Theatre
Statky-zmätky
Not translated into English
Jozef Gregor Tajovský · 1909
Synopsis
The Palčíks, Ondrej and Mara, rich childless peasants, miserly and cunning, propose to the Ľavkos, the carter Jano and his wife Žofa, that their son Ďurko marry Zuzka Kamenská: the young couple will come to live with them and look after them, in exchange for the promise of their property. Despite her father's opposition, the gentle Zuzka accepts the engagement money and hopes for a happy marriage. But Ďurko, proud and a skirt-chaser, soon returns to Beta, a married woman of the neighbourhood, and the promised land is slow to come.
Context
The play appeared in 1909, during the years when the author was working in Nadlak. In four acts framed by the Christmas festivities, in the homes of the Ľavkos, the Palčíks and the Kamenskýs, it takes up the tradition of village comedy, songs and customs included, to turn it into a realistic social drama in which money and the desire to possess eat away at the bonds of families and couples. Zuzka Kamenská is regarded as the author's finest female figure: docile and naive at first, she becomes a proud, independent woman. The language, rich in dialects and popular turns of phrase, plays a large part in it.
Who it is for
Four acts in a dense peasant speech, rich in sayings, which are as well suited to performance as to reading.
Prizes and reception
A classic of Slovak realist drama, written by the man regarded as its founder.