Apsīšu Jēkabs un Rūdolfs Blaumanis: salīdzināmie aspekti

Abstract

The topic of the paper reflects an interest in potential sources of Rūdolfs Blaumanis’s literary output. Blaumanis himself did confirm that he considered Apsīšu Jēkabs among the most important Latvian writers of the 19th century. Both authors focused their attention on the historical period later labelled the age of transition. In this context, several important aspects are discussed. The paper pays attention to the infringement of moral laws in society and the reflection of this trend in literary texts. An important topic is the stratification of society, including the relations among the nobility, peasants, and servants, and their changing patterns. The role of money, including the rise of calculated marriages, is also an object of discussion, as well as the issues of upbringing in families and schools. In this paper, aesthetic parallels are discussed within the context of the impact of popular literature on both writers. Both of them often used exaggerated situations in order to raise the appeal of their texts to their respective audiences. The principles of the creation of comic effects are also scrutinised. One of the issues discussed in the paper is that of intercultural relations. Whereas Apsīšu Jēkabs points toward the juxtaposition of Latvian and Baltic German literary cultures, Blaumanis is much more open to their coexistence and extracts positive aspects out of the position among different cultures as reflected in the wide range of his literary sources. However, it is important to point to the impact of Latvian 19th-century literature on the development of Blaumanis’s ideas and his creative potential.