Narrative
The Wolf's Bride
Sudenmorsian
Aino Kallas · 1928
Synopsis
On the island of Hiiumaa, in the seventeenth century, Aalo, the wife of Priidik, a forest ranger on the Suuremõisa estate, is gentle and compassionate towards animals. But she hears the call of the demon of the woods, the Diabolus sylvarum, takes the form of a she-wolf and runs with the pack; the peasants call her the wolf's bride. The village grows uneasy, the rumour of witchcraft spreads, and Priidik must choose between the woman he loves and what the Church commands of him.
Context
It was written during the London years and closes a series of three narratives that critics treat as a whole, all concerned with what their author called murderous Eros, a love that leads to death. Its language is deliberately archaic, imitated from old chronicles, and this is the mark of all her work. The two earlier narratives had appeared in English in 1927 under the title Eros the Slayer; this one followed from Jonathan Cape in 1930, appeared in Swedish in a joint volume, and in French from Viviane Hamy in 1990, with a preface by Jean-Luc Moreau.
Who it is for
A short narrative, in Finnish, readable in French and in English. The prose deliberately imitates the old chronicle: one must get used to it before the story takes hold.
Prizes and reception
Its author's most famous work, and practically the only classic werewolf tale in the Finnish language.
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