Estonian Literature Research Articles

Christian Felix Weiße’s Poetry in Latvian and Estonian Literature

The article analyzes the translations of Christian Felix Weiße’s poems in Latvian and Estonian within the context of cultural transfer during the age of Enlightenment. Translations of Weiße’s poems were of great significance because they paved the way for the emergence of secular poetry in both languages. First translations appeared in the 1770s, and others followed in the next decades. While the first Latvian translations were connected to the popular enlightenment efforts of Baltic German pastor Gotthard Friedrich Stender and addressed to the peasant readers, the first Estonian translations were written in the context of experiments with the language and addressed to the Baltic German intellectual elite. First translations that were addressed to Estonian peasants appeared in the early 19th century. The frame of reference of the poems was transformed when they were addressed to peasant reading public: they acquired didactic meaning. At the same time, these translations demonstrated the poetic possibilities of Estonian and Latvian languages. The analysis as a case study reveals the multifaceted influence of German poetry on Estonian and Latvian literary cultures.

Tension in Modernist Art and Lyric Poetry at the Beginning of the 20th Century in Estonian Culture: Ernst Enno and Others

The Young Estonia group (1905–1919) was at the centre of Estonian literature at the beginning of the 20th century, when Estonian poetry was both experimental and imitative. Gustav Suits was officially the creator of modern Estonian poetry. At the same time there were poets who wrote original poems that did not imitate previous work. Juhan Liiv was one of these, and Villem Grünthal Ridala and Ernst Enno continue in the same vein. Enno’s nature poetry is pantheistic and symbolic, emotional and sensitive to nature, at times suggesting transcendental cognition. He was interested in Oriental religion, which influenced his poetry to become less rational and more mystical. Ridala and Enno also used visual effects, and their texts have been set to music as well as becoming part of the visual arts in films and serials. The paper analyses the verbal texts of Enno and Ridala, and the interaction between visual and verbal texts.

Multilingualism in Estonian Poetry

Apart from Estonian, some other languages – from local dialects to major languages such as German and Russian – have usually also been spoken on the territory of Estonia. As a result, the literary culture of the local (small) language evolved in close contact with some foreign literatures and cultures. However, there is still no thorough analysis of how the historical change in the linguistic situation manifests itself in Estonian literature. Our article aims to draw attention to the multilingual nature of the Estonian literary field by giving a historical survey of the relations, contacts, and intertwining of the languages used in Estonian poetry from the 17th century to the present. To reflect the multiple facets of multilingualism revealed in poetry we mainly use a four-level approach partly based on Jaan Undusk’s typology of Estonian–German cultural contacts, adding the literary field as the level covering whatever is left. Thus, we treat multilingualism as a phenomenon observable within a language, text, author, and literary field. In terms of this study, intralinguistic multilingualism means language mixing in otherwise monolingual poetry, while intratextual multilingualism refers to abrupt transitions from one language to another (code-switching) within a text, and author multilingualism assumes a multilingual poet. Apart from the phenomena just mentioned, multilingualism within literature covers literary subfields in different language variants (for example literature created in South Estonian or Russian, but on Estonian territory). First, we will survey multilingualism in Estonia poetry before the Republic of Estonian was established in 1918, concluding that because German was the major cultural language up to the beginning of the 20th century, all poets, whatever their ethnicity, must have been fluent in two (or more) languages. The second period analysed spans the 20th century. The local Estonian poetry of the Soviet period stands out, with a few exceptions, for consistent use of Estonian, while some expatriate poets would also use English or Swedish. Third, we analyse contemporary poetry, where multilingualism is manifested not only by the use of local minority languages but also through intertwinings with English, Chinese or Japanese, thus giving evidence of an open society. Based on the picture emerging from the article we can say that apart from a historical overview, the multilingualism of Estonian poetry also needs closer poetic analysis.

