2006 |
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Elo Lindsalu. Vilde as Feminist |
2006, nr. 4 |
In his works Eduard Vilde (1865–1933),
the founder of Estonian socio-critical real- ism, appears as a
tenacious advocate of feminist ideas. Of the Estonian literates
of the turn of the 20th century Vilde is one of the most steadfast
champions of the freedom and dignity of women.
Vilde's interest in women's emancipation was aroused during his
first stay in Berlin, where he was introduced to socio-democratic
ideology. Like August Bebel's, Vilde's feminist programme roots
in his protest against the barons' despotism and the prostitute
status of country girls in town.
Several of Vilde's female characters are either in the beginning
or advancing on their way to a mature personality, turning away
from the conservative model of a woman that used to dominate the
19th-century Baltic German society as well as the backward local
village. Their ambition to become self-sufficient by educating
themselves and working hard reflects the general tendency towards
urbanization that was characteristic of the turn of the century.
Besides the women who indeed manage to break free from the depressing
conditions Vilde also depicts another kind of women, namely, victims
of the society, most of which suffer poverty and eventually succumb
to prostitution. The article provides a detailed comparison of
the female protagonists of two literary works – the novel
Mäeküla piimamees ("Milkman of the Manor",
1916) by Eduard Vilde and the play, "Doll's House",
by Henrik Ibsen, revealing several coincidences and intertextual
relations. The two texts also have a common message, notably,
if your milieu has turned morally and spiritually oppressive –
leave it. Both authors seem to have reached the conviction that
a woman has a natural right to an individuality of her own as
well as to civil rights. Thus one may conclude that the heroine
of the novel regarded as a model work of Estonian realism is actually
an Estonian Nora.
Keywords: Eduard Vilde, Henrik Ibsen,
socio-critical realism, women's emancipation and sexual moral,
urbanization.
Elo Lindsalu (b. 1968), MA, Tallinn University,
Chair of Estonian Literature
elo@tlu.ee
2006 |
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