TO BE, AND TO BE ESTONIAN RATHER THAN SUBALTERNA  HANDFUL  OF  REMARKS  ON  THE  PROTAGONISTS  OF  JAAN  KROSS’S  HISTORICAL FICTION Cover Image

BYĆ I BYĆ ESTOŃCZYKIEM, NIE BYĆ SUBALTERNEMO BOHATERACH PROZY HISTORYCZNEJ JAANA KROSSA UWAG KILKA
TO BE, AND TO BE ESTONIAN RATHER THAN SUBALTERNA HANDFUL OF REMARKS ON THE PROTAGONISTS OF JAAN KROSS’S HISTORICAL FICTION

Author(s): Andrzej Polak
Subject(s): Estonian Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Kross; Estonia; Tallinn; subaltern; Russia;

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyze three works by Estonian writer Jaan Kross by taking into account postcolonial research (Between Three Plagues, Mi c h e l s o n’s Matriculation and Stones from Heaven).In all of them, the main characters, who are of Estonian origin, do a lot to give themselves and their compatriots subjectiv-ity, and thus free themselves from the position of a person dominated by invaders and colonizers. These characters try to speak in their own voice; they want to stop being subalterns. In these stories, the role of the colonizers is played primarily by the German-speaking population, and to a lesser extent by the Russians. Although the action is set in three different centuries, the problems faced by Estonians are similar and are related to political, civilizational and cultural subordination.

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: 33
  • Page Range: 1-25
  • Page Count: 25
  • Language: Polish
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