Short stories
Paskenduolė
Not translated into English
Antanas Vienuolis · 1913
Synopsis
The Drowned Woman: Veronika, a servant on a farm in Šepečiai, is expecting a child by Juozelis, who has left for America promising her the money for the journey. Left alone, she takes a remedy from a local woman, which makes her seriously ill. The priest humiliates her when she comes to confess, the village turns away from her and her father beats her: the young woman looks in vain for someone to confide in.
Context
The tale, written in 1909, appeared in 1913 in the third issue of the review Aušrinė. It shocked the society of its time through its depiction of a community's unwritten rules and of the exclusion that strikes those who break them. Loreta Mačianskaitė reads in it both a para-Christian and an anti-Christian myth, echoing the rosary, the way of the cross and the cycle of summer feasts. The text was reissued in 1982, with engravings by Eduardas Jurėnas.
Who it is for
A short narrative; no French or English translation has been found. A girl pregnant out of wedlock then lost all support.
Prizes and reception
Shocking on its publication, it is held by Loreta Mačianskaitė to be the first modern mythical discourse in Lithuanian letters.