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Anni Swan (1875-1958) - Anni Emilia Manninen - used also pen name A.S. |
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Finnish writer and translator, whose juvenile novels entertained several generations of Finnish children. Anni Swan's fairy tales, largely drawn from world literature and folk tales, combine realistic elements with fantasy and symbolism. As a rule, just like in the 'Cinderella' story, "the last will be first, and the first last," and take their rightful place in the upper echelons of society. Lutheran Christian faith marked Swan's fiction. "Hänhän oli vain pieni poika rikoksen tapahtuessa, eihän laki voinut niin ankarasti rangaista kahdeksanvuotiasta lasta. Vanhemmat menettelivät julmasti kieltäessään hänet. Oliko heidän ylpeytensä niin paljon suurempi kuin rakkaus lapseen? ajatteli hän katkerana. Oli sydämentöntä vaatia häntä luopumaan kaikista lapsenoikeuksistaan. Miten äitikin saattoi! Äiti, joka Ollia oli niin sydämellisesti rakastanut." (from Ollin oppivuodet by Anni Swan, 1919) Anni Swan was born in Helsinki, at 12 Fabian Street, but she spent
her childhood first in
Janakkala and then in Vanaja, in the village of Rekola. Her father,
Carl Gustaf Swan (1839-1916), was an uncompromising Fennoman, journalist and teacher,
who supported the family by writing dictionaries and
grammars. He translated into Finnish Emanuel Swedenborg's Elämän oppi uutta Jerusalemia varten: kymmenen käskyn ohjeitten perusteella (1908). The Swans had nine daughters. Anni was the
seventh among the "nine black swan's" as they were called. At the insistence of their father, all the sisters became highly
educated. Emmy
Malin (1836-1917), Anni's mother, was from
a Swedish-speaking family. Unlike her husband, she never learned to read or speak Finnish
well. Emmy used
to tell fairy tales for her children while sewing and making rag
mats. In her childhood Swan was a voracious reader. Her favorite books included Lönnrot's dictionary, fairy tale collections by the Grimm brothers, Andersen, and Topelius, and the tales of the One Thousand and One Nights. Later on, Charles Dickens's David Copperfield was an important book for her. The young Anni's imagination was also fuelled by the deep woods surrounding the family's house in Rekola. There she had an imaginary friend, named Liddy. Anni Swan studied for a few years in Lappeenranta, at that time a sleepy small
town of 1,500 inhabitants, where her father edited the newspaper Lappeenrannan Uutiset.
The winter of 1885-86 Swan spent in Lapua at a parsonage, and suffered
from terrible homesickness. Despite this experience, parsonages
became the milieu of several of her
books. Lappeenranta was the scene of Ulla ja Mark
(1924). At the age of fifteen Swan began her studies at the Mikkeli Girl Lyceum. She resided in town with the puritanical family of her uncle's, Jaakko Päivärinta. Swan was a top student. In 1892-93 she worked as a tutoress in Haapavesi. In December 1895, Swan graduated from Helsingin suomalainen yhteiskoulu
(Coeducational school of Helsinki) and immediatelly
enrolled in the University of Helsinki. However, against the wishes of his
parents, she abrupted her studied and took a low paid job at the
Kansallis-Osake-Pankki (National Share Bank). During this period she got to know such writers as Juhani Aho, Kasimir Leino, Ilmari Kianto, and the young poet Otto Manninen (1872-1950); she had already dated him in Mikkeli. Other acquaintances included the composer Jean Sibelius and the artist Eero Järnefelt, the husband of her sister Saimi. Both Manninen and Eino Leino, with whom she had a small romance, wrote her poems. One of Leino's pieces from 1898, written on a cigar box, was entitled 'You are like a small kitten,' but it was the more persistent suitor Manninen whom she finally chose. Swan moved in 1899 to Jyväskylä to study at the
teacher's
training college. She graduated the next year and then worked as a teacher in
different elementary schools in Helsinki. After receiving encouragement from the author Juhani Aho, Swan published for the Christmas market a collection of fairy tales, Satuja lapsille luettavaksi (1901). It was illustated by Venny Soldan-Brofeldt. Reviews were good. Swan's mentor Aho emphasized in the Päivälehti the domestic origin of the tales. "Neiti Svan esiintyy tässä esikoisessaan hyviä toiveita antavana lasten kirjailijana ja lupaa täyttää tyhjän paikan suomalaisessa kirjallisuudessa." (Tarinankertoja: Anni Swanin elämä by Riitta Konttinen, 2022, p. 172) Later on, Swan's works were illustrated among others by such forefront artist as Rudolf Koivu and Martta Wendelin. Satuja launched Swan's extraordinary career in the Finnish children's literature. It was followed by Satuja II (1903), Satuja III (1905), and Pieniä satuja I-V (1906), all popular successes. Otto Manninen helped her with their poems. Swan's collected tales, Kootut sadut, came out in 1933, and has been reprinted since several times. Swan's idyllic vision of Finland was shattered by the
