Ekspressionismi: Hagar Olsson

ACADEMY OF FINLAND – UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ
CULT AND IDENTITYConference on the study of cults and audiences
Hosted by the University of JyväskyläRoom JT 120September 6-7, 2007

Summary
Constructing the cult of new humanity in expressionism – the case of Hagar Olsson

In my article I analyze the emergence of a cult of the new humanity as it can be seen in the early work of Hagar Olsson (1893-1978). I ask, in what way she develops a new identity. As an expressionist writer Olsson maintains that a spiritual revolution is necessary in both art and social life. This revolution would make it possible to unite the everyday and the visionary. The old generation is found to live in a collective amnesia; in her essay collection Ny generation (New generation, 1925), she declares the beginning of a new era and the birth of a new mankind.

A critical voice speaks in Olsson’s early essay collections, e.g. in Ny generation (New generation, 1925), in early dramas, e.g. S.O.S., and in her early prose, e.g. in På Kanaanexpressen (On the Canaan Express, 1929). Not just utopias about an ideal form of society, the essays and the fictional work by Olsson are descriptions of the social situation and spiritual atmosphere prevalent in those days. Olsson also enters into a dialogue with certain European philosophical and literary classics, thereby emphasizing, with a tone of scepticism, some of the values most highly appreciated in the European civilization – those of justice, equality, respect for individuality, and a positive outlook on life. The new humanity will be based on them.



CONSTRUCTING THE CULT OF NEW HUMANITY IN EXPRESSIONISM – THE CASE OF HAGAR OLSSON

This article focuses on the early essays and fictional work by Hagar Olsson (1893-1978). She is an interesting example of Finnish expressionism; together with Edith Södergran and Uuno Kailas, she is definitely one of the writers constructing the cult of a new humanity. I will ask in what way this came true in her work and what kind of identity she was developing. Obviously, everything is totally new neither in this identity nor in this cult of humanity. In particular, I will discuss whether the cultural memory has any role in the process of constructing the cult of a new humanity. What is special in this new identity and in the cultural criticism so typical of young Hagar Olsson?

A critical voice speaks already in Olsson’s early essay collections, e.g. in Ny generation (New generation, 1925), in early dramas, e.g. S.O.S., and in her early prose, e.g. in På Kanaanexpressen (On the Canaan Express, 1929). Not just utopias about an ideal form of society, the essays and the fictional work by Olsson are descriptions about the social situation and spiritual atmosphere prevalent in those days. Olsson also enters into a dialogue with certain European philosophical and literary classics, thereby emphasizing, with a tone of scepticism, some of the values most highly appreciated in the European civilization – those of justice, equality, respect for individuality, and a positive outlook on life. The new humanity will be based on them.

At first, I will present a short introduction to this writer, focusing on her expressionism. In the beginning of this section I define the term expressionism, and I make it clear in the extent it is necessary here. Secondly, I’ll discuss the spiritual and partly also social revolution Hagar Olsson was supporting, with reference to its status in constructing the new identity. Thirdly, my aim is to deal with the identity Olsson was creating. What was it like, what were its main features and where did they come from; what was its relationship to cultural memory? Finally, I’ll briefly sum up the ways to deep humanity, freedom and the new identity described by Olsson.


Introduction
What is expressionism?

Because the topic of this article – the constructing of the cult of a new humanism – is treated here by analyzing the woks by Hagar Olsson and having an eye especially on her expressionism, it is necessary to clarify this term. This is of especial importance, for the cult of new humanity and the identity she is developing, are in her production deeply connected with this trend.

Expressionism is in this article accepted as one of the main trends among literary modernism. Modernism, which means liberation of arts, is thus an umbrella term consisting e.g. imagism and futurism. Every one of these movements has its own background, starting points, models, ideologies, and ambitions. The arts have in modernism anyhow some common features or at least common aims and so these trends are united by family ties. Each of them is at the same time differentially coloured even on grounds of the country where it comes from or that is the main region of it. Thus imagism originates from the Anglo-Saxon culture and futurism from Italy and Russia.