Some aspects of the poetic multilingualism of contemporary Estonian poetry

ABSTRACT The self-image and study of Estonian literature are characterized by postmonolingual tensions: while there are increasingly more multilingual approaches, the traditional perspective is to focus exclusively on Estonian-language literature. The latter does not encompass the reality of the literary field because it leaves out authors who write in multiple languages, as well as other manifest and latent expressions of multilingual poetics. In contemporary Estonian poetry, words, phrases, and other linguistic nuances from different languages frequently intertwine with Estonian. By analyzing seven of such multilingual poems from the perspective of literary multilingualism studies, this article will highlight and compare three poetic techniques of code-switching present in contemporary Estonian poetry, pointing out the similarities and differences between such poetic structures and mechanisms of meaning-making.

The Role of Lyrics in Estonian Literature: Three Exemplary Cases

Song lyrics are usually positioned in the margins of literature and tend not to be in the first line when writers and their works are discussed. There have been debates about whether to consider lyrics as literature and/ or ‘real poetry’. The article examines three cases in Estonian literature where melodised poetic texts have played a significant role in Estonian culture and are considered to be core texts: “Mu isamaa on minu arm” (My Fatherland is My Love) by Lydia Koidula, songs from the feature film Viimne reliikvia (The Last Relic), lyrics written by Paul-Eerik Rummo, and “Laul Põhjamaast” (“Song of the Northern Land”), lyrics by Enn Vetemaa. These also represent three ways a text can function: “Mu isamaa on minu arm” was first written and published as a poem and later set to music; The Last Relic represents a case where texts were initially written as lyrics and later published in a collection of poems; “Song of the Northern Land”, by Enn Vetemaa, was meant to be and has remained a song and has not been included in poetry collections.

“In a Miracle Wellspring” of Goethe’s Poetry: Comments on the Role of Translated Poetry in a Small Literature

In 1944, on the cusp of one occupying power replacing another in Estonia, the beloved Estonian poet Heiti Talvik translated Goethe’s poetry and was filled with admiration: “What a youthful abundance of life in every detail! Yes, to delve into Goethe’s work is to rinse your eyes in a miracle wellspring capable of renewing your fading vision.” By then, the Estonian language and Estonian poetry had already been drawing from this miracle wellspring for more than a century. In this presentation, I will be discussing the significance of Goethe’s poetry in Estonian literature and comparing it to that of small and large literatures of neighbouring countries. Based on research, I conducted with my co-authors Vahur Aabrams and Susanna Rennik for our recently published book Goethe’s Poetry in Estonian (University of Tartu Press, 2021), I will show the dynamics of the reception and translation of Goethe’s poetry in Estonia and in the wider Baltic cultural space, and I will explore the local socio-cultural and more general aesthetic and ideological factors that influenced this reception.

Kirjažanrist Euroopa kultuuriloos ning kirjavahetuste avaldamisest ja uurimisest Eestis

