L. Onerva, Mirdja: A Decadent New Woman

Eva Buchwald; SViola Parente-Čapková

L. Onerva, Mirdja: A Decadent New Woman

Translated by Eva Buchwald with an introduction and notes by Viola Parente-Čapková

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'L. Onerva', Hilja Onerva Lehtinen (1882–1972), Finnish novelist

Jewelled Tortoise 11

Modern Humanities Research Association

17 July 2025 • 300pp

ISBN: 978-1-839541-26-1 (hardback) • RRP £49.99, $66.99, €59.99

ISBN: 978-1-839541-24-7 (paperback) • RRP £18.99, $25.99, €22.99

ISBN: 978-1-839541-25-4 (JSTOR ebook)

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ModernEnglishFiction

‘Ah, the bitter delusion of all beauty!’

This volume presents the first English translation of Mirdja (1908), a remarkable work of Decadent literature by Finnish author L. Onerva (the pen name of Hilja Onerva Lehtinen, 1882–1972). Onerva was one of the most versatile literary figures of her generation, and her novel Mirdja is among the most important works of Nordic fin-de-siècle literature. It recounts the life of its free-spirited protagonist from adolescence to old age as she navigates the gendered world around her, testing the boundaries of her sexuality and railing against conventionality. Onerva’s candid, subversive depiction of society’s norms and traditions creates a vivid backdrop to her heroine’s defiant quest for self-determination.

Mirdja sharply divided the opinions of the contemporary reading public, winning the National Prize for Literature while being widely condemned for immorality. An example of early Modernist writing, described as having Decadent and Nietzschean tendencies, the novel has since been re-evaluated in light of feminist criticism and new trends in scholarship on fin-de-siècle culture and New Woman fiction. Just as her protagonist rebels against the constraints of bourgeois norms, so Onerva challenged the conventions of prose to create an experimental, vividly individualistic form of expression.

This fully annotated translation brings this important work to an English readership for the first time.

Eva Buchwald is a freelance translator and Head of Dramaturgy at the Finnish National Theatre. Viola Parente-Čapková is Professor of Finnish Literature at the University of Turku.

Contents:

vii-viii	Acknowledgements Eva Buchwald, SViola Parente-Čapková doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.3	Cite
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1-36	Introduction: L. Onerva’s Decadent New Woman Seeker Eva Buchwald, SViola Parente-Čapková doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.4	Cite
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37-41	An Onerva Bibliography Eva Buchwald, SViola Parente-Čapková doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.5	Cite
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42-48	Chronology of Onerva’s Life and Works Eva Buchwald, SViola Parente-Čapková doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.6	Cite
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49-50	Note On the Text and Translation Eva Buchwald, SViola Parente-Čapková doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.7	Cite
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53-59	I L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.8	Cite
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60-63	II L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.9	Cite
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64-67	III L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.10	Cite
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68-75	IV L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.11	Cite
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76-77	V L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.12	Cite
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78-80	VI L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.13	Cite
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81-82	Recitative L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.14	Cite
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83-89	Allegro Apassionato L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.15	Cite
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90-101	Andante Con Dolore L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.16	Cite
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102-106	Allegretto Capriccioso L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.17	Cite
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107-110	Barcarola L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.18	Cite
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111-118	Nocturno L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.19	Cite
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119-126	Gaudeamus Igitur L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.20	Cite
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127-138	Post Jucundam Juventutem L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.21	Cite
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139-140	I L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.22	Cite
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141-144	II L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.23	Cite
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145-152	III L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.24	Cite
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153-156	IV L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.25	Cite
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157-159	V L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.26	Cite
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160-161	VI L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.27	Cite
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162-175	Soliloquies Abroad L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.28	Cite
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176-178	I L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.29	Cite
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179-186	II L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.30	Cite
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187-188	III L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.31	Cite
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189-193	IV L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.32	Cite
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194-195	V L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.33	Cite
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196-204	VI L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.34	Cite
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205-206	VII L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.35	Cite
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207-209	VIII L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.36	Cite
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210-213	IX L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.37	Cite
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214-215	X L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.38	Cite
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216-218	I L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.39	Cite
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219-228	II L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.40	Cite
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229-233	III L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.41	Cite
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234-236	IV L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.42	Cite
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237-240	V L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.43	Cite
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241-242	VI L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.44	Cite
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243-252	VII L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.45	Cite
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253-256	VIII L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.46	Cite
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257-261	IX L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.47	Cite
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262-268	X L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.48	Cite
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269-271	XI L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.49	Cite
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272-272	XII L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.50	Cite
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273-275	XIII L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.51	Cite
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276-286	DEATH KNELL L. Onerva doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.52	Cite
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287-291	Contemporary Reviews Eva Buchwald, SViola Parente-Čapková doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.53	Cite
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292-292	Back Matter Eva Buchwald, SViola Parente-Čapková doi:10.2307/jj.30776228.54	Cite
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Bibliography entry:

introduction, Eva Buchwald with an, and notes by Viola Parente-Čapková (trans.), L. Onerva, Mirdja: A Decadent New Woman, Jewelled Tortoise, 11 (MHRA, 2025)

First footnote reference: ³⁵ L. Onerva, Mirdja: A Decadent New Woman, trans. by Eva Buchwald with an introduction and notes by Viola Parente-Čapková, Jewelled Tortoise, 11 (MHRA, 2025), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: ³⁷ introduction and Parente-Čapková, p. 47.

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Bibliography entry:

introduction, Eva Buchwald with an, and notes by Viola Parente-Čapková (trans.). 2025. L. Onerva, Mirdja: A Decadent New Woman, Jewelled Tortoise, 11 (MHRA)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (introduction and Parente-Čapková 2025: 21).

Example footnote reference: ³⁵ introduction and Parente-Čapková 2025: 21.

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