Józef Tretiak 1882
Professor Józef Tretiak (1841–1923) was a researcher in the field of Polish literature history and he was an expert and lecturer on the time period of romanticism at the Jagiellonian University. Tretiak studied the Kalevala more critically than his predecessors. The subject is directly connected to his own work. Besides the translation, Tretiak has added critical views both on the earlier translations and on the image of Finland that prevailed when the translations were published.
The text starts with a review of the lectures that Mickiewicz had given in Paris. However, Tretiak defends the Polish poet as he refers to the political powers and the overall situation in the society at this time, as well as to the general feeling of acrimony that the Polish people experienced because of the difficulties Poland faced. Tretiak finds Mickiewicz’s allegations that the Finnish people share similarities with the despotic nature of the Russian empire, which ruled over both countries, to be “offensive and unfair toward the Finnish people”. The poet had transferred the hatred that he felt toward the invaders to the people of Finland. In Tretiak’s opinion this was unfounded. Nevertheless, Tretiak agrees with Mickiewicz that when the Finnish people encountered the Slavs, they made a connection with something greater than themselves and this is the reason why they were easily conquered and manipulated, which in turn, led to a more aggressive and possessive political climate.
The importance of the Kalevala when building the image
Based on Tretiak’s opinions, it can be concluded that the Kalevala, in fact, has played a significant part in building the image of Finland on the international scene. Tretiak says that if Mickiewicz would have known the work, the verdict that was given to the Finnish people would not have been as severe as it was. Tretiak does not support the idea of putting all the Finno-Ugric people in the same category and forever condemn them as barbarians. According to Tretiak, both the Hungarians and the Finns are nations that have been able to reach the same level within the European culture. They have managed to do this by publishing their own national epic tales, that have shown all of Europe the intellectual environment the people live in and also promoted the development of the art and culture in the countries. Tretiak joined the admirers of the epic and of Elias Lönnrot and he calls Lönnrot Homer of the North.
Tretiak is also very critical against the translation by Duchińska. His first objection is that only part of the poems have been published. Duchińska has left out the information that the published poems are only the beginning of the story. This may, according to Tretiak, lead to a situation where the reader misunderstands the whole work. Furthermore, Duchińska has not included the most important characteristic of the poetic language in the Kalevala, in other words the alliteration. Tretiak admits that he only knows the French translations by Léouzon Le Duc, but he claims, nevertheless, that his Polish predecessor has taken several liberties in her work, which, most likely, stem from the translator’s attempts to adapt the translations to the trochaic octameter. Tretiak claims that the plot has lost its sincerity, adaptive ability and its simplicity in the translation by Duchińska. These characteristics could be seen in the French translation.
Following the model by European researchers, Tretiak introduces his readers to methods by which it is possible to understand the Finnish epic. He sheds some light on the historical background of the Finnish region, because some of the events and characters may be placed on the historical map. Examples of these are the tradition to find a wife, the family feuds and abductions and the demands for ransom. On the other hand, the Kalevala is also filled with “allegories, that cannot be completely conveyed”, as for example, the Sampo-mill. In his translation, Jezierski named Sampo “a talisman jewel” and Tretiak also supports the theory that the mill is a mystical device. However, he thinks that it is not only a talisman, because it has individual characteristics that makes it unique and allegoric. Tretiak does not attempt to analyse these characteristics, but he mentions that objects with talismanic powers are not known among people with Finnish ancestry. Tretiak also studies the analogy brought forward by Grimm to the Scandinavian Grotti-mill and Castren’s statements by which he tried to prove that Sampo was of Asian origin.
Analysing the characters
Also, Tretiak points out that the singers are very appreciated and respected and they hold an important position in the local communities. The poetic singers are viewed as some kind of shamans in their community and their songs have a concrete power as they give people their only joy in life. Tretiak shows that according to the Finns, people have the capability to perform witchcraft. This is also the reason why the main characters in the Kalevala are portrayed as human beings. Tretiak is, indeed, the first Polish writer who attempts to describe the characters in the Kalevala. According to him, there are three different types – poet, worker and warrior – and these represent three different states: Wajnamoinen is the deity of earth, a witch and healer, who, despite his enormous amount of knowledge and skills, is the most unhappy character; Ilmarinen is the deity of air and a hardworking blacksmith; Lemminkäinen is the epitome of divinity and desperate lover. The writer compares Väinämöinen to Odin, Ilmarinen to Thor and Lemminkäinen to Tyr.
Furthermore, Tretiak points out the lack of strong female characters. The women in the Kalevala are usually devoted mothers who love their children very much or young girls who are attached to their childhood home. He notes that girls who are in love – a common subject in the Polish folk songs – are not at all present in the Kalevala. Louhi is the only strong woman in the story, but she is more of a symbol than a real person.
Based on the Kalevala, Tretiak attempts to analyse Finnish poetry. In his opinion, the epic shows the transition from the materialistic to an abstract concept of God, which is typical for religions in western Europe and establishes the spiritual evolving of the Finnish people and their uniqueness in regard to other tribes.
“The beliefs of the ancient Finns, even when they are purified from noble and enriching Christian influences, are still unmeasurably grander then the witchcraft that people related to them practise, which often is nothing but fetishism.”
Tretiak finds it interesting that despite the complicated and detailed system of belief, there is no mention about a temple in the epic. According to him, this proves that the Finnish people most likely primarily worshipped elements of nature.
Classical keys to interpretation
The translation is the most comprehensive one of the translations from the 19th century and it contains 52 pages. This is really a lot compared to earlier translations, which consist of only a few pages. Nevertheless, it also displays an emotional and subjective tone. The text is to its form most close to the translations by F. Jezierski and S. Duchińska. There are many more prose translations than poetic ones and the reason for this is, as the writer states himself: “The French prose version is more exact than the poetic version, since it conveys the intentions of the original text.” The poetic form is used only when the writer refers to ritual poems in order to display the structure of a Finnish poem.
Tretiak mentions several times the risk that the Finnish nature of the text is lost in a translation, which, when it is done through the French version, is two steps away from the original. However, he helps the reader by comparing unknown Finnish characters to more familiar ones. “… when she is about to drown, the girl sings like Ophelia”; “Wajnamoina found himself at the riverbank in the same way as Odysseus”; “Lemminkainen, a Finnish Don Juan”. Because the text is a kind of story with several quotations, the writer has completely abandoned the alliteration and the poetic meter, which is something that he criticises his predecessors for. There are also some additions included in which the writer talks about his own likes. “The section is filled with peculiar and high poetry, that is why I tell you about it”.
Anna Walkowiak: ”Kalevala puolalais-suomalaisten kulttuurikontaktien lähteenä 1800-luvulla”. Kalevala maailmalla. Helsinki: SKS. 2012.