Expressionism was an international movement mainly around 1910-1925, and it dominated most of all in Germany and Scandinavia. The artists belonging to it did actually not have a coherent aesthetic program, but they had of course some common views and ambitions. One starting point and a point of contact is their radically antirealist and antimimetic tendency. They wanted to renew the arts on a large scale; expressionism is known in visual arts, in architecture, theatre, film, poetry and fictional prose. It is not only a trend in arts but it is also a wide movement having the goal to renew one’s spiritual life, and to renew the common cultural, social and political life. (Kajannes 2004, 269-270.)

Some inspiring figures behind the trend were Friedrich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Walt Whitman, and Sigmund Freud. In fact the roots of expressionism are in symbolism, romanticism and Neo-Platonism. Great German masters in drama were George Kaiser and Ernst Toller, and Franz Werfel from Austria is a famous poet and dramatists.

In literature expressionism brought formal innovations, and the style was rebellious against conventionality. Art was intensive and emotionally laden, and a central goal was to make psychic processes and energies visible in it; spontaneity and inner vision were admired. Paradoxically, spirituality and society were at the same time two main directions in the arts. Individuality and creativity were high values, and the society was to be developed by individuals who were conscious of the need for changes. (Kajannes 2004, 269-281.)


Who is Hagar Olsson?

This section offers an overview on the author Hagar Olsson. She is one of the best known names in Finland-Swedish culture in the nineteenth hundreds. Her life work lasted for exceptionally many decades and her creativity reached to many areas. In her seven novels, two collections of short stories and six dramas Hagar Olsson underwent transformations and brought stylistic and formal innovations in Finnish drama and fictional prose, and in her work she bravely made clear her opinions in current problems. Hagar Olsson is of great interest in representing two minorities in Finnish literature: she is both a woman writer and a Finland-Swedish author. It is common that women took root only slowly as dramatists, prosaists and essayists, and so women writers were rarities as late as in nineteenth century. As a noted woman dramatist Olsson is indeed an avis rara still in the decades of Finnish expressionism.[1]

Anyhow there were some notable women writers even before Olsson. The dramatist Minna Canth, who was the greatest female writer in Finland in the period of realism, was the main character among them. There were also some female poets in symbolism, e.g. Aino Kallas and L. Onerva, both belonging in the intimate circles of Eino Leino, the leading Finnish-language poet. Maria Jotuni was soon after that an important developer of Finnish drama. Hagar Olsson and her friend Edith Södergran were feminine voices in expressionism.[2] Besides they are known as two of the leading female figures in the history of Finland-Swedish literature, and also as two most important writers in Finland-Swedish modernism.

In Finland, especially Swedish-speaking artists and writers have been a link connecting the homeland to Scandinavia, to central Europe and often also to eastern Karelia and Russia. These men and women have brought foreign stylistic influences and ideas to the homeland. It is anyhow necessary to remember that the leading Finnish-speaking symbolists were in fact highly European and international in the sense that they read literature in original languages and they knew literary trends of their time. After that period the Finland-Swedish poets had the role of mediator in their literary work and in many new cultural journals springing up around the turn of the century and in the first decades of it, e.g. Euterpe and Nya Argus.

Also Olsson’s action as a journalist is extensive; she published articles, essays as well as literary and theatre critiques in Dagens Press, Studentbladet, Ultra, Tulenkantajat, and Tidevarvet and so on. These and other periodicals and magazines were a forum for information and debates about culture and ideologies. The young intellectuals who had connections to Germany, Soviet Union etc., spread in this publications knowledge about modern European and global trends. Consequently, there are two main areas in their career; apart from being a productive writer of ideologically committed prose and drama, also Olsson was thus a literary critic and essayist. In both areas she transmitted the influence of European - mainly German and Scandinavian - modernism to both Finland-Swedish and Finnish audiences. (Schoolfield 1998, 464-491.)