The article deals with the emergence, development and blooming of the letter genre in European cultural history until the middle of the 20th century. The oldest letters that have survived to our time date from the 3rd-2nd centuries BC and are written in cuneiform. The first major heyday of the literary genre was in the time of ancient Rome, when both politicians and philosophers exchanged letters, but also several writers used the letter form in their works. The so-called canon of letter writing was formed in the Middle Ages, when the art of letter writing began to be taught at the universities. In the 17th century, letter writing manuals and private letters began to be published in books, and in the 18th century it was already very common. The growing popularity of communication by letters is also shown by the fact that in the middle of the 18th century, when English writer Samuel Richardson published three novels in the form of letters, the epistolary novel was born. In the epistolary novels, for the first time the world of feelings and thoughts of the characters was under observation. At the end of the 19th century, communication by letters increased drastically due to the wider spread of literacy throughout Europe. The writing of letters intensified during the First and Second World Wars, which is considered the last major blooming of the letter genre. This fact is also confirmed by studies on the development of the written communication tradition in Estonia. The article also provides a brief overview about the research and publication of private correspondences in Estonia. In the middle of the 20th century, the Estonian Literary Museum began to systematically deal with the autobiographical heritage (incl. letters) of those persons who had a prominent position in cultural history. In 1984, the serial publication Litteraria: eesti kirjandusloo allikmaterjale (Litteraria: Estonian Literary History Source Materials; since 2005 Litteraria: Estonian Cultural History Source Materials) was founded with the aim of making correspondences, but also various biographical notes, photographs, etc., available to the public. Litteraria has never been published regularly; nevertheless, by 2023 the series had published already twenty-eight issues, which are now also available online (https://www.kirmus.ee/et/teadus/e-litteraria). In 1998, Tuna: Ajalookultuuri ajakiri (The Past: Journal of Historical Culture) came out on the landscape of social science and humanities journals. The new journal included the rubric “Estonian Cultural History Archives”, which allowed the researchers to regularly publish archival sources with commentary four times a year. Over the years, several voluminous text-critical publications of correspondences have been published in parallel with the issues of Litteraria and Tuna, for example, “Akadeemia kirjades” (“Academy in letters”, Olesk 1997), “Minu lamp põleb” (“My lamp is on”, Annuk & Metste 2015), and “Kallid krantsid: Kirjad vangilaagritest ja asumiselt Siberis 1946–1954” (“Dear friends: Letters from prison camps and deportation sites in Siberia 1946–1954”, Kross 2021). The published correspondences have a different historical background, but the common feature of all the authors of the letters is their close connection with Estonian literature. Several historians, literary scholars, cultural historians, folklorists, and philosophers have used private correspondences as source material for their in-depth studies. The analysis of scientific articles of the last decades shows that letters are useful primarily as a source of information that helps to open the hidden aspects of some cultural-historical phenomenon or historical event, for example, the world wars. In addition, different aspects of epistolary practices are also analysed, such as the peculiarities of means of expression, communicativeness or intersubjectivity of letters, etc. Until the turn of the century, prominent creative figures in Estonian cultural history dominated among the authors of the letters used in the studies. In recent decades, a new trend has emerged which shows that researchers have begun to pay more attention to, for example, the love letters and war letters of ordinary people, as well as letters in which the writer shares with the addressee various information about joys and worries of everyday life.

FEATURES OF THE CREATION AND USE OF A BILINGUAL BOOK IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS. EXPERIENCE OF TRADITIONAL CLASSES AND INNOVATIVE ELU COURSE

The “learn by translating” method of teaching translation skills is not new, but this does not make it any less productive. Translation teachers know that the disciplines included in the standard translation theory course are very difficult for students to understand, so some of them try to make the learning process more creative. Earlier, our Literary and Translation School-Studio prepared and published a bilingual (Estonian-Russian) children's book “Loe veel! - Read more!” and a two-volume book "Estonian Writer of the Sixties", which included translations of poetic, prose and dramaturgical works of representatives of the "cassette generation" of Estonian literature. It has long been necessary to publish a book of fairy tales of the peoples of Estonia in the Estonian (state) and Russian (still the most common language of interethnic communication in the post-Soviet space) languages. And this was made possible thanks to the addition of innovative and interdisciplinary ELU courses to the schedule of Tallinn University. The aim of the project was to create a book that would introduce children and their parents to the fairy tales of many peoples living in Estonia. This was also the reason for the objectives of the project: to find out how many and which national cultural societies are registered in Estonia; select one fairy tale of each of the peoples; prepress and release the collection. The relevance of the project lies in the fact that a wider audience - students of various specialties - was involved in work that they had not previously been offered to do, respectively, the existing hopes for obtaining a new quality of study were justified.

