, translator = W. J. Alexander Worster , image = Thesongofthebloodredflower 1921.jpg , caption = A hardcover of the 1921 English version , author =

Johannes Linnankoski Johannes Linnankoski (originally Vihtori Johan Peltonen, 18 October 1869 – 10 August 1913) was a Finland, Finnish author and playwright, which mainly influenced writing in the Golden Age of Finnish Art. His most famous work is the romance novel ...

, illustrator = , cover_artist = , country =

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, language =

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

, series = , genre =

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

, publisher = WSOY (Finnish)
Moffat, Yard & Co (English) , release_date = 1905 , english_release_date = 1921 , media_type = Print (

Hardback A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

) , pages = 240 (Finnish)
256 (English) , isbn = , oclc = 599685 , preceded_by = , followed_by = ''The Song of the Blood-Red Flower'' ( fi, Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta) is a

romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...

by Finnish writer

, published in 1905; and is considered the author's most famous and personal work. Loosely based on the legend of

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

, it tells the story of a young-maid-charming

log driver Log driving is a means of moving logs (sawn tree trunks) from a forest to sawmills and pulp mills downstream using the current of a river. It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America. Histor ...

. It was awarded the State Prize for Literature in 1906, and was also given an award by the

Finnish Literature Society The Finnish Literature Society ( fi, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura ry or fi, SKS) was founded in 1831 to promote literature written in Finnish. Among its first publications was the ''Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th ...

. An English version was first published in 1921 by Moffat, Yard & Co in New York, with W. J. Alexander Worster as translator.The song of the blood-red flower – WorldCat
/ref> There are only five film adaptations of the story (three Swedish and two Finnish); the earliest is the Swedish

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

' from 1919, directed by

Mauritz Stiller Mauritz Stiller (born Moshe Stiller, 17 July 1883 – 18 November 1928) was a Swedish film director of Finnish Jewish origin, best known for discovering Greta Garbo and bringing her to America. Stiller had been a pioneer of the Swedish film ...

, and the latest is the 1971 Finnish film adaptation directed by

Mikko Niskanen Mikko Johannes Niskanen (31 January 1929 – 25 November 1990) was a Finnish film director, actor, producer and screenwriter. He directed more than 40 films between 1956 and 1988. His most acclaimed films include '' The Boys'' (1962), ''U ...

, which is also the only

color film Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray- monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of ...

version. A huge number of stage plays have also been made based on the novel, such as H. Välisalmi's play by the

Estonian Drama Theatre The Estonian Drama Theatre ( et, Eesti Draamateater) is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. It has the role of a national theatre for Estonia. The Estonia Theatre is located next door. History The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was or ...

in 1938, and three Finnish plays at the

Pyynikki Summer Theatre Pyynikki Summer Theatre ( fi, Pyynikin kesäteatteri) is an open-air theatre operating in Tampere, Finland, known especially for its revolving auditorium. It is one of the largest summer theatres in Finland and has been running uninterrupted lo ...

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

in 1960, 1981 and 2005.

Plot summary

Olof Koskela is a tramp and a logger who has the power to charm one woman after another. He is the son of a farmer who, after arguing with his father, leaves his home and settles down with a group of log drivers. As he travels along the stream of logs on the River Kohiseva, Olof always captivates the most beautiful girl in every village. Olof does not call his charming girls real names, but invents descriptive nicknames such as Clematis, Gazelle, Daisy and Rowan. However, he always forgets his love when moving to a new place. Olof exudes emotion at every moment: “Only while we are young, only while the flood of youth runs free and bright in our veins can we be happy. And they are the greatest who dare to demand their share of life in full, to plunge unafraid into the waters, letting the waves break on their temples and life's salt flood wash their cheeks.” Faced with the proud and difficult-to-reach Kyllikki of the Moisio House, Olof can't leave her. He asks Moisio's host for permission to marry Kyllikki, but the request is denied. Olof continues his journey and seduces a few more women, but he repeatedly misses Kyllikki. The longing gets too painful and Olof returns to Kyllikki. This time they get married. Olof does not want to start cultivating the inheritance of his family, but decides to start over as a land filler. They build their own house and clear fields. In due course, Kyllikki will also become pregnant. However, Olof does not think he has a more light-hearted life and is in great pain as he knows that Kyllikki is still suffering from his old adventures. Olof begins to examine himself until, at the end of the book, he reconciles with his past. Once a young tramp, he has grown into a responsible and aware member of society.

Characters

* Olof Koskela: The novel's protagonist. Olof is the younger son of a farmer, with a fiery heart and temperament. This flower-to-flower-jumping hero seems to love only the feeling of falling in love, not its potential object. * Daisy: The light-haired, pink-cheeked maid Olof entices for a ski trip. Olof laments to Daisy how he, a very passionate character, has finally cooled down. * Hawthorn: A beautiful girl who falls in love with Olof very fervently. Hawthorn even wants to sacrifice her life and die happily for Olof. * Gazelle: A small and slim girl with hot eyes, blonde long hair and red stockings. As she runs around playing with Olof, she gets called Gazelle; "Gazelle's feet, gazelle's eyes," flashes in Olof's mind. * Clematis: Olof describes the virgin as graceful and gentle, but at the same time, she is "affectionate and connected like a thread in the window tongue, and deep and bottomless like life itself." * Pansy: Olof describes Pansy as the night: "Stunning and fascinating as night, mysterious and sealed as autumn night, only illuminated by bright flashes of light." She has silky black hair. * Rowan: A calm and quiet girl with brown straight hair. Olof's autumn girl, who gets her nickname by showing Olof that autumn is beautiful. Olof describes the maiden as a red-berry rowan, which shines on the hillside as the birches turn yellow. * Forest Fairy: Her real name is Annikki, and is one of the three women Olof calls by her real name. * Maya Koskela: Olof's deceased sister. Olof imagines Maya talking to him and complaining about playing with girls' hearts. His sister is like a conscience to Olof, trying to get him to do good. * Kyllikki Moisio: Daughter of the Moisios' host. A representative of sacrificial love, who has the capacity for suffering and just waits in the background. Kyllikki is the only girl Olof wants to marry. Kyllikki is mysterious and proud and does not surrender to Olof very easily.

Background

When Linnankoski began writing his successful novel in the summer of 1904 at Vuohensaari in

Salo Salo or Salò may refer to: Places Finland *Salo, Finland, a town in Western Finland ** Salo sub-region, a subdivision of Finland Proper and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009 *An old name of Saloinen, a former municipality in Ostrobot ...

, he had no actual written plan for the plot. However, he had been thinking about the subject for many years before writing, so the final writing was quick and easy. Writing was not nearly as cumbersome as writing his first successful play, ''Eternal Struggle'' (''Ikuinen taistelu'') in 1903. In ''The Song of the Blood-Red Flower'', Linnankoski made extensive use of his own experiences. He had lived a youth full of passion and controversy, but had been married for a few years to Ester Drugg (1872–1943)Johannes Linnankoski (1869-1913) - pseudonym for Johannes Vihtori Peltonen
/ref> when he wrote the book. When trying to write, he wanted to be as truthful as possible in his narrative. The role models and the people and events that ended up in the book were close to each other, but there was no direct reproduction; Linnankoski edited and selected them for his own use. Linnankoski was greatly influenced in the events of the book by his youthful landscape in

Vakkola Vakkola is a village in Askola municipality in Eastern Uusimaa, Finland. It is located 5 kilometers northeast of Monninkylä along the Porvoo River, just a couple of kilometers from Askola's church village. In 2009, the Finnish Heritage Agency cl ...

Askola Askola () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Monninkylä is the largest village of municipality i ...

, where he was born; the Kohiseva River, mentioned in the book, may have been thought to have been inspired by the Porvoo River across the Vakkola village.

Themes

From the outset, the basic themes of Linnankoski's literary work have been implicated in his production, including ''The Song of the Blood-Red Flower'': love, the struggle between

good and evil In religion, ethics, philosophy, and psychology "good and evil" is a very common dichotomy. In cultures with Manichaean and Abrahamic religious influence, evil is perceived as the dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, in which good shoul ...

in man himself and growth as a human, and the resulting moral problems of guilt, punishment, and

atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...

for the past.Johannes Linnankoski – Vihtori Peltonen
(in Finnish) For Linnankoski, the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

was the basic work that, at an ethical level, shaped his worldview. He saw earthly life as a unique event for which man himself and alone is responsible. Linnankoski had three ideas that he cherished and implemented in his own life and in his literary production: educating the people, strengthening the Finnish

national identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or to one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...

, and the humanity hidden in every person.

Reception

After its release, ''The Song of the Blood-Red Flower'' received good reviews and excellent sales success. The book was published in the spring, but the second edition was ordered in early autumn. The publisher suggested to Linnankoski that he remove a redundant chapter from the new edition, and put forward various suggestions for improvement. However, Linnankoski retained the original text and no changes were made. ''The Song of the Blood-Red Flower'' is one of the best-selling works of Finnish fiction and, alongside the ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and r ...

'' by

Elias Lönnrot Elias Lönnrot (; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a Finnish physician, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for creating the Finnish national epic, ''Kalevala'', (1835, enlarged 1849), from short ...

and ''

Seitsemän veljestä ''Seitsemän veljestä'' (; literally translated ''The Seven Brothers'') is the first and only novel by Aleksis Kivi, the national author of Finland.

'' by

Aleksis Kivi Aleksis Kivi (; born Alexis Stenvall; 10 October 1834 – 31 December 1872) was a Finnish author who wrote the first significant novel in the Finnish language, ''Seitsemän veljestä'' ("Seven Brothers") in 1870. He is also known for his 1864 p ...

, the most internationally known product of

Finnish literature Finnish literature refers to literature written in Finland. During the European early Middle Ages, the earliest text in a Finnic language is the unique thirteenth-century Birch bark letter no. 292 from Novgorod. The text was written in Cyri ...

; it also has been translated into 19 languages,

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

, Slovak, and Latvian included. It brought Johannes Linnankoski instant literary fame among the people, and his reputation extended beyond the borders of his country. In

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, for example, over 50 editions have so far been translated. Despite its great popularity, the romantic scenes in the book, with all their passion, also aroused

controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

at the time, some claiming that the scenes appear to be almost

obscene An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be us ...

Adaptations

Films

* ''

The Flame of Life ''The Flame of Life'' (also known as ''That Lass o' Lowrie's'') is a 1923 American silent drama film starring Priscilla Dean, Robert Ellis, Kathryn McGuire, and Wallace Beery. The film was written by Elliott J. Clawson from the Frances Hodgso ...

'', AKA ''The Song of the Scarlet Flower'' (''Sången om den eldröda blomman'', 1919), directed by

* ''

Man's Way with Women ''Man's Way with Women'' ( sv, Sången om den eldröda blomman) is a 1934 Swedish romantic drama film directed by Per-Axel Branner. It is based on the Finnish novel ''The Song of the Blood-Red Flower'' by Johannes Linnankoski. The interior shot ...

'' (''Sången om den eldröda blomman'', 1934), directed by

Per-Axel Branner Per-Axel Helge Branner (né Larsson; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1975) was a Swedish actor, screenwriter and film director.Qvist & von Bagh p.197 Selected filmography * '' Getting Married'' (1926) * ''His Life's Match'' (1932) * '' Pettersson ...

* '' The Song of the Scarlet Flower'' (''Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta'', 1938), directed by

Teuvo Tulio Theodor Antonius Tugai (23 August 1912 – 8 June 2000), better known as Teuvo Tulio, was a Finnish film director and actor. Beginning his career as an actor at the end of the silent era, Tulio turned to directing and producing in the 1930s. His ...

* '' The Song of the Scarlet Flower'' (''Sången om den eldröda blomman'', 1956), directed by

Gustaf Molander Gustaf Harald August Molander (18 November 1888 – 19 June 1973) was a Sweden, Swedish actor and film director. His parents were director Harald Molander, Sr. (1858–1900) and singer and actress Lydia Molander, ''née'' Wessler, and his brother ...

The Song of the Scarlet Flower (1956)
/ref> * ''

The Song of the Blood-Red Flower , translator = W. J. Alexander Worster , image = Thesongofthebloodredflower 1921.jpg , caption = A hardcover of the 1921 English version , author = Johannes Linnankoski , illustrator = , cover_artist = , coun ...

'' (''Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta'', 1971), directed by

References

External links

''The Song of the Blood-Red Flower''
at FictionDB
''The Song of the Blood-Red Flower''
at Forgotten Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Song of the Blood-Red Flower, The 1905 novels Novels set in the 1890s Novels set in Finland Finnish romance novels Translations into English Young adult novels Timber rafting in fiction Obscenity controversies in literature Works published under a pseudonym Finnish novels adapted into films Novels adapted into plays