Autumn 2013

A. H.
16
Tammsaare
b y M a a r j a V a i n o *
forever
When talking about contemporary
literary life, we usually have in mind
living authors, their new work, meetings
with readers etc. Nobody thinks
of literary classics, which definitely
seem lost in the past. However, a
literary work becomes a classic
because of its timelessness and
eternally topical content. Shakespeare
is endlessly discovered and performed,
and Dostoyevsky is never out of
fashion. The “great authors” affect
contemporary literary life much more
than it might seem. For example, by
constantly offering a chance for
comparison, a standard of quality.
In Estonian literature, one great author is
Anton Hansen-Tammsaare (1878–1940).
This year we celebrated the 135 th anniversary
of the classic, and there is reason to ask:
is Tammsaare endlessly discovered and
performed?
A. H. Tammsaare’s masterpiece Truth
and Justice I–V (1926–1933) is known to the
majority of Estonians, even if they have
never read the books. The main characters
of Truth and Justice, the forever toiling
Andres and the artful Pearu, are familiar to
everyone. Both characters embody Estonian
archetypes, and Estonian literature has
produced few equally significant and
consequential characters. Tammsaare’s
works have a deep philosophical aspect,
blended with local life and dramatic events.
After Truth and Justice was published,
Tammsaare became a “living classic”, about
whom several monographs and numerous
research papers were published during his
lifetime. He even had a monument erected
to him in 1936 when he was still alive.
Tammsaare was among the first freelance
novelists in Estonia who managed to earn a
living on his writing alone. His wife Käthe
(1896–1979) and two children, daughter Riita
(1921–2004) and son Eerik (1928–1981), were
able to enjoy a good life in a large four-room
E l m / A u t u m n 2 0 1 3