The Lithuanian Translation and Reception of Mór Jókai’s novel And Yet It Moves

Abstract

Mór Jókai’s novel And Yet It Moves [És mégis mozog a föld] was published in Lithuanian translation in 1892. The translator, Antanas Kriščiukaitis-Aišbė took as the basis the Polish translation of the book, which in turn was based on the German translation. In fact, it is not a translation in the traditional sense but a shortened, abridged version. The translation has attracted a great deal of interest, with numerous reviews by leading Lithuanian literary figures of the time, moreover, the influence of the Hungarian novel can be traced in several Lithuanian literary works. The impact of the work on Lithuanian culture is illustrated by the fact that several prominent figures of the time used the title of the novel as a kind of slogan of the Lithuanian national revival movement. The aim of the study is to examine how the Lithuanian translation came into being, to analyze the text of the translation itself, to demonstrate how it was received by Lithuanian critics, which contemporary Lithuanian works show its influence, how the title of the work survived in Lithuanian culture, and what factors influenced its popularity in Lithuania. Accordingly, it briefly describes the original work, the most important bibliographical data of the German and Polish translations, the translator’s personality and his works, and examines the factors and aspects that may have played a role in the choice of the work to be translated. In addition to the bibliographical data of the Lithuanian edition and the circumstances of its publication, I will analyze the preface and then examine the translator’s retention or omission of certain passages, the internal logic behind these, the stylistic differences from the original version, and how these may have affected the reception of the work. The paper briefly discusses contemporary reviews and tries to answer the question of how the Lithuanian reception was influenced by the characteristics of Lithuanian society at the time. The study also examines which Lithuanian literary works show the influence of Jókai’s novel, and analyzes Maironis’s poems Through Pains to Glory [Tarp skausmų į garbę] (1893) and Young Lithuania [Jaunoji Lietuva] (1905), where the similarities in plot and motives with Jókai’s work are so numerous that these works can clearly be considered to be inspired by Jókai; as well as Šatrijos Ragana’s short novels Viktutė (1901) and In the Old Manor House [Sename dvare] (1922), and Liudvika Didžiulienė-Žmona’s For the Fatherland [Del tevynes!] (1893). Finally, it presents documented instances of the use of the novel’s title as a slogan and examines their context. The paper concludes that the success of the work in Lithuania can be explained by similarities in the historical and social development of the two countries and between the social conditions in Hungary pictured in the novel and prevailing in Lithuania at the time of the publication of the translation.