Kaunis ja ruma Noitaympyrässä : Pentti Haanpään estetiikkaa

Abstract

This paper deals with the aesthetic modifications of the beautiful and the ugly as embodied in Pentti Haanpää's (1905-1955) novel Noitaympyrä, written as early as the 1930's, but published only posthumously because of its political sensitivity. Pentti Haanpää has often been considered merely a naturalistic social critic, yet even in his works aesthetic modifications appear as a significant element. Haanpää definitely has his own aesthetic. The method applied in this paper is close textual analysis. Although the autobiographical origin of Haanpää's natural aesthetic values is evident, the biographical approach does not account for his aesthetic to a remarkable degree. The purpose given to beauty and ugliness in the novel is an aspect which merits closer attention. For Haanpää, these concepts are not an end in themselves, rather, they constitute an integral part of the work's total significance. In the category of the beautiful, nature stands out. The author sees untouched nature as an embodiment of beauty and original values. The touch of evil, ie. man, will corrupt even nature. In general, man is depicted as ugly. An innocent human being may be beautiful, but his beauty is evanescent, which is something that does not apply to nature. The society portrayed in Noitaympyrä is ugly, exploiting both man and nature. Beautiful society remains as a utopia alive in fantasies only. Wood-cutter Pate Teikka, the main character, sees the society struggling under economic depression as so ugly that he has to escape. Abstract beauty or ugliness are no less important than their concrete counterparts. Moral qualities may turn external beauty into inner ungliness, or vice versa. Even in Haanpää' s aesthetic, the aesthetic and moral dimensions are interrelated.