Ability to Measure and Count in Aleksis Kivi’s Seven Brothers

Abstract

The illiterate brothers’ elementary ability to measure and count fluently is a striking feature in the Finnish author Aleksis Kivi’s Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä, 1870), a novel that was published before the metric system was introduced in Finland. The seven main characters describe their everyday life and environment and make work- related decisions using numbers, amounts, and measures of distance, area, volume, and weight without hesitation. They are also familiar with some elementary calculations. At the same time, their inability to read arouses desperate anguish in them. I analyze the ways the brothers use numbers and measurements, and the importance of these skills in their life. I also discuss their mathematical skills in relation to those of the narrator.