Les Finlandais ont, comme tout le monde, des jours fériés pour célébrer les fêtes les plus importantes ; mais ils ont aussi des "jours du drapeau", des célébrations qui se limitent à monter les drapeaux finlandais en haut des mats que l'on trouve un peu partout. Ces jours-là sont assez nombreux et c'est l'occasion de découvrir des personnages ou des dates importants dans l'histoire du pays.
Aujourd'hui, 19 mars, on fête une certaine Minna Canth dont vous n'avez certainement jamais entendu parler. C'était une femme de lettres (auteur, dramaturge) et féministe finlandaise du XIXème siècle. En 1879, elle a 35 ans, sept enfants, et se retrouve veuve. Elle reprend la mercerie de ses parents et trouve encore le temps d'écrire des romans, nouvelles et pièces de théâtre où elle dénonce les injustices que la loi et la morale font subir aux femmes de son époque. Elle y aborde des thèmes comme la dépendance financière des épouses, le déni de grossesse, l'infanticide, l'hypocrisie de la religion, l'alcoolisme. Si ses oeuvres sont bien accueillies, elle se fait aussi de nombreux ennemis et est, à son époque, très contestée, mais son action littéraire aboutit à des résultats politiques et des changements dans la loi. Peut-être est-ce un peu grâce à elle que les femmes finlandaises ont obtenu le droit de vote dès 1906 ?
Quoi qu'il en soit, depuis 2007, on la célèbre le 19 mars, date de sa naissance ; c'est aussi le jour de l'égalité entre hommes et femmes. Malheureusement, ses oeuvres qui ont été écrites en finnois ou en suédois sont très peu connues à l'étranger et une seule (Hanna : Et autres récits) a été traduite en français. Mais ses livres sont encore lus, ses pièces jouées, et des écoles portent son nom.
The
Finns have, like everyone else, yearly public holidays to celebrate the most important events; but they also have "flag days", some sort of celebrations that are limited
to Finnish flags being raised all around the country. There are quite a few of these days and and they represent excellent opportunities to discover characters or dates that were important in the history of the country.
Today, March 19, we celebrate Minna Canth; you have probably never heard of her. She was a nineteenth century Finnish author and playwright. In 1879, she was 35 years, had seven children and became a widow, so she had to take over her parents' shop; but she still found time to write novels, short stories and plays where she denounced injustices against women based on law and morality. She covers topics such as financial dependency of wives, pregnancy denial, infanticide, the hypocrisy of religion, alcoholism. Her works were widely praised but she also made many enemies; despite this, her literary work lead to policy and law changes. Perhaps it is partly thanks to her that Finnish women gained the right to vote in 1906?
Anyway, since 200, she is celebrated on March 19, the date of her birth, which is also the national day for gender equality. Unfortunately, her works that were written in Finnish or Swedish are little known abroad and I don't think they were translated into Finnish. But her stories are still being read, her plays are performed, and schools are named after her.
Today, March 19, we celebrate Minna Canth; you have probably never heard of her. She was a nineteenth century Finnish author and playwright. In 1879, she was 35 years, had seven children and became a widow, so she had to take over her parents' shop; but she still found time to write novels, short stories and plays where she denounced injustices against women based on law and morality. She covers topics such as financial dependency of wives, pregnancy denial, infanticide, the hypocrisy of religion, alcoholism. Her works were widely praised but she also made many enemies; despite this, her literary work lead to policy and law changes. Perhaps it is partly thanks to her that Finnish women gained the right to vote in 1906?
Anyway, since 200, she is celebrated on March 19, the date of her birth, which is also the national day for gender equality. Unfortunately, her works that were written in Finnish or Swedish are little known abroad and I don't think they were translated into Finnish. But her stories are still being read, her plays are performed, and schools are named after her.
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