Lehtonen, Joel

Lehtonen, Joel

▪ Finnish author
born Nov. 27, 1881, Sääminki, Fin.
died 1934, Helsinki

      Finnish novelist in the naturalistic tradition of Émile Zola and Maksim Gorky.

      The first stage of Lehtonen's career was characterized by the Neoromanticism of the turn of the century, and his first novel, Paholaisen viula (1904; “The Fiddle of the Devil”), is highly indebted to Selma Lagerlöf's Gösta Berlings saga (1891). In Rakastunut rampa (1922; “The Amorous Cripple”), however, Lehtonen bitterly rejects the tributes to individualism and genius worship that marked his youthful phase. The main character has deluded himself into believing that he is a superman, but as circumstances assail him he becomes overwhelmed with shame and finally commits suicide. Lehtonen returns in the short-story collection Kuolleet omenapuut (1918; “The Dead Apple Trees”) to the subject of the Finnish civil war and views it with doubt and disgust. Nihilism dominates his view of man in Putkinotko (1919–20). In it, Lehtonen despairs of the future and views the growth of industrial society as a disease. The same cultural pessimism appears in Henkien taistelu (1933; “The Struggle of Spirits”) and in his poems, Hyvästijättö Lintukodolle (1934; “Farewell to the Bird's Nest”), which were written shortly before his suicide. Lehtonen's influence on Finnish literature has increased over the years.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Lehtonen, Joel — (1881 1934)    A Finnish novelist, short story writer, and poet, Lehtonen never knew his father and became a ward of the community owing to his mother s poverty and doubtful reputation. Raised by the kind widow of a local minister, he received an …   Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Literature and Theater

  • Joël Lehtonen — Joel Lehtonen Joel Lehtonen (né le 27 novembre 1881 à Sääminki mort le 20 novembre 1934) est un écrivain finlandais, qui pourrait être considéré comme l un des premiers grands naturalistes de la littérature finlandaise, si son œuvre, originale et …   Wikipédia en Français

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  • Lehtonen — Lehtonen,   Joel, finnischer Schriftsteller, * Sääminki (bei Savonlinna) 27. 11. 1881, ✝ (Selbstmord) Huopalahti (bei Helsinki) 20. 11. 1934; Journalist, Übersetzer und Literaturkritiker, freier Schriftsteller. Anfangs v. a. von K. Hamsun, Selma… …   Universal-Lexikon

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  • Joel Lehtonen — but dropped out without completing a degree.As an author, he began as a neoromanticist, but after the Finnish Civil War his outlook transformed into deep pessimism and disenchanted scepticism. Bibliography* Paholaisen viulu (1904) * Perm (1904) * …   Wikipedia

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  • Finnish literature — Introduction       the oral and written literature produced in Finland in the Finnish, Swedish, and, during the Middle Ages, Latin languages.       The history of Finnish literature and that of Swedish literature are intertwined. From the mid… …   Universalium

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