Roger Holmström (Holmström 1993, 1-11) has noted, that Hagar Olsson was involved with expressionism from the beginning and soon she proved to be one of the most vital writers of her generation. It seems to me that the early work by Olsson, published in the first decade of the century, in the nineteen twenties as well as in the thirties, is thoroughly expressionist. Note that expressionism was an important trend in Finland those days just as it was in Germany. Edith Södergran, Hagar Olsson and Elmer Diktonius used to read German and Scandinavian literature in the original language, and they were strongly influenced by it. Actually, expressionism was for them not only a trend in art and literature – it was also a way of thinking and of living. (See Schoolfield 1998, 453-491.)


The spiritual and social revolution

This section begins the analysis of Hagar Olsson’s early literary production by entering into one of her central expressionist topics. I will discuss here the spiritual, cultural and partly also social revolution Hagar Olsson is supporting, and its status in constructing the new humanity. She believes that a spiritual revolution is necessary in both art and social life. The background is the crisis of European humanism, as well as moral bankruptcy of modern culture and the society. Thus the protest is directed against the prevalent situation in Finland and in Europe.

The early work of Hagar Olsson is about modern European culture, about its taboos, narrow-minded atmosphere and social injustice, and also the individual problems arisen in the new urban surrounding. She describes the difficulties and the pressure in which many people live their life, and she is searching for ways to a righteous world where people can be free and equal. In her early articles and essays Hagar Olsson (1920, 1924) proves to believe in expressionism as a sort of revolution against restrictions in arts and society, a revolution leading people into a fruitful cooperation. Olsson is herself in her own literary production revolutionary and full of reforming zeal, and she sees revolution also as a spiritual mystery; her work is stylistically and thematically influenced by German and Scandinavian expressionist literature.

The definition of ‘art’ and literary genres involves here concepts wider than usual: old art is not valid any more in the new dynamically changing world. Olsson’s art opens the door to society being partly documentary-like, and her drama and prose is sometimes lyrical and visionary by nature. Dream and fantasy are not foreign to her works, either. Because of the dreamlike nature the drama Hjärtats pantomim (The Heart’s Pantomime, 1927) can be compared with Drömspel (Dream drama) by August Strindberg.

Olsson is rebel on every level of her work. She also introduces stylistic and formal innovations into her drama and epics. Olsson uses irregular rhythm, experimental structures, grammatical fragmentation, rapidly changing, contrasting images, and the text proceeds from top to top: she describes the experience of emotionally loaded and meaningful moments from one moment to another. Her fictional prose and drama use alternative narrative tools in describing an intensive experience about the modern world consisting of surprises, movement and change.

Olsson’s revolutionary prose and drama are Janus-faced, that is, they look in two directions at the same time: to the deepness of the human soul and to society. In both directions she finds a total renewal to be necessary. I would like to point out that in her work we can actually meet traits of all literary and ideological tendencies belonging to expressionism. None of the main lines of this literary movement is unknown to her: we can find in her, at least in some respect, a representative of the socially oriented line, of the philosophically and ethically oriented line, as well as of the Messianic religious line. Every one of these is accepted as radical by Olsson. At the same time, however, she warns about the rise of totalitarianism.

We can hear a critical voice speaking in Olsson’s early dramas, e.g. in S.O.S., and in her early prose, such as På Kanaanexpressen (On the Canaan Express, 1929). It is the voice of the young and rebel (Olsson 1929, 42). Existential questions remain unanswered in the waste, old and sleeping world of reactionism in Mr. Jeremias söker en illusion (Mr. Jeremias seeks an illusion, 1926, 45; see Holmström 1993b, 108). Not just utopias about an ideal form of society, the essays and the fictional work by young Olsson are also descriptions of the social situation and spiritual atmosphere prevalent in those days.

After describing the problems Olsson presents a comprehensive programme of the cultural and social reforms. She demands from an individual an organic development and from the society a sudden change, or a revolution. However, the revolution is peaceful, and its goal is a society in which the human rights really come true. The revolution has also to be a spiritual one, and it happens in the minds of individual citizens, too. Sudden change in one’s mind may be like Christian awakening, as it is in S.O.S. (Olsson [1928a],115).