The Globetrotter’s Identity: Michel Sittow in the International Historiographies

Michel Sittow was a disciple of Hans Memling and a follower of the fifteenth-century school of Bruges, who led the art of northern portraiture through the Renaissance. This painter from Reval (currently Tallinn) travelled around Europe, working for the most significant monarchs of that time: Isabella of Castile, Margaret of Austria, Charles V, Christian II Oldenburg and perhaps Henry VIII. Even though studied by multiple researchers from Europe and the US, his oeuvre is still giving rise to many questions for art historians. This study’s aim is to analyse the international historiography of Michel Sittow, starting with the first attributions of his artworks, and comparative studies of German historians who called the painter Michel Sittow and the Spanish school where he was known as Melchior Alemán. In 1940 Paul Johannsen published the document that indicates Michel Sittow’s stay in Spain. The post-war historiography was not interested in Sittow’s life, except in the work of the Latvian origin Belgian researcher Jazeps Trizna, who published the first monograph on his artworks in 1976. He was the first to unify both historiographical personalities the one of Michel Sittow, and the one of Miguel Alemán. Meanwhile in Estonian literature, Sittow’s story appeared as a romantic symbol of independence from the Soviet Union in Jaan Kross’s novel. In the last twenty years, with the development of the radiographic method of artwork analysis, researchers such as Else Kai Sass, Matthias Weniger, Chiyo Ishikawa, and Pilar Silva Maroto have revived many questions about Sittow’s career, style, and globetrotting around European courts. However, the first exhibition that reunited Michel’s artworks, held in 2018 in Washington and Tallinn marking the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Estonian independence, did not solve many of Sittow’s life secrets.

Lapsed ja sõda. Sõjatrauma Tiina Kurnimi autobiograafias „Sõrve rahva elukeerdkäigud“ ja Ülo Tuuliku romaanis „Sõja jalus“ / Children and War. War trauma in Tiina Kurnim’s Ups and Downs in the Life of the People of Sõrve and Ülo Tuulik’s novel In the Way

Lapsed ja sõda. Sõjatrauma Tiina Kurnimi autobiograafias „Sõrve rahva elukeerdkäigud“ ja Ülo Tuuliku romaanis „Sõja jalus“ / Children and War. War trauma in Tiina Kurnim’s Ups and Downs in the Life of the People of Sõrve and Ülo Tuulik’s novel In the Way

Avatusse astudes. Jaan Kaplinski ja Ilmar Laabani loome kokkupuuted ja mitmekesisus. / Approaching Openness: Convergence and Diversity in the Creative Universes of the Poets Jaan Kaplinski and Ilmar Laaban.

The special issue of Methis on literature and openness brings together the oeuvres of two remarkable Estonian authors with an international scope: Jaan Kaplinski and Ilmar Laaban. They were poets, translators, essayists, original thinkers and public intellectuals whose works have travelled far beyond the boundaries of Estonian literature. Jaan Kaplinski (1941–2021) published more than 60 books in Estonia and equally many abroad, as his work has been translated into more than 30 languages. Ilmar Laaban (1921–2000) fled Estonia for an exile in Sweden to escape Soviet occupation in the spring of 1943. He has left his mark on Estonian literary history with his surrealist collection of poetry Rroosi Selaviste (1957) and practising the genre of text sound poetry in Estonian, Swedish and French.
 
 Jaan Kaplinski’s name was put forward as a possible candidate for the Nobel prize in literature on several occasions. Laaban, who was well acquainted with contemporary European literature and its authors, translated into Swedish poems by the German-Jewish poet Nelly Sachs who received the Nobel prize in 1966, while Kaplinski rendered into Estonian poetry by Tomas Tranströmer, the Swedish recipient of the prize in 2011. Kaplinski also pointed out that it was the anthology 19 moderna franska poeter (1948), co-edited by Laaban and Erik Lindegren, that had given Tranströmer an impetus towards becoming a poet. In addition, similarities of outlook have also been observed between Tranströmer and Kaplinski himself. For instance, Ivar Ivask, a long-time editor-in-chief of the Oklahoma-based journal World Literature Today, underscored the significance of openness in Tranströmer’s poetry, while his dedicatory poems to Kaplinski and Laaban connect the authors with such notions as scope, infinity, openness, eternity and freedom. Openness appears as the core concept in this cluster of notions related to a lack of boundaries and contractedness in time, space and society that becomes manifest in the oeuvres of both Kaplinski and Laaban. Their works are also characterised by an intense engagement with the semantic possibilities afforded by different languages as well as employing linguistic regularities towards the end of formal innovation.
 
