him away, which brings the barrel overflowing: Jürka sets a fire at Ants, but also gets the short straw here because he dies in the flames himself. Ants, on the other hand, emerges victorious because he not only survives unscathed, but also makes ample profit thanks to good insurance.

After his death, Juerka returns and urges Petrus to make a decision. The latter, however, squirms out by saying that this case alone is not proof, that more material must be collected. The devil desperately threatens that if hell decays (as a result of a lack of soul), paradise is also in danger, because man only strives there as long as hell continues to function as a deterrent. But Peter is adamant and the devil has to go unsuccessful.

Reception and meaning

The novel is based on Vanapagan known from Estonian mythology , the "old heathen", who is also known as the simple-minded or stupid devil and is regularly ripped off by "Kaval Ants", the "clever Hans". Here these figures serve as an allegory of contemporary society, and this is how the novel was understood from the start: “In his new novel, Tammsaare told the age-old story of the exploiter and the exploited. [...] He criticizes today's society and its ethical condition pessimistically and ironically. ”This goes hand in hand with criticism of the religious or metaphysical transfiguration of earthly existence, especially since the novel is also seen as a“ negative counterpart to the story of Faust and Mephistopheles, the reversal of salvation history ”. In this context, Tammsaare's philosophy of life has been brought closer to existentialism, because in this book “God and the world and all their evils and weaknesses are ruthlessly judged”.

After Tammsaare's death, a manuscript in the author's hand was discovered that contained a prologue and epilogue to the novel, in which the conversation between Peter and the devil is recorded before and after the experiment. This makes the allegorical character of the novel clear once again, but otherwise it emerges from the text of the book itself. After a publication in the journal Looming, they were first published in the 1954 edition, but were later omitted and only reprinted in the complete scientific edition. In the German translation, the pro and epilogue are given.

The novel was staged in Estonia in 1940, 1945 and 1976. In 1964 a film was made under the direction of Grigori Kromanov and Jüri Müür .

Translations

translation to German

The German translation, though mediated via Russian, appeared in the GDR in 1959:

  • Satan with a forged passport . Novel. German by Felix Loesch. Berlin: Culture and Progress 1959. 303 pp.

The criticism reacted positively, and the novel was also discussed in the West German "Romanführer".

A year later, a paperback was published with a circulation of 50,000 copies:

  • Satan with a forged passport . German by Felix Loesch. Berlin: Verlag der Nation [1960]. 253 pp. (Novel for Everyone, Volume 94).

Translations into other languages

  • Russian : Новый Нечистый из самого пекла. Перевод с эстонского А. Соколова; послесловие Р. Минны . Москва: Гослитиздат, 1956. 259 p .; numerous new editions.
  • Lithuanian : Naujasis Vanapaganas . Vertė A. Gricius. Vilnius: Valstybine grožines literaturos Leidykla 1957. 304 pp.
  • Hungarian : Pokoltanya új Sátánja . Fordította Lavotha Ödön. Budapest: Kossuth 1959. 312 pp.
  • Latvian : Aizpeklu jaunais Velns . Tulkojis J. Žīgurs. Rīg: Latvijas Valsts izdevniecība 1951. 197 p .; again: Velns ar viltotu pasi . No igaunu valodas tulkojusi Adele Soll. Brooklyn: Gramatu Draugs. 1962. 239 pp.
  • Swedish : Hin onde i Avgrunden . Ööversättning från ryska av S. Wallenius; illustrationer av A. Beljukin. Moskva: Förlaget för litteratur på främmande språk 1963. 385 pp.
  • Finnish : Hornanperän uusi Paholainen . Eestin kielestä suomentanut Aino Kaasinen. Helsinki: Kansankulttuuri 1964. 304 p .; ² 1977.
  • English : The Misadventures of the New Satan . Translated by Olga Shartze. Moscow: Progress Publishers 1978. 311 pp .; edited by Christopher Mosely: London: Norvik Press 2009. 255 pp.
  • Czech : Peklo v sázce . Přeložila Naděžda Slabihoudová, doslov napsal Vladimir Macura. Praha: Odeon 1978. 240 pp.
  • Ukrainian : Новий Нечистий iз самого пекла . Πереклад з ест. О. Завгородній; iл. В. М. Дозорець. Київ: Дніпро 1978. 206 pp.
  • Polish : Nowy Piekielnik z Czartoryi . Przelożył Jerzy Litwiniuk; posłowiem opatrzył Aarne Puu. Warszawa: Czytelnik 1983. 358 pp.
  • Uzbek : Дузахдан чиккан янги шайтон . Русчадан Отаер тарж. Тошкент: Адабиет ва саньат нашриети 1984. 264 p.
  • Bulgarian : Новият дявол от Пъклово . Πревод от естонски Дора Янева-Медникарова; Русе: Авангард 2011. 246 pp.

