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Arvid Järnefelt (1861-1931) - pseudonym Arvi Rauta, published also novels under the name Hilja Kahila

 

Finnish writer, who was deeply influenced by Leo Tolstoy's Christian thinking. Arvid Järnefelt believed in the brotherhood of man and that people must reject unnecessary luxury and live simply. He also met Tolstoy in Moscow and translated several of his works into Finnish, including the novel Ylösnousemus (Resurrection). Järnefelt was born into a cultured and well-established Russian-Finnish family. In his thirties, he abandoned a promising juridical career, and began to live the life of a shoemaker and farmer.

"Oikea taiteilija ei kysy koskaan mitä hyötyä hänen teoksensa tulee tuottamaan. Hän tekee yksinomaan taiteen vuoksi, taiteellisen totuuden vuoksi; siksi että hänen pitää niin tehdä; siksi että hänellä ei ole joku yksityinen hyödynkäsite silmiensä edessä, vaan että hänellä on sisällinen kutsumus, sisällinen tarve." (Isänmaa by Arvid Järnefelt, Helsingissä: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 1893, p. 108)

Arvid Järnefelt was born in Pulkova in Russia. He was the second son of the topographer, general, and senator August Alexander Järnefelt, and Elisabeth Clodt von Jürgensburg, the daughter of a baron, who was one of the best Russian sculptors of the time. At home Järnefelt's parents spoke first Russian, but after settling in Helsinki, they tended to speak Finnish to their children. Elisabeth encouraged her childrens' artistic aspirations. Arvid's brother Armas (1869-1958) gained fame as a composer and conductor, and his younger brother Eero (1863-1937) was a painter; their sister Aino married the composer Jean Sibelius. After Elisabeth had given birth to nine children, her husband decided they would not sleep together any more.

During the period when Alexander Järnefelt served as governor of Kuopio, Elisabeth became acquainted with Minna Canth there. They kept contact even though Alexander did not approve. Cath's radical play Työmiehen vaimo (1885, The Workman's Wife) made her a persona non grata at the governor's mansion. In the 1880s Arvid Järnefelt joined the Fennoman movement. The Fennomans sought to strenghten the status of the Finnish language and Finland's autonomy from Russia.

In 1884 Järnefelt married Emilia Fredrika Parviainen, they had five children, one of whom, Anna Katarina, died young, and was buried in Rantala. Their first child, Eero, was born in 1888; he became an ambassador in the diplomatic service. The early education of the children, who led relatively ordinary lives, was done by Järnefelt himself. The apparently autobiographical short story '"Hiljaisuudessa" (Eräs muisto)' (Without ceremonies), tells of the burial of his daughter, who had not been baptized – Järnefelt did not allow his children to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Eventually she is buried on their own ground, while birds are singing in the trees all around: "Kun me sitten loimme haudan jälleen umpeen, viserteli lähioksalla pieni lintu talven syvässä hiljaisuudessa. Ja hiljaisuus oli varmaan vielä syvempi kuin minkä rovasti olisi osannut hautauksellemme antaa . . ." ("and that was a far deeper silence than the church could ever have provided . . .") (Hiljaisuudessa: kokoelma kertomuksia ja näytelmiä by Arvid Järnefelt, Helsinki: Otava, 1913, p. 88)

Considering sexual desires as evil, Järnefelt stopped having sex with his wife in his 40s, and thenceforth masturbated occasionally. Noteworthy, Tolstoy's ideal was celibacy, but the central character in The Kreutzer Sonatado practices mastubating: "I was not a seducer, I had no unnatural tastes, I did not make debauchery the principal object of my life; but I found pleasure within the limits of society's rules, and innocently believed myself a profoundly moral being." (The Kreutzer Sonata by Count Leo Tolstoi, translated by Benj. R. Tucker, Boston, Mass.: Benj. A. Tucker, 1890, p. 21) Järnefelt also refused to pay his taxes, donated a library for a local workers' union, and gave readings.

Järnefelt studied psychology in Leipzig and after graduating in 1885 from the University of Helsinki, he studied Russian language at the University of Moscow from 1886 to 1888. In 1890 he became a lawyer and worked from 1891 in civil service, first in Helsinki and then in judicial duties in Ostrobothnia in the western part of Finland.

The turning point in Järnefelt's life was Tolstoy's lesser known book on the Christian faith (in Finnish Kristuksen opin henki), which he read at the age of thirty. Despite his father's opposition, Järnefelt abandoned his promising career at a court of appeals, bought a farm called Rantala from Lohja in 1896, and became a full-time writer, devoting himself into spreading the ideas of Tolstoy. Trying support his family with manual labor he learned the skills of a shoemaker and blacksmith. Before publishing Isänmaa (1893, Fatherland), his first novel, Järnefelt had written two short stories under the influence of Aleksis Kivi. These works, 'Kertomus Elias-äijästä' and 'Kokelas', were published in the magazine Valvoja in 1883-84.

Many of Järnefelt's writings were autobiographical. In the story Heräämiseni (1894, My Awakening) Järnefelt depicted how he adopted Tolstoyanism as his guide in life. In a letter to Järnefelt, Tolstoy talks, half-seriously, about his plan to escape from his burdens to Finland. After Nikolay Bobrikov, the Governor-General of Finland, presented the Finnish diet with the ukase of Czar Nicholas II, known as the "February Manifesto", Järnefelt travelled in 1899 to Russia with his brother Eero to put Finland's case before the author. The long-awaited meeting took place on the morning of April 17. Tolstoy's advice was to use passive resistance against oppression. The look in his eyes was sad. "Silmissä on syvä, surunvoittoinen ilme. Katse tunkeutuu ehdottomasti sydämmeen, on vilpitön, melkein lapsellinen, ja herättää keskinäisen ymmärryksen, joka heti vapauttaa mielen kaikesta ujoudesta." (Päiväkirja matkaltani Venäjällä ja käynti Leo Tolstoin luona keväällä by Arvid Järnefelt, Helsingissä: Otava, 1899, p. 62)

Järnefelt adopted Tolstoy's views of the necessity of land reform. Tolstoy's How Much Does a Man Need? had appeared in 1886 and Järnefelt's writing 'Isännät ja torpparit' ('masters and tenant farmers') in 1894. Maaemon lapsia (1905, Children of Mother Earth) dealt with the agricultural problem from the point of view of three characters; a poor tenant, a wealthy landowner, and a radical young aristocrat, who was Järnefelt's self-portrait. Concealed behind the allegorical veil of the story is the contemporary political debate on the relations between Finland and Russia.

In the pamphlet Maa kuuluu kaikille! (1907, The Land Belongs to Everyone), written during the crofters' strike of Laukko in 1906-1907, Järnefelt's ideals of equality came close to socialism, but his views also associated with the concept of mother earth. "Ensimmäinen laki, mikä tämän vuoren ylimmältä huipulta meidän tietoisuuteemme painautuu, on että maa on ihmisten yhteinen emo, jonka utareihin jokaisella ihmisellä on syntyperäinen oikeus. Ylimmältä huipulta emme siis voi ollenkaan selittää mistä syntyy erotus köyhien ja rikkaiden välillä . . . " (Maa kuuluu kaikille! Matkoiltani Laukon lakkomailla by Arvid Järnefelt, Helsinki: Vihtori Kosonen, 1907, p. 4) 

In 1899 Järnefelt participated in the founding of the newspaper Päivälehti (later Helsingin Sanomat). It gained soon fame as a promoter of liberal ideas. The newspaper had in the early 1900s several authors in its staff, among them the poet Eino Leino. During this period Järnefelt was closely associated with the writer Juhani Aho and the journalist Eero Erkko, who held several ministerial posts from 1918 to 1920 after Finland declared independence. Järnefelt's Tiitus (or Orjan oppi, 1902) gained a success on the stage, possibly because the audience wrongly assumed that the author was criticizing the Russian Emperor in the character of Titus.

Veneh'ojalaiset I-II (1909, The Family Veneh'oja), aimed at unjust laws, was set in Helsinki, in the world of slums, half-criminals, and Russian revolutionaries. Following Tolstoy's pacifist politics, Järnefelt asserted in the novel that you don't destroy the evil of the system by violent revolution but recommended passive resistance. The book prompted a public protest from a formed Russian officer who had sided with revolutionaries and later fled to the United States.

The commercially successful novel Onnelliset (1916, The Happy Ones) came out under the feminine pseudonym Hilja Kahila. Its front cover portrayed a naked woman stepping into water. In 1917 Järnefelt delivered a series of sermons, in which he attacked dogmatic religious beliefs. Due to his unconventional views about love for one's neighbour, he was arrested for a short time. Järnefelt refused to appear in court because of his belief, that the law is only a tool for the ruling class.  Conservative religious circles castigated Järnefelt as an "anarchist of the Tolstoy type".

The Russian Revolution and Finnish Civil War affected deeply Järnefelt's pacifistic thoughts. After years of silence as a novelist he wrote Greeta ja hänen Herransa (1925, Greta and Her Lord), which underlined the author's spiritual seeking. In the story an elderly Swedish-speaking woman, Greeta, tries to come to terms with the son's suicide. In her difficulties, she turns to her lord, who is not actually the God of the official church.

Arvid Järnefelt died on December 27, 1931 in Helsinki, but was buried in the garden of Rantala. Although his importance as a writer has been acknowledged, he never became popular. Moreover, Tolstoy's ideas never had a large following in Finland. Järnefelt's works dealt mostly with social and religious thoughts of the late 19th century and problems of educated people. Isänmaa and Veneh'ojalaiset were reprinted by Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura (Finnish Literature Society) in the late 1990s. Greeta ja hänen herransa was made into a talking book in 1988. The 6th edition of Vanhempieni romaani (1928-1930, A Novel about My Parents), a biographical trilogy, was published in 1991.

Järnefelt's best known novel is perhaps the patriotic Isänmaa (The Fatherland), which contributed to the national self-awareness in its own way. One of the characters demands that all the Swedish-speakers must leave Finland. The protagonist, Heikki Vuorela, is a student who is carried away by national awakening. He had moved from the country to a city and becomes an advocate of new political ideas. However, at the same time Heikki forgets his agrarian roots. After his father's death he gives up his share in the farm, but believes that he has gained now more stronger vision of his country. In Veljekset (1900, The Brothers) Järnefelt developed further his psychological portrayal of educated people. The central characters, Johannes, Henrik, Gabriel and Uuno, are sons of a priest, and through their choices Henrik comes closest to the author himself in his search for meaning in life, but he has also connections to Heikki from Isänmaa. At one point the noble idlers casually plan a gang-rape. Helsinki is featured as a cold, depressing place.

The symbolist drama Kuolema (1903, Death) – the subject was very popular among fin de siècle writers and artists – took influences from Maurice Maeterlinck. Järnefelt's brother-in-law, Jean Sibelius, composed the famous 'Valse Triste' as part of the incidental music for the play in the upper gallery of the Hotel Kämp. He had a heavy cold. (Sun Forest Lake: The Symphonies & Tone Poems of Jean Sibelius by David Vernon, Edinburgh: Candle Row Press, 2024, p. 191) Kuolema premiered at the Finnish National Theatre in Helsinki on 2 December 1903; Sibelius himself conducted the performance. Not long after Sibelius's death Järnefelt's brother Armas was asked in a radio interview what he thought of Sibelius as a conductor. "Well, let's say he was better as a composer," he replied. Sibelius later reworked the sad walz tune. When it was published in 1904 it achieved worldwide acclaim. The stage production was revived at the National Theatre in 1911. For this revised play Sibelius composed two additional new pieces, 'Valse romantique' and 'Canzonetta'.

Vanhempieni romaani, Järnefelt's fictionalized account of his gifted but difficult parents, depicts the new Finnish intelligentsia of the 1880s and 1890s. The book revealed Juhani Aho's fascination with Järnefelt's mother, Elisabeth, and his later love for the daughter of the family, Aino. Vanhempieni romaani was translated into Swedish in 1989. The letter of Armas, Eero, Arvid and Kasper Järnefelt and Aino Sibelius to Elisabet were published in 2014.

For further reading: Suomalaisia kirjailijoita: XX vuosisadan alussa by Kaarlo Rafael Koskimies (1927); 'Arvid Järnefelt,' in Aleksis Kivestä Saima Harmajaan: suomalaisten kirjailijain elämäkertoja, edited by Albin Ahonen, Martti Haavio, V.I. Mikkonen (1943); Arvid Järnefelt ja hänen lähimaailmansa by Pekka Häkli (1955); Tolstoilaisuus Suomessa: aatehistoriallinen tutkimus by Armo Nokkala (1958); 'Arvid Järnefeltin psykologisesta taiteesta' by Lauri Viljanen, in Lyyrillinen minä (1959); A History of Finnish Literature by Jaakko Ahokas (1973); 'Arvid Järnefeltin tie kirjailijaksi', in Orfeus nukkuu: tutkielmia kirjallisuudesta by Annamari Sarajas (1980); 'Arvid Järnefelt' by Tapio Kopponen, foreword in Arvid Järnefelt I: Kodin suuret klassikot (1986); 'Sata vuottako aikaansa edellä?' by Juhani Niemi, foreword in Veljekset by Arvid Järnefelt (2002); Arvid Järnefelt: Kirjailija ajassa ja ikuisuudessa by Juhani Niemi (2005); Moved by the City: Experiences of Helsinki in Finnish Prose Fiction 1889–1941 by Lieven Ameel (2013); Rakas äitini!: Armas, Eero, Arvid ja Kasper Järnefeltin sekä Aino Sibeliuksen kirjeitä äidilleen Elisabeth Järnefeltille 1879-1928, ed. by SuviSirkku Talas (2014); 'Arvid Järnefelt ja pasifistinen vaihtoehto,' in Jos tahdot rauhaa, edited by Elias Krohn & Katariina Kajannes (2023) - Other writers closely associated with Lohja: Eeva Joenpelto, Tytti Parras, Sirkka Turkka. - See also City Library of Lohja.

Selected works:

  • Bjørnstjerne Björnson: Taistelujen väliajalla, 1880 (translator)
  • Nikolai Gogol: Naimapuuhat, 1882  (translator)
  • Isänmaa, 1893 - Fosterlandet (övers. av Ernst Gråsten, 1893) [The Fatherland]
  • Heräämiseni, 1894 - Mitt uppvaknande (övers. 1894) [My Awakening]
  • Ljev Nikolaievitsh Tolstoi: Kristuksen opin henki: lyhyt selitys evankeliumin tarkoituksesta, 1894 (translator) 
  • Ihmiskohtaloja, 1895 - Människoöden (övers. 1895)
  • Ateisti, 1895 - Ateisten: en samling smärre uppsatser (övers. 1895)
  • Maria: vanhan legendan mukaan, 1897 - Maria: berättelse enligt en gammal legend (övers. 1897)
  • Puhtauden ihanne, 1897 - Renhetens ideal (övers. 1897)
  • Evankeliumin alku eli Jeesuksen syntyminen ihmisestä ja Jumalasta, 1898
  • Päiväkirja matkaltani Venäjällä ja käynti Leo Tolstoin luona keväällä 1899, 1899
  • Samuel Cröell: näytelmä neljässä näytöksessä, 1899
  • Ljev Nikolaievitsh Tolstoi: Ylösnousemus, 1899-90 (translator)
  • Satuja ja kertomuksia, 1900 (toim.)
  • Pikku Simon seikkailut jouluiltana, 1900
  • Rakhmetov: Venäjän työväen nykyinen asema, 1900  (translator)
  • Veljekset, 1900 - Bröderna (övers. 1900; reissued in Finnish in 2002, foreword by Juhani Niemi) [The Brothers]
  • Mitä on jumalanpalvelus?, 1901
  • Evankeliumi, 1902
  • Helena, 1902 - Helena (övers. 1905)
  • Orjan oppi: näytelmä viidessä näytöksessä, 1902
  • Kuolema, 1903 (play, music by Jean Sibelius) [Death]
  • Elämän meri: kokoelma kertomuksia, 1904 - Lifvets haf (övers. 1905)
  • Leo Tolstoi: Lapsuus, poikaikä, nuoruus: kolme novellia, 1904-05 (translator)
  • Meemon lapsia, 1905 - Jordens barn (övers. 1905) [Children of Mother Earth]
  • Ljev Nikolaievitsh Tolstoi: Mitä varten ihmiset päihdyttävät itseään?, 1905 (translator)
  • Henry George: Edistys ja köyhyys: tutkimus kasvavan rikkauden ohella enentyvään köyhtymiseen ja taloudellisiin ahdinkoihoin: parannuskeino, 1905 (translator)
  • Lukemisen ja kirjoittamisen alkuopetus kotiopetusta varten, 1905
  • Paul Birykov: Leo Tolstoin elämä ja teokset, 1906 (translator)
  • Jeesuksen syntyminen ihmisestä ja Jumalan armosta, 1907
  • Maa kuluu kaikille! Matkoiltani Laukon lakkomailla, 1907 - Jorden tillhör alla!: från mina strövtåg å Laukko strejkmarker (övers. 1908) [The Land Belongs to All!]
  • Henry George: Sosiaalinen  pulma, 1908 (translator)
  • Veneh'ojalaiset I-II, 1909 [The Family Veneh’oja]
  • Leo Tolstoi: Kristuksen oppi, 1911  (translator)
  • Leo Tolstoi: Väärä kuponki, 1911  (translator)
  • Leo Tolstoin jälkeenjättämät kaunokirjalliset teokset 1-3, 1911-12  (translator)
  • Leo Tolstoi: Hadshi-Murat: romaani, 1912  (translator)
  • Hiljaisuudessa: kokoelma kertomuksia ja näytelmiä, 1913
  • Kallun kestit: kolminäytöksinen ilveily, 1914
  • Manon Roland, 1914
  • Valtaset: 3-näytöksinen näytelmä, 1915
  • Onnelliset, 1916 (as Hilja Kahila) {The Happy Ones]
  • Leo Tolstoi: Joka päiväksi: elämän oppi, eri maiden ja aikain kirjailijoilta lainattujen ajatusten mukaan, 1917 (translator)
  • Kirkkopuheet, 1917
  • Kirjeitä sukupuolikysymyksistä, 1918
  • Nuoruuteni muistelmia, 1919 (as Hilja Kahila) [Memories from my Youth]
  • V. Tshertkov: Tolstoin pako, 1922  (translator)
  • Sointula: kolminäytöksinen näytelmä, 1924
  • Greeta ja hänen Herransa: kertomus, 1925 - Grete och hennes Herre (övers. från finskan av Ragnar Ekelund, 1931)
  • Huligaani ynnä muita kertoelmia, 1926
  • Teoksia 1-4, 1926-27
  • Kuolema: 3-näytöksinen näytelmä, 1927 [Death]
  • Minun Marttani: kertomus, 1927
  • Vanhempieni romaani I-III, 1928-30 - Mina föräldrars roman (övers. av Bertel Gripenberg, 1929; Thomas Warburton, 1988-1989)
  • Lalli, 1933
  • Valitut teokset, 1953 (johdanto Lauri Viljanen)
  • Maa kuuluu kaikille, 1980 (toim. Lauri Lajunen)
  • Kodin suuret klassikot. Arvid Järnefelt. 1-4, 1986-1990 (toim. Tapio Kopponen)
  • Kosto ja rangaistus: essee kirjasta Ateisti, 1993
  • Toinen herääminen: Arvid Järnefeltin päiväkirjamerkintöjä vuosilta 1916-1919, 2000 (toim. Juhani Niemi)
  • Ateisti & Päiväkirja matkaltani Venäjällä, 2017 (Ateisti: julkaistu ensimmäisen kerran Porvoossa, WSOY:n kustantamana 1895;
    Päiväkirja matkaltani Venäjällä: julkaistu ensimmäisen kerran Helsingissä, Otavan kustantamana 1899)
  • Heräämiseni, 2017 (kieltä nykyaikaistettu; julkaistu ensimmäisen kerran  kustannusosakeyhtiö Otavan kustantamana 1894)
  • Ihmiskohtaloita, 2018 (julkaistu ensimmäisen kerran: Otava, Helsinki, 1895)
  • 'Kehrääjä,' 2018 (teoksessa Kehrääjä: vanhoja suomalaisia kauhunovelleja, toim. Juri Nummelin)
  • Nuoruuteni muistelmia, 2018 (julkaistu ensimmäisen kerran: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Kirja, Helsinki, 1919)
  • 'Leipäkannikka,' 2018 (teoksessa Belsazarin pidot ja muita Raamattuun perustuvia novelleja, toim. Juri Nummelin; julkaistu ensimmäisen kerran:  Hiljaisuudessa, Otava 1913)
  • Lalli, 2018 (Ensimmäisen kerran ilmestynyt: WSOY, Porvoo, 1933)
  • Huligaani, 2019 (Tiberius kirjat; julkaistu ensimmäisen kerran: WSOY, Porvoo, 1926)


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