General Strike of 1905. Basically, it demonstrated the strenght of the
labour movement, for which she had little sympathy. The socialist writer Maxim Gorky was an exception. Swan was enthusiastic about his play The Philistines (1902), which was performed in Helsinki in 1904. From 1907, Swan conributed writings for the juvenile magazine Pääskynen (The swallow), founded by Emilie Bergbom and Julius Krohn. When Helsinki was controlled by the Reds during the Civil War of 1918, the Swan sisters secretly helped the White Guards. For the rest of her life, Swan admired Mannerheim, the leader of the Whites. Politically Swan was not active, but she and her family identified with the right-wing conservative National Coalition Party. Her son Antero Manninen joined the nationalist Academic Karelia Society (AKS), that embraced the Greater Finland ideology. Swan's youngest son Mauno (1915-1969) married in 1965 Lina Heydrich, the widow of the assassinated Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich, known as "The Hangman" or "The Butcher of Prague." In 1919 Swan was appointed editor of the Nuorten Toveri. The maganize was born in the aftermath of the bitter Civil War. Partly it was aimed to act as a connecting link between different social groups. The word "toveri" (comrade) in the title turned out to be politically problematic and the name was changed into Sirkka in 1925.
Already in her first tales Swan took distance to the didactic Topelian
tradition in children's fiction.
Swan was know as the Finnish "Queen of fairy-tales" – Topelius was
called "the fairy-tale uncle". The battle between good and evil was not
her major subject, nor did she
encourage her readers to disobedience of the rules like Jalmari Finne in his anarchistic Kiljunen Family books. Horror
elements feature in some of Swan's short stories. At the beginning of her
literary career, the fairy tale offered Swan a means to develope
childrens' imagination, but she moved gradually from
the world of
fantasy to realistic depiction of children and animals. Swan's favorite
fairy tale creature was the friendly forest elf. When Swan dealt with distinctions between upper and lower classes, her approach was more complex than in the tales, where rich people are Scrooge-like and poor people have a good heart. An example is 'Joululapsi' (1923). It tells of a young boy, who spends his time on the streets on the Christmas Eve because at home his father drinks and has threatened to beat him. Christ arrives in the figure of the Christmas child and leads the boy to a benevolent couple who adopts him. Not ready for marriage, Swan rejected in 1904 Manninen's proposal. His disappointment Manninen poured into poems and introspective letters to her. "Sellaista suhdetta – sen hyvin tunnen – minulla ei ole ollut, joka olisi kestänyt leikkiä edemmäksi. Mutta antakaa oudolle miehelle anteeksi, jos hän, katsoessaan Teidän silmiinne, on sitä oppinut syvemmin aavistamaan ja sammumattomammin ikävöimään." (Otto Manninen: Säkeiden runoilija by Pentti Lyly, edited by Hanna Karhu & Tellervo Krogerus, 2022, p. 171) Swan replied with the Edgar Allan Poe-influenced short story entitled 'Autiossa talossa' (1904, In an empty house). However, they married three years later in 1907, and lived quite happily together over fifty years. Aino Kallas was a regular guest at their home, but by nature Swan was retiring. Kersti Bergroth, Swan's close friend, once characterized her as "a Victorian person." After Otto Manninen received a grant to translate Iliad and Odyssey into Finnish, the couple travelled in 1910 in Greece and Italy. Manninen made a highly acclaimed career as a translator and taught at the University of Helsinki. Swan left her full-time work in 1916 and devoted herself entirely to her family and literature. Tottisalmen perillinen (1914), Swan's first juvenile novel,
was set in Tottesund manor. This
Dickensian story, partly based on her father's recollections, tells of
an orphan
farm-hand Yrjö, who, in reality, turns out to be the lost son of a
baron and a heir to a large fortune. "- Yrjö on varsin tavallinen nimi.