literature

  • Angela Burmeister: Estonian literature in Germany and in the German Democratic Republic from the beginning of the 20th century [sic] to the end of the eighties. [Unprinted] Dissertation A for obtaining the academic degree of doctor in a branch of science (doctor philosophiae) submitted to the Scientific Council of the Wilhelm-Pieck-Universität Rostock. February 1990.
  • Cornelius Hasselblatt : Estonian literature in German translation. A reception story from the 19th to the 21st century . Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2011.
  • Olev Jõgi : Kirjanik, stiil, "Põrgupõhja", in: Looming 7/1964, pp. 1079-1087.
  • Elizabeth Judas: Russian influence on Estonian literature. A study on Jakob Tamm and Anton H. Tammsaare . Los Angeles: Wetzel Publishing Co., Inc. 1941.
  • Ilse Lehiste: Tammsaare, Kangro, and the devil, in: Baltic Literature and Linguistics. Editors: Arvids Ziedonis, jr. et al. Columbus, Ohio: Association for the advancement of Baltic studies 1973, pp. 69-74. (Publications of the Association for the advancement of Baltic studies 4)
  • Karl Mihkla: AH Tammsaare elutee yes looming . Tartu: Noor-Eesti kirjastus 1938.
  • Mihkel Mutt : Tamjevski ja Dostosaare, in: Looming 1/2014, pp. 72–89.
  • Endel Nirk : AH Tammsaare eesti romaani arengupanoraamis, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 1/1978, pp. 5–15.
  • Friedrich Scholz: Forms of expression of the paradox in Anton Tammsaare's novel "The New Old Devil from Hell's Ground", in: Anniversary publication for the fiftieth anniversary of the Slavic-Baltic Seminar of the Westphalian Wilhelms University of Münster. Edited by Gerhard Ressel et al. Münster: Aschendorf 1980, pp. 151-165.
  • Helene Siimisker: AHTammsaare . Lühimonograafia. Tallinn: Eesti Riiklik Kirjastus 1962. (Eesti kirjamehi)
  • Erna Siirak: AH Tammsaare in Estonian Literature . Tallinn: Perioodika 1978.
  • Rein Undusk: Tammsaare topoloogilised paroodiad: "Põrgupõhja uus vanapagan", in: Keel ja Kirjandus 1/2004, pp. 1–10.
  • Maarja Vaino: Irratsionaalsuse poeetika AH Tammsaare loomingus . Tallinn: Tallinna Ülikool 2011. (Tallinna Ülikooli humanitaarteaduste dissertatsioonid. 26)
  • Ilmar Vene: Tammsaare yes Dostojevski. Maailmapiltide kõrvutus, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 50 (2007), pp. 345–356.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ L. Uustalu, H. Puhvel: Järelsõna, in: AH Tammsaare: Kogutud teosed 13. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 1985, p. 220.
  2. ↑ AHTammsaare: Kogutud teosed 1-18. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 1978-1993.
  3. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt: History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, pp. 466–467.
  4. ↑ D. Palgi, in: Eesti Kirjandus 1/1940, p. 43.
  5. ↑ Ilse Lehiste: Tammsaare, Kangro, and the devil, in: Baltic Literature and Linguistics. Editors: Arvids Ziedonis, jr. et al. Columbus, Ohio: Association for the advancement of Baltic studies 1973, p. 69.
  6. ↑ Friedrich Scholz: Forms of expression of the paradox in Anton Tammsaare's novel “The new old devil from the Hell's bottom”, in: Anniversary publication for the fiftieth anniversary of the Slavic-Baltic seminar at the Westphalian Wilhelms University of Münster. Edited by Gerhard Ressel et al. Münster: Aschendorf 1980, p. 158.
  7. ↑ L. Uustalu, H. Puhvel: Järelsõna, in: AH Tammsaare: Kogutud teosed 13. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 1985, pp. 210-217.
  8. ↑ L. Uustalu, H. Puhvel: Järelsõna, in: AH Tammsaare: Kogutud teosed 13. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 1985, pp. 235-236.
  9. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt: Estonian literature in German translation. A reception story from the 19th to the 21st century. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2011., pp. 167–168.
  10. ↑ Johannes Beer (ed.): The novelist. Vol. 12: The content of the Nordic, Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian and Southeast European novels and short stories of the present. Stuttgart: Hiersemann 1961, pp. 193–194.
  11. ^ Angela Burmeister: Estonian literature in Germany and in the German Democratic Republic from the beginning of the 20th century to the end of the eighties. Rostock 1990, p. 79.