 20th-century intellectual history, that provided the context for the creative growth of both authors, involved remarkable cases of addressing of the openness concept, notably by figures such as the philosopher Karl Popper and the semiotician Umberto Eco. Popper famously launched his concept of open society as one in which an individual has to face personal decisions, which opposes it to a magical or tribal totalitarian society. In the artistic realm, Eco discussed the open work that involves the audience’s collaboration with the author in detecting meaningful arrangements in the work, making artistic response an interactive process. Such plurality and multiplicity accompanies formal innovation that correlates with a modern, avant-garde feeling for life. The 20th century also gave rise to personality psychology that considers openness to be one of the key personality dimensions, the so-called Big Five. In psychology, openness involves receptivity to new experiences, creativity, intellectual curiosity, and an advanced aesthetic sense. Recent studies have shown that particularly the presence of the latter two components tends to be in correlation with an environmentally aware outlook.
 
 Kaplinski and Laaban belonged to different generations and spent their formative years in markedly different conditions yet were united in the attention they paid to language as a system of signs and to studying its possibilities in their creative work, which in Kaplinski’s case was framed by an explicitly ecological take on life. The present special issue on literature and openness comprises six studies concentrating on facets of Jaan Kaplinski’s and Ilmar Laaban’s creative universes by literary scholars from both sides of the Atlantic. In addition, the issue includes two articles that deal with representing trauma in literature and theoretical issues in digital humanities. The issue concludes with the section of theory mediation presenting a translation of Ilmar Laaban’s Swedish-language article “Musiken, samhället, revolutionen” (“Music, society, revolution”, 1969) that is accompanied by a commentary by Hasso Krull.

Viriloid Women and Bodiless Men: On Modern Sexualities in the Oeuvre of Johannes Semper

Abstract. This article studies how the profound changes in theorizing human sexualities in the fin-de-siècle and early 20th century were used and re-used in the oeuvre of Estonian cultural moderniser Johannes Semper (18 92–1970). In his texts, two modern discourses of sexuality appear in highly telling ways: sexology and psychoanalysis, with which Semper mainly familiarises himself respectively through the works of Otto Weininger and Sigmund Freud. Taking a feminist standpoint to analyse the thoroughly male-centred sexuality discourses of the abovementioned thinkers, this article sets out to study how sexuality and gender are articulated in Semper’s oeuvre, both within a heteronormative and queer framework. Two literary texts are closely examined. The first, the short story collection Ellinor (1927), depicts the world entirely through the eyes of an emancipated woman who encounters a lesbian character – the first in Estonian literature. This encounter begins the discussion of various desires as the protagonist tries to explain her ‘femininity’ in contrast to the queer character Madame Liibeon’s ‘inversion’. The second, Semper’s novel Jealousy (1934), is used for comparison, as sexual Bildung and desires are mediated through the eyes of a male heterosexual protagonist.

Who’s Afraid of the Werewolf? An Imagological View of Kitzberg’s Play

Abstract. The archetypal fear of the other and the idea that it is safer to hold on to the familiar are the central topics discussed in one of the best plays in Estonian literature Libahunt (The Werewolf, 1912) by August Kitzberg (1855– 1927). Although the play was written at the beginning of the 20th century, it is still open to interpretation and has not lost its relevance. It is a play about conflict between values: the Tammaru family is conservative and afraid of strangers, of foreign blood, while one of their foster children Tiina is a free spirit whose appearance and nature is different from the family. She is not one of the villagers, she is an outsider and the family and the villagers are afraid of her. This stranger is seen as mysterious and dangerous – she is said to be a werewolf – and the xenophobic village casts her out. Using imagology as a theoretical basis, the article concentrates on the aspect of the foreigner and on fear of the other.