The old generation is ignorant of the problems of society as well as many things in the cultural memory. It is found to live in a collective amnesia: it is very conservative, and accordingly, resistant to any big change. In her essay collection Ny generation (New generation, 1925), Olsson declares the beginning of a new era and the birth of a new mankind. Writers have a central role in this process, and they show in their work a way toward ideals and a better future (Olsson 1925, 7-16).

In Olsson’s opinion, the birth of the new world happens in society through a group of persons actively working for it, e.g. in forming the new identity. They have awakened to see their possibilities for creating a new, fair community. This revolution would make it possible to unite the everyday and the visionary. In the new, ideal world individuals know what their social responsibilities are. In destroying the hierarchies of social and cultural life they are able to give rise to a new mankind.

It is interesting to think over Olsson’s literary production in the light of the philosophy of Hannah Arendt. She considers the human condition in her philosophy in a way which is very similar to that in the works by Olsson. The similarities may come from the fact that their ideology is rooted in the existential philosophy of Karl Jaspers and others. Arendt and Olsson believe that social life makes it possible to attain an individual and collective freedom. They both write in their political essays about labour, action and responsibility. Arendt reminds of the fact that in tyranny people loose their human capacity to act and speak together (Arendt 1998, 203). In a righteous society they are free.


Constructing a new identity

In this chapter, I will discuss how Hagar Olsson is constructing a new identity in her fictional work. I also write about the emergence of the new humanity described by her. As in expressionism in general, constructing a new identity is problematic in Olsson’s work, because the identity is not predetermined – it is not given, stable or clearly defined. – But to a certain extent, the identity Olsson is constructing is an international – European, universal - and a feminine one.

The big change going on in the feminine identity is actually visible in the whole work by Olsson. It means individual freedom, self-esteem, and responsibility. The woman is on the way to become independent. Olsson’s activities, in addition to her literary work, extended to such areas as the human rights, and her articles are intelligent and full of personal touch.

Her female characters as well as the artists in her fictional works often symbolize the modern, creative human being striving for the common good and for new collective decisions. The course is often to the spiritual rebirth of the modern community, to natural ways of life and to cultural reforms. The birth of the feminine subject, the universal subject and the new identity is part of the cosmic birth of the new. Often, this point of view is in her work connected with the female experience and the rise of the feminine self-esteem.

Olsson defends the woman’s and also the writer’s right to self-determination, against determination from outside. In the novels and dramas, the new individual is tested, and he/she experiences metamorphoses. He/she is processing something new. Mother, birth and child are central metaphors for the constructing a new identity. In Kvinnan och nåden (The woman and the grace, 1919) it is obvious that a human being is at the same time a mother and the child in this process. In using the biblical story about Samuel’s birth the novel emphasizes the archetypal nature of this material. In Själarnas ansikten (The countenances of the souls, 1917) Stjärnbarnet, Stern child, is a personification of the new humanity born on earth (Olsson 1917, 39-51).

The new identity is universal; a limited individuality has given place to a collective identity. The focus often moves from the ego, I, to you and to us, and a monologue can change into a dialogue. WE is also otherwise an important word in expressionism, not I. In Lars Thorman och döden (Lars Thorman and death, 1916) a metaphor for the new identity are the grains of wheat: in dying it gives birth to new life (Olsson 1919, 122).

The new identity in Olsson’s opinion paradoxically is something already existing, or at least something existing as seeds in the human soul. It is in him as the whole tree is in the seed: it is there as a possibility. A human being has to find this identity in himself and let it grow up. In this painful process the old narrow ideas about the world and the human existence give way to new ones with a deeper understanding and with a wide range of interests. Here the social membership and communication is necessary, and the forming of the identity in memory actually is a collective construction. [3]

Energetic monism is to be found in the basis of Hagar Olsson’s expressionism. She believes that all beings form together a spiritual wholeness, where every detail is in relation in the wholeness and other details. The structure of an individual as well as of the universe is organic. An individual is a microcosm in the living universe, and the universe is spiritual and uniform. That means, the choice of a person matters – it has a direct influence to everybody.