- Mutta sehän on von Sumersien perintönimi. Niin pitkälle kuin tiedän,
ovat Tottisalmen isännät olleet Yrjöjä." - Tottesund was also a place of interest to the dramatist Gustaf von Numers, Swan's
cousin - he grew up there. Swan herself never visited the manor, reputedly haunted by a ghost called the White Lady. Swan's most popular book, Iris rukka (1916, Poor Iris), was a
modernized version of the classic 'Cinderella' tale. The protagonist is a young
girl, Iris, who is suffering from humiliating treatment in a rich
family. Finally she is rescued by her father, an artist, who returns
from abroad after making a fortune. In the newspaper Uusi Suometar the
penname R.F. (Rafael Forsman, later Koskimies) praised the story for its "glittering
intellectual joy" and humor. Iris rukka was filmed in 1962, starring Nora
Haque, who had played Helen Keller in a National Theatre
production in 1961. Critics considered Nora Haque's performance
charming but Iris was her last film role. Martta Wendelin, who designed
the cover of the novel, and many of Swan's other books, created covers
for the translations of authors such as Mary Marck (pseudonym of
Kersti Bergroth), Mary Alcott, and Lucy M. Montgomery. Most of Swan's works were written for the girls. Usually she did not moralize, but stressed such values as friendliness, tolerance, and love of nature. Ollin oppivuodet (1919, The Apprencticeship of Olli), a Bildungsroman, was originally written for her own son Antero. Olli is a rich and spoiled boy, but he learns his lesson while struggling alone in the world. Adopting the life of a street boy in the working-class neighbourhood of Södermalm, Stockholm, he quickly starts to swear and curse and fight. Upon returning back to Finland, he becomes an apprentice to a shoemaker in Helsinki. Before the happy end, Olli is sent to a correctional institution. Ollin oppivuodet was Swan's most traditional "naughty child story", which aimed at the child's socialization into a certain way of life. Teuvo Puro's screen adaptation of the novel, the first feature film produced after Finland gained indepencence in 1917, was mostly shot in Helsinki, also the scenes set in Stockholm. Its premiere at the Kino-Palatsi in December 1920 was attended by President K.J. Ståhlberg. Although The Apprencticeship of Olli gained a wide audience, it was a financial failure. Sirkka Puro, the director's daughter, played Olli as a child. 'Uutisasukkaana Australiassa' (1926, Living as Settlers in Australia), published as a serial in Sirkka, appeared in revised version in 1949 entitled Arnellin perhe.
The Aboriginal people portrayed in the story are imaginary. Swan
constantly uses the word "negro" and contrasts "ignorant savages" and
the hardworking Finnish family, that has settled in Queensland. The
father, Mr. Arnell, explains that "an Australian negro doesn't feel
affection towards anyone – and s/he can never be entirely trusted". ('Colonialism, Race, and White Innocence in
Finnish Children’s Literature: Anni Swan’s 1920s' Serial
"Uutisasukkaana Austraaliassa"' by Raita Merivirta, in Finnish Colonial Encounters From Anti-Imperialism to Cultural Colonialism and Complicity,
edited by Raita Merivirta, Leila Koivunen, Timo Särkkä, 2021, p. 187)
Swan never visisted Australia, and it seems she believed that "[t]here
were still many cannibal tribes among Australian savages." (Ibid., p. 188) Pikkupappilassa (1922) and its sequel Ulla ja Mark were partly based on Swan's happy childhood memories. These
novels give a lively account of life at the end of the 1800s. After her son Sulevi died in 1936, Swan wrote Kaksi pikku miestä
(1938, Two Little Men), an idyllic adventure in the nature with elves and
goblins. The central characters were her sons, Antero and Sulevi.