Soolisustatud rahvuslus Lilli Suburgi (1841–1923) jutustuses “Liina” (1877)

The article deals with the representation of nationalism in Lilli Suburg’s (1841–1923) short story “Liina” (1877). Lilli Suburg was a writer, journalist, pedagogue, and the first Estonian feminist. “Liina” is her most famous literary work, which also belongs among the most important works of early Estonian literature. “Liina” was published in two editions (1877, 1884) and was also translated into Finnish (1892). It is important in the context of Estonian national movement because it is a short story based on the central idea which emphasizes the importance of being Estonian. It became popular among readers and made the author famous. “Liina” is based on Suburg’s German-language diary, and it is an autobiographical short story about an Estonian peasant girl who struggles to remain Estonian. The national ideas represented in “Liina” emphasize the importance of remaining Estonian in an environment where social mobility rather implied Germanization. On the other hand, the national theme in “Liina” represents a gendered viewpoint. Suburg understood the woman as a national subject equal to the man and therefore the carrier of national ideas is a woman – the protagonist called Liina. The article deals with the representation of nationalism and gender in the short story and also with the context of the creation and reception of the work.

Assisting translations in border crossing

Abstract This contribution explores the position of translation policy and its connection to translation flows in translation studies research. Power relationships (among languages, cultures, etc.) are essential when assessing and interpreting translation flows. Despite the hyper-centrality of English, other countries and language areas develop cultural policies to export their own literature through translation. The case study furnished here deals with the state agents responsible for the literary translation policy of Estonia, viz., the Estonian Literature Centre and the Traducta translation grants of the Estonian Cultural Endowment (Eesti Kultuurkapital). The statutes of the Traducta program, including the selection criteria, express an instrumental view on translation that is partly in conflict with the findings of modern translation studies. The data on the awards of the Traducta program not only confirm that the publishing of a translation often depends on the additional financial support for the program, but also highlight the significant differences between different target language areas, in a complex interplay of economic factors with elements of cultural image-building and geographical proximity.

Jaan Bergmanni pilaeepos „Jaaniida“: tekst, kontekst ja intertekst / Jaan Bergmann’s mock-epic Jaaniida: text, context and intertext

Mock-epics were first created already in the antiquity and the most famous of them, the Batrachomyomachia, was translated into Estonian already in 1875 by Jaan Bergmann; it was also the first full translation of an ancient epic poem into Estonian. However, until now, no Estonian original mock-epics were known and this genre was presumed to have evolved in Estonian literature only in the 20th century, mostly used in parodies of the national epic, the Kalevipoeg.
 In this issue, we introduce a new archival find from Jaan Bergmann’s manuscript poetry book. We discovered that, having probably been inspired by the Batrachomyomachia, but perhaps also by Nikolay Osipov’s Eneida (1791), Jaan Bergmann had created his own mock-heroic poem Jaaniida (1875). It is a multidimensional and poetically rich poem, interweaving different verse cultures and different eras. On the one hand, its analysis reveals clear influences of the Odyssey: there are parallels with the portrayal of the main hero, images and the plot, as well as with the Homeric epic techniques (for example, both epics begin with the prooemium, which contains an invocation). But in terms of poetic devices and versification, Jaaniida draws on Estonian folk songs, using the folk meter, plenty of alliteration and assonance as well as parallelism, and imitating their morphology and vocabulary. The storyline of the poem features events that appear to have happened only recently before the writing of the text (most probably in 1866–1875): the transition from villeinage to money rent and the cases of corruption among local administrators. Against this background, Bergmann satirically pictures the rise of an individual and his later downfall caused by his weaknesses and vices.

Kirjanduslikud digikeskkonnad keeleressursside baasina: mõjukriitika juhtumiuuring päringusüsteemis KORP / Digital literary heritage projects as a source of language resources: a case of Estonian criticism in KORP

Kirjanduslikud digikeskkonnad keeleressursside baasina: mõjukriitika juhtumiuuring päringusüsteemis KORP / Digital literary heritage projects as a source of language resources: a case of Estonian criticism in KORP

Twenty Years of Literature at University. An Insider’s Perspective

Taking the Estonian philology BA curriculum as an example, the article analyses the changes in literature courses in 1998 and 2018 at Tallinn University (former Tallinn Pedagogical University). The year 1998 marks the beginning of my student life, the year 2018 marks the last full year as a lecturer. The 20-year period shoes vividly the changes that have taken place in the Estonian educational system. The overview is based on Estonian literature and world literature courses included in the Estonian philology BA curriculum. The article gives an overview of the periods, topics, themes, authors, theories and methods discussed in literature courses. The emphasis is on the changes that have taken place.

