Religion and : 's J�nis

Arvids Ziedonis, Jr., The Religious Philosophy of Jánis Rainis. Waverly, Iowa: Latvju Grammata, 1969. 344 pp.

Janis Rainis' status as one of the most remarkable Latvian writers has been secure for over sixty years now. It was he who raised Latvian poetry and drama to a level of artistry never before attained. To this day, literary critics and historians have been trying to place his strongly individualistic creative out- put into definite literary schools, but not with a great deal of success. Spiritually and aesthetically he is the best example in modern Latvian letters of the organic relationship between talent shaped by tradition and talent creating tradition. Rainis' poems are the common patrimony of most Latvian anthologies, and most of his fifteen dramas (all but two written in blank verse) are constantly per- formed on Latvian stages and occasionally abroad. Five of Rainis' dramas have been set as operas, and his lyrics have also attracted composers. A book-length study in English of this Latvian writer and his work has long been overdue, for in the English-speaking countries the true greatness of Rainis' literary genius has not been fully recognized. More of Rainis' works have been translated into Russian, German, Lithuanian, Estonian, Ukrainian, Belorussian, and even into Georgian, than into English. The primary objective of professor Ziedonis' monograph, originally a Temple University dissertation, is to shift the emphasis from the usual treatment of Rainis as an artist and a Latvian nationalist to a fuller appreciation of Rainis as a founder of a "new religion." To be sure, this is not an original idea con- cerning the poet. Already during his lifetime, attempts were made (for example, by Hermanis Asars) to prove that throughout his works Rainis expressed a "new religion" - a merger of Latvian mythology, folklore, and the major world religions. The fact is that, in outlook and loyalties a social democrat of the moderate and human Western tradition, Rainis was very sceptical about the "official Christian religion," which, in his opinion, was distorted and did not provide a sound foundation for the spiritual needs of his people. He especially deplored the fact that the organized church had assumed such a position that "religion is no longer a cultural question; it could almost be said to be a ques- tion of collecting dues." Moreover, he never referred to Christ or the triune God. Rainis accepted the assertion that he was the founder of a "new religion," with one significant qualification: the word "religion" must not be used in its traditional sense. "The word 'religion' is despicable to me," he exclaimed, adding that a new definition for his world view must be found. Contrary to this wish, Ziedonis insists on presenting the writer as a "religious thinker," time and again stating that in Rainis' judgement, "all life must be religion," that "man must become an instrument of God," that only "the religious man can promote the spiritual life." Rainis' humanitarian , free of any chauvinism or class hatred, was based on the ethical and broad humanistic enlightenment of the common people, on the individual's right to analytical and creative freedom, on progress and education, on human and national freedom. The quintessence of Rainis' meta- physical and ethical views, as Ziedonis rightly asserts, was to do the positive, the good, to spread active, sacrificial love. It can also be argued that Rainis' ultimate objective was a spiritual revolution, not a national revolution, nor a social revolution, nor a combination of both. But, no matter how strongly the author states his personal point of view, throughout the book there is no clear picture of Rainis the "religionist." Without minimizing the importance of some religious elements in Rainis' writings, it appears that Ziedonis' case would have been much stronger had he concentrated on Rainis' Weltanschauung, on Rainis' ethics, on Rainis' humanity which breathes throughout his entire creative out- put. Nevertheless, Ziedonis' book contributes some valuable and challenging in- sights into Rainis' work and life. In Chapter i, Ziedonis acquaints the reader with the ethnic, cultural and historical background of the Latvians, and simultaneously attempts to show how profoundly Rainis' thought had been influenced by the past and present history of his country and how, in turn, he shaped the history of his people. A bitter opponent of the oppressive of the Russian Imperial Government, he inscribed his name in Latvian history as one of the supreme ideologists of an autonomous Latvian state, envisioning it as neither a slave to the East, nor a servant to the West. Moreover, he advocated the unification of nations into federations, such as "a united states of the Baltic Sea," and, eventually, a united Europe, based on democratic principles. Although Chapter ii gives a helpful survey of the poet's turbulent life and contains a wealth of factual material, the author does not always succeed in placing the man in perspective within the social and literary environment in which he continuously moved. Born into the family of a well-to-do estate over- seer, brought up in a rural atmosphere and given a gymnasium education in , from where he went to the university of St. Petersburg, graduating with a law degree, Rainis was in many respects a typical member of the fin de si6cle revolutionary generation. In the influential sociological and political newspaper Dienas Lapa (Daily Gazette), which he edited, Rainis took a stand against Tsarist imperialism and the exploitation of the Latvian peasantry by the Baltic German barons who had been in possession of the land for some centuries past. His revolutionary activities through the press and in the group, around which rallied the first Latvian democrats and socialists in the 1890's, caused his imprisonment in 1897 followed by banishment from Latvia for six years, first to , then to Slobodsk, just east of the central part of the Ural Mountains. Here he finished translating Goethe's Faust and wrote poetry. In the wave of repressions that followed the abortive revolution of 1905, which in Latvia developed into a national movement, he was forced to escape abroad. Like many other East Europeans of the age, Rainis and his wife (one of the best-known poetesses and a feminist leader) emigrated to . During fourteen years of political exile Rainis created his major literary works. Re- turning to the newly proclaimed independent Republic of Latvia in 1920, he held several prominent positions in the government, including that of Minister of Education, and in the Social Democratic Party. He was instrumental in founding the Riga Art Theatre in 1920 and directed the Latvian National Theatre from 1921 to 1925.