The awakening of a language, the beginnings of a national literature
The birth of Finnish literature is intrinsically linked to that of the Finnish language. With its strong oral tradition, made up of tales and legends sung by the fireside, which inspired Elias Lönnrot to write his famous Kalevala, Finland had to wait for the advent of the Reformation to acquire an indispensable tool for all literary creation: its written language. In 1548, the bishop of Turku, Mikael Agricola, who was close to Luther, began translating the New Testament into Finnish, after concocting a primer based on the Swedish alphabet and a prayer book for the clergy. Until then, only the educated class had access to Swedish or Latin writings. Although it succeeded in making the new religion accessible to the people, written Finnish remained the preserve of the clergy for two centuries, while scholars continued to use Latin and Swedish remained the language of the elite. In 1640, the founding of the Swedish University of Åbo in Turku was a milestone in the training of the Finnish elite. Transferred to Helsinki in 1828, it was home to the first chair of Finnish language in 1850.
The miracle of Kalevala
Finnish literature owes its emancipation in part to Swedish-speaking artists and intellectuals. The importance of Elias Lönnrot's work is unprecedented. Travelling on foot to the four corners of the country and collecting poems, legends and folk stories from families and Karelian laulajat (local bards) over a period of more than ten years, this former country doctor dreamed of giving what was still considered a collection of rural dialects its letters of nobility. An avid poet, he worked relentlessly to rewrite his harvest, culminating in the Kalevala, a collection of over 32 songs representing 12,078 verses, first published in 1835, followed by a New Kalevala (1849) and a monumental Finnish-Swedish dictionary. An epic, lyrical and comic masterpiece, the Kalevala is still celebrated every February 28. This vast and unique epic not only pays tribute to the richness of an ancestral universe, populated by gods and monsters caught up in a vast struggle for the sampo (a symbolic and magical object that brings fortune to its owner), it is also, and above all, a means of making a people in search of an identity aware of a unique, national literary heritage, which the Finns owe neither to Sweden nor to Russia. It was also the starting point for a vast artistic movement. Painters, composers, philosophers and writers, inspired by the Kalevala, exalted Finnish identity in a national romanticism that violently opposed attempts at Russification. Among them were Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Jean Sibelius. Johan Ludvig Runeberg, another Swedish speaker and future "national poet of Finland" celebrated every February 5, contributed to the nation's awakening with his Récits de l'enseigne Stål, between 1848 and 1860. In this long poem in four chapters, Runeberg pays tribute to the courage and heroism of Finns enlisted in the army of the Kingdom of Sweden, in the debacle against the Russian Empire. Considered one of the greatest epic poems in the national literary heritage, alongside the Kalevala, it was also used in part in the national anthem Maamme (Our Country), inspired by his first poem, Vårt Land. Johan Vilhem Snellman, following in Hegel's footsteps, wrote his Theory of the State in 1842. It was Snellman who preached the equal status of the Finnish and Swedish languages, and succeeded in persuading the Tsar to create a national currency (1860), followed by recognition of Finnish as the national language (1863). Other ancestral poems handed down by oral tradition were collected in a long-forgotten anthology, brought to light by Henrik Gabriel Porthan. A century later, Zacharias Topelius celebrated them in his tales and his book Notre pays (1875). Other poets demonstrated a mastery of Kalévaléan prosody. Eino Leino brought a subtle finesse to the Kalévaléen meter in his collection Helkavirsiä (1903).
The first Finnish novel
The true founder of modern Finnish literature is undoubtedly Aleksis Kivi (1834-1872) and his epic novel Seven Brothers, which describes the journey of illiterate peasants and their encounter with modern civilization. Published in 1870, this first major Finnish work, though little recognized in its own country at the time, was to have an international influence, although the translation of the nuances of the South-Western French dialect is often judged incapable of reflecting the breadth of its genius. The novel was a major influence on Finnish literature.
A literature marked by its war wounds
At the dawn of the 20th century, in the footsteps of Maupassant, a realist and naturalist movement was born to describe the state of the young nation and the country's resplendent landscapes, described by one of its most outstanding representatives, Juhani Aho. The civil war that broke out in 1918 left a heavy mark on people's minds. Sainte Misère (1919), the great novel by Frans Eemil Sillanpää, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1939 (at a time when Finland was heroically fighting to keep its independence from the USSR), is representative of these evocations of a tormented destiny. Although Mika Waltari is better known for his historical novels, such as Sinouhé l'Égyptien (1945), the great writer also participated in this movement with Danse parmi les tombes, a deeply patriotic book written in 1944, during the darkest hours of a country torn apart. Vainö Linna, for his part, worked to heal Finland's trauma caused by the Continuation War, fought on the side of the Nazi Third Reich against the USSR. This painful memory gave rise to a form of national self-criticism. In 1954, Unknown Soldiers, his plea for the common soldier, topped the national sales charts for a long time, followed by his trilogy Ici, sous l'étoile polaire (1959-1962).
Contemporary literature
In the great Finnish literary tradition, Arto Paasilinna, the contemporary Finnish writer most appreciated by Francophile readers, made his name with Le Lièvre de Vatanen (1975), a tribute to nature and the simple life most in harmony with its environment. Known for his novels imbued with bittersweet zaniness, his success lifted Finnish literature out of its Nordic confidentiality, and led to the translation of many fine works into other languages, including French. Every year, more than 200 titles are translated and published abroad in over forty languages, even since his death in 2018. In February 2011, Bo Caperlan, author of Le Vent des origines and Voix de l'heure tardive, died. His work was awarded the Nordic Council Prize (1977), the highest literary distinction in northern Europe. Following on from her beautiful novel Femmes merveilleuses au bord de l'eau, Swedish-born Monika Fagerholm brings us other equally spellbinding stories, with La Fille américaine, the tale of two quiet childhoods suddenly plunged into tragedy, and La Scène à paillettes, an unusual thriller that follows on from her previous book.
Young talents are emerging. The most famous is undoubtedly Sofi Oksanen, born of an Estonian mother and Finnish father. Her third novel, Purge, winner of the Prix Roman Fnac, the Prix Femina étranger and the Prix du Livre Européen 2010, as well as numerous awards in the Nordic countries (Prix Finlandia, Runeberg and the Nordic Council's Grand Prize for Literature), established this committed, Gothic-looking thirty-something as a key figure on the Finnish literary scene and in the intellectual life of Helsinki. The publication in French of Baby Jane, her most intimate novel, at the start of the 2014 literary season, completes the translation of her work, along with Les Vaches de Staline (her first novel) and Quand les colombes disparurent. Riikka Pulkkinen is also part of this new generation of Finnish writers, with her moving intergenerational novel L'Armoire des robes oubliées (2012); as for Laura Gustafsson, she both shocks and seduces with her trashy, feminist odyssey Conte de putes (2011) and her second novel, Anomalia, a chilling story revolving around the theme of childhood and motherhood.
In 2023, Finland was saddened by the loss of Mikki Liukkonen, considered the rising star of national literature. Author of three collections of poems, four novels and a graphic novel, his pen knew how to bring (almost) monumental works to life: his novel O (translated into French in 2021), for example, is close to a thousand pages long and features almost a hundred characters. He was also a talented guitarist in the band The Scenes.
Characters for children
Among the favorite characters of little Finns? The Moumines, of course, the half-hippopotamus, half-troll heroes created by Tove Jansson. They've become real stars in Japan, and are as popular as Santa Claus in Finland. Above all, these snow hippopotamus-like trolls have been an integral part of Finnish children's imagination since 1945. Created by Tove Jansson in Helsinki in her studio at No. 1 Ullanlinnankatu, they became classics of Finnish literature, before acquiring international renown, thanks in particular to the comic books of her brother Lars, then to Japanese animated films (hence the success in Japan for decades...). For their fans, a theme park in their image has been created on the island of Kailo, in Naantali. The Moumines story is that of a family of happy hippos, living peacefully in an imaginary valley overlooking the Gulf of Finland, surrounded by colorful characters. This children's tale, which began with Une comète au pays de Moumine, also hides more philosophical and ecological messages that are still relevant today in her eleven albums, translated into over 45 languages. Tove Marika Jansson (1914-2001), Moumines' mother, was awarded the 1966 Hans-Christian-Andersen prize for her contribution to children's literature. She has, of course, won numerous other prizes: National Literature Prize (1963), Finland Prize of the Swedish Academy (1972), Pro Finnish Medal (1976), Finnish Cultural Foundation Prize (1990), Harvey Prize (1997)... She is also the author of six novels and an autobiography published in 1968, La Fille du sculpteur.