Muutused hariduselus ja ajalooõpetuse areng Eesti iseseisvuse taastamise eel 1987–91 [Abstract: Changes in educational conditions and the development of teaching in history prior to the restoration of Estonia’s independence in 1987–1991

Muutused hariduselus ja ajalooõpetuse areng Eesti iseseisvuse taastamise eel 1987–91 [Abstract: Changes in educational conditions and the development of teaching in history prior to the restoration of Estonia’s independence in 1987–1991

Jutustaja kui kujutluse etnograaf eksperimentaalses süsteemis / The Narrator as an Ethnographer of the Imagery in an Experimental System

Käesoleva artikli eesmärgiks on tuua nähtavale kahe kultuuri (reaalteaduste ja humanitaaria) pingeväli ja näidata, kuidas eelkõige 20. sajandi teise poole kirjandusteadus, adapteerides põhiliselt populaarteadusest nüüdisfüüsika, sh kvantteooria mõistevara, on võimaldanud pingetel jätkuda. Artikkel tutvustab põhilisi kirjandusteaduse suundi, mis on arenenud kvantteooria mõjuväljas, kuid suhtub neisse reaalteadlaste seisukohti arvestades ka kriitiliselt. Vastukaaluks sellele pingeväljale esitab artikkel alternatiivse lahenduse, kuidas võib kirjandus ise olla uue teadmise kandja, ning näitab, et kirjandusteaduse rolliks on seejuures anda õige suund tekstis „osalemiseks“.
 
 The aim of this article is to explore the conflicting situation of two cultures: science and the humanities. Due to erroneously orientated practices of literary criticism in which the concepts of contemporary physics and quantum theory have been adapted mistakenly, the conflict of the two cultures has continued. The article introduces the main outcome of this kind of inaccurate science making: a usage of scientific concepts as metaphors, the genre of quantum fiction, and Susan Strehle’s concept of actualism. As an alternative approach, the article explains how scientific and epistemological value lies in fiction itself, considering its ability to awaken imagery expressions of the unknown. Based on Hans-Jörg Rheinberger’s ideas on experiment and Gabriele Schwab’s ethnographical perspective, a text can been seen as an “experimental system”, which includes “epistemic things” as bizarre or unknown but familiar objects which offer resistance to immediate interpretation. Instead, they actuate a process in which “knowing that” transforms to “knowing how”. This process in which the imagery is evoked in an experimental situation carries a scientific value in itself. If the reader or scientist pays special attention to the internal resistance of the “epistemic things” and to the power of the imagery, a quantum reality is more likely to open up in fiction.
 Another aim of this article is to expand upon a quantum-based study within Estonian literary theory. However, the introduction begins in a critical manner: up to now, no deeper study of the relation between contemporary physics and fiction of the 20th and 21st centuries has been considered and the word “quantum” has only occurred in Enn Kasak’s study of quantum mythology. Therefore, in order to avoid random connections between Estonian literature and, for example, the genre of quantum fiction, the article starts with a broader perspective by exploring thoroughly the relation between the two cultures, also asserting the need for further investigation.
 Furthermore, the article is may serve as a quest into trying to understand how to define a fictional quantum world. In order to avoid incoherency between physics and humanities, the article takes Hans-Jörg Rheinberger’s idea of “experimental systems” as a basis. By doing this, the epistemological value would lie in the text itself; more importantly, rather than creating direct connections between fiction and contemporary physics, an “experimental system” will provide knowledge by resisting knowledge and therefore setting the focus more on the attunement of the text.
 The article is also a starting point for further research. An approach from the idea of “experimental systems” might attribute new meanings to the fiction by the physicist Madis Kõiv, especially as regards his novels Päev (Day) and Aken (Window). So, instead of highlighting some keywords that might show the relation of Kõiv’s fiction and quantum theory, considering a text as an “experimental system” could expose the inadeqacy of such assertions. Rather, what might be revealed is that Kõiv’s novels are “heading” for a quantum reality, but they are also relocating it in open field.