A collection of Sulevi Manninen's poems, Levoton päivä,
came out posthumously in 1936. During the Winter War (1939-40) and the
Continuation War (1941-44) Swan spent much time at the family's villa in
Kotavuori, Kangasniemi. By the time her final juvenile novel Arnellin perhe appeared, Swan's books were regarded as embarrassingly old-fashioned. Anni Swan died on March 24, 1958, in
Helsinki. In addition to her career as a writer, Swan translated into Finnish works by Lewis Carroll, James Fenimore Cooper, H. Rider Haggard, Jules Verne, Franz Treller etc. She first tried her hand as a translator at the age of twelve. The book in question was Martti Luther ja kreivi Erbach by Armin Stein. It appeared in serialized form in Lappeenrannan Uutiset. Swan's version of Carroll's famous Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Liisan seikkailut ihmemaassa), published by Werner Söderström Oy in 1906, introduced nonsense into Finnish literature. Commercially, it was not a success. Swan was faithfull to the original text although Alice's name was changed to Liisa. Carroll's poems from the book were rendered into Finnish by Swan's husband Otto Manninen. For further reading: Tarinankertoja: Anni Swanin elämä by Riitta Konttinen (2022); 'Colonialism, Race, and White Innocence in Finnish Children’s Literature: Anni Swan’s 1920s' Serial "Uutisasukkaana Austraaliassa"' by Raita Merivirta, in Finnish Colonial Encounters From Anti-Imperialism to Cultural Colonialism and Complicity, edited by Raita Merivirta, Leila Koivunen, Timo Särkkä (2021); 'Anni Swan: Ollin oppivuodet (1919)' & 'Teuvo Puro: Ollin oppivuodet (1920),' in 50 suomalaista kirjaa ja elokuvaa by Juri Nummelin (2017); The Eden of Dreams and the Nonsense Land: British Characteristics in the Finnish Children's Literature of the 1950s by Mirva Saukkola (2011); Satukuningatar Anni Swan: elämä ja teokset by Sirpa Kivilaakso (2009); Lumometsän syli: Anni Swanin satusymbolismi 1896-1923 by Sirpa Kivilaakso (2008); Swanin tytöt: kulttuurihistoriallinen kertomus autonomian ajalta by Hellevi Arjava (2007; Suomennoskirjallisuuden historia I, edited by H.K. Riikonen et. al (2007); Silkkihienot siteet. Anni Swanin ja Otto Mannisen kirjeenvaihtoa 1898-1908, edited by Antero Manninen and Hellevi Arjava (2000); A History of Finland's Literature, edited by George C. Schoolfield (1998); Yhdeksän mustaa joutsenta: Swanin sisarusten kirjeitä: kokemuksia, elämyksiä ja ajatuksia autonomian ajan Suomessa, edited by Antero Manninen (1993); Sata vuotta sadun ja seikkailun mailla by Jorma Mäenpää (1958); Anni Swan by Maija Lehtonen (1958); 'Anni Swan,' in Aleksis Kivestä Olavi Siippaiseen, edited by Martti Haavio (1944) - Bestselling children's books in Finland. Author / title of the book / copies printed: 1. Laura Latvala: Pikku-Marjan eläinkirja, 292 300 2. Anni Swan: Iris rukka, 129 00 3. Anni Swan: Olli oppivuodet, 129 50 4. Kirsi Kunnas: Tiitiäisen satupuu, 124 50 5. Anni Swan: Tottisalmen perillinen, 116 80 6. Jalmari Finne: Kiljusten herrasväki ja Kiljusen uudet seikkailut, 98 800 7. Anni Swan: Kaarinan kesäloma, 95 40 8. Yrjö Kokko: Pessi ja Illusia, 92 00 9. Tove Jansson: Moomin books / vol., 80 000 (Source: Suomalaisten suosikkikirjat by Juhani Niemi, 1997) Selected bibliography:
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