We can see this revolution happen first in an individual, as awakening to understand the true nature of him/herself. This mystical experience and awareness forms the ground for constructing the new identity, finally leading to human and ethical art, culture, and society. According to this new identity, the communication has to be international, and people have to search for languages in which they can understand each other.

A higher level of consciousness creates opportunities for the new humanity; in this awakening bright views open up before one’s eyes. In Olsson’s work it is a kind of Buddhist or Taoist enlightenment and it brings with it an immediate grasp of world. Indian philosophy as well as the Freudian and Jungian psychology and depth psychology are familiar to the expressionism of Olsson and of many others. I Hjärtats pantomime a character asks Buddha for help and wisdom (Olsson [1927], 27).

The constructing of an identity is in Olsson’s work, e.g. in S.O.S., uniting what is separated. After that the rational and the irrational as well as other opposites will be in balance. Material for the deeper understanding will rise from the collective consciousness common of all mankind. This leads to a metamorphosis; after the larval stage, the butterfly comes out.

There is still another central aspect in the process of constructing identity – the language. Olsson writes in a language with a distinctive, sensuous quality. We can analyze it by using the concepts of tradition and understanding as defined by Hans-Georg Gadamer. Gadamer writes that to understand always means to understand otherwise. Gadamer also writes: “the being we can understand is language”. We comprehend phenomena of life through language, and they exist for us through it. This also holds for identity. That is why literature is so important for an individual’s emotive and cognitive growth. In Olsson’s opinion, it has a leading role in creating a new world. – As Hannah Arendt writes (Arendt 1998, 193-194) in Human condition, identity is constructed by narrating things, and it is also constructed in social life.[4] In fact, communication makes it possible to create and deepen humanity.

According to Olsson, then, the birth of the identity has its place in the womb of one’s mother tongue and in his/her cognition. In the cognitive acts described by Olsson, subject and object are often equally active. They may change places, and on many occasions, they are completely identified with each other. Memory – both individual and collective – lives and works just in language and cognition.

Olsson is interested in the possibilities of individual and collective memory and she often focuses on it. It is here seen both as having creative energy and as providing a tool for producing meaning. In Olsson’s work, memory is constructive and aesthetic, and we could say that it is creating a work of art in the human mind.

The memory has the power of giving birth to the identity. However, if the vital connection between present and tradition is interrupted, it is difficult to produce meaning. Olsson shows that we can understand us and our place in the world just through the tradition. In the collective memory we can find the universal language of myths and archetypal patterns which will help us in creating our present comprehension. The cultural memory contains the values, and they become active in our life.

In my opinion, a literary work has a memory of its own, too. The mnemonic value of Olsson’s texts seems to come in part from the intertextual dialogue they enter with certain European philosophical and literary classics. The new identity is tied to cultural memory, through the set of values most highly appreciated in the European civilization – those of justice, equality, respect for individuality, and a positive outlook on life. The new humanity will be based on them.

Finally, to sum up: the emergence of a cult of the new humanity can be seen in the early work of Hagar Olsson. She develops a new identity, combining traits from both cultural heritage and radical expressionism. She considers the human condition in her early fictional work and in her essays from many points of view, and in her work she incorporates the cult of new humanity central in expressionism. In her work Olsson sees two ways to freedom: the way to the soul and the way to society.


Notes
[1] Heidi von Born (1981), Maria-Liisa Kunnas (1982), Karttunen (1989) and Mari Koli (1997) analyse the literary work by Hagar Olsson especially from the feminine standpoint.
[2] As a writer Hagar Olsson was in fact a poeta docta. Even as a pupil of the girls grammar school in Vyborg she was familiar with the surrounding multi-cultural and multi-lingual atmosphere, and after that she studied literature, art, philosophy, and psychology on her own.
[3] Theories about cultural memory are useful in analyzing Olsson’s work. The term collective memory by Maurice Halbwachs and his idea about the past as a collective construction are suitable in studying the expressionism of Olsson (see Assman 2006, 93).
[4] Hannah Arendt uses the word identity for being one and the same.



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