Topeliuksen Konungens handske

kuinka historiaa (uudelleen)kirjoitetaan

• Mari Hatavara Tampereen yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30665/av.74634

Abstract

Topelius’ Konungens handske – how history is (re)written

A historical novel often discusses the nature of history, both overtly and covertly. In Zacharias Topelius’ Konungens handske (1863) there is a foreword and an afterword, in which the nature of history is explicated. The narrator emphasizes the meaning of emotions in history, but rather on a collective than individual level. Providence has an important role in history, and nations are seen as actors in the predetermined progress of events.

The novel depicts autumn 1788: the war between Sweden and Russia, and a conspiracy by several officers called Anjala League. The Anjala men opposed the war, and some aimed at independence of Finland. The questions of loyalty and nationality are provoked in the novel because of the subject matter as well as several contextual matters: During the time depicted, Finland was part of Sweden, during the time of writing an autonomous grand duchy of Russia. Besides that, the novel was originally published as a serial in a Swedish newspaper, a Swedish audience in mind.

History and nationality intertwine in the novel. The philosophy of history combined with the narrative advocate for a new interpretation of history and for the legitimacy of the Finnish autonomy.