Lokis(novella)

Lokis. A Manuscript of Professor Wittembach(French:Lokis - Le manuscrit du professeur Wittