Children and their environment in Estonian working-class literature at the turn of the twentieth century

ABSTRACT

The living environments of children in Estonian working-class literature are depicted in a way that would lead the reader to support certain political views and sympathize with the working classes. The political effect distinguishes the depictions of the children’s environments in working-class literature from naturalist descriptions, which, albeit still gruesome, are more neutral. It also sets it apart from the Soviet proletarian approach, in which Soviet propaganda was always at the forefront. This article analyses fictional works by Estonian working-class authors to demonstrate how children’s environments were used to promote the working-class movement that took hold in Europe in the beginning of the twentieth century and considers the intentions of these authors.

KEYWORDS:

• Working-class literature
• naturalism
• comparative literature
• proletariat
• propaganda
• ideology

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Estonian Research Council grant “Emergence of a Civilised Nation: Decadence and Transitionality in 1905–1940” (No. PRG1667); Principal Investigator Mirjam Hinrikus; Under and Tuglas Literature Centre.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Authors like Robert McIntosh, James D. Schmidt, Katrina Honeyman, and Nigel Goose have conducted extensive studies on the everyday lives and environments of working-class children.

2. The Krenholm Manufacturing Company (Estonian: Kreenholmi Manufaktuur) was a textile manufacturing factory located on the island of Krenholm in Narva, Estonia, on the border with Russia. It was located by the river and used cheap waterpower from the Narva waterfall, at the time one of the most powerful waterfalls in Europe. By the end of the nineteenth century the cotton spinning factories and manufacturing mills were among the largest and most modern in the Russian empire and in Europe (Karjahärm 2006, 10). Krenholm was considered in its time to be the most important mill in Russia, owning 32,000 acres of land and employing 12,000 people (Talivee 2017, 154).

3. According to the Russian empire census of 28 January 1897, farming was the source of livelihood for around 69% of the whole population in the Russian empire, while industry employed around 15% of the whole population (Pihlamägi 1999, 39).

4. According to the report by the Krenholm Manufacturing Company from 1908, teenagers over the age of 15 were considered adults (Kreenholmi Puuvilla Vabrik 1908, 77), and juvenile workers were those under the age of 15.

5. It was only mandatory to finish the first grade of public school. ‘About the history of work and the school duty of minors.’ Maria Tilk. Manuscript. Eesti Pedagoogika Arhiivmuuseum (Estonian Pedagogical Archives-Museum), K45414.

6. The revision appeal of the Minister of Labor on the confirmation office’s decree about the establishment of the 8-hour workday for children and night shifts for women in the Krenholm’s peat factory. Rahvusarhiiv (The National Archives of Estonia, hereafter – RA), ERA.2000.1.1889.

7. The draft bill regarding children’s, minors’, and women’s work in industrial factories. RA, ERA.31.3.3670.

8. The draft bill regarding fieldworkers’ worktime and wages presented by the Parliament’s Labor Protection Commission. RA, ERA.31.4.16.

9. RA, ERA.31.3.3670.

10. Correspondence between Narva’s Broadcloth factory, Linen factory, and Krenholm’s Manufacturing Company about the standardization of wages. RA, ERA.2113.1.16.

11. Correspondence regarding the management of fieldworkers’ worktime and wages; letters from the Ministry of Labor and Welfare regarding the management of wages. RA, ERA.2424.1.595.

12. The Tallinn Committee of the RSDLP was formed in 1904 and started distributing leaflets and flyers about topics such as the Russo-Japanese war, workers’ rights, and socialist ideas (Rästas 1927, 28).

13. The works of Villem Buk, Juhan Lilienbach, Jaan Anvelt, August Jakobson, Jüri Parijõgi, Jaan Lattik, August Kitzberg, and Ernst Enno could also be considered here because of their descriptions of the working-class environment.

14. Eduard Vilde and Otto Münther shared a desk at the newspaper Teataja (Roos 1941, 359).

15. Hans Pöögelmann, Villem Buk, Osvald Madisson, and Jaan Anvelt were members along with other Estonian writers like Oskar Kullerkupp, Peeter Meisel, Ain Rannaleet, and Karl Trein (Ertis 1967, 389).

16. The April Theses was a collection of 10 key points developed by Vladimir Lenin during the Russian Revolution of 1917. These included the nationalization of all land, the establishment of collective farms, control over all banks, and the distribution of goods by the Soviet of Workers’ Deputies (Pöögelmann 1928, 69–71).

17. The Military-Scientific Society (Sõjalis-Teaduslik selts) was founded on 15 November 1920 in Moscow. In 1926, it was renamed the Society for Defense Aid (Kaitseabi Selts, OSO). With this change, the organization expanded its scope beyond strictly military matters and began offering military training to ordinary citizens, assuming a broader role within society (Kobeljev 1945).

18. The peak of critical realism in Estonia was from 1895 to 1905 (Tuglas 2014 [1946], 133).

19. In a gruesome scene, a girl, whose parents beat her consistently, provokes the boys to beat her. The boys oblige, beating her with fists, sticks, and even feet until her face is covered in blood (Parijõgi 1958 [1926], 25–26).

20. The notable folklorist and a key figure in the nineteenth century Estonian national awakening Jakob Hurt (1870), voiced criticism of the school system in a newspaper article in 1870. He criticized the teaching methods, which emphasized mindless reading and memorization, focusing primarily on the first five commandments of the Small Catechism, some Bible stories, and songs. The declining quality of primary education and the dominant influence of the church were also subjects of criticism by (Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald [1864] 1979). In a letter to Hurt, Kreutzwald expressed that ‘as long as the schools are under the influence of pastors, the people can’t hope to receive education.’

21. The fourth commandment in Luther’s Small Catechism is ‘Honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth’

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Tartu Ülikool and the Estonian Research Council grant “Emergence of a Civilised Nation: Decadence and Transitionality in 1905–1940” (No. PRG1667); Principal Investigator Mirjam Hinrikus; Under and Tuglas Literature Centre.

Notes on contributors

Hegely Klaus

Hegely Klaus, serves as the Head of the Museum Department and Senior Treasurer at Under and Tuglas Literary Centre at the Estonian Academy of Sciences. Additionally, she is a doctoral student at the Department of Literature and Theatre Studies at the University of Tartu. Her main research area is Estonian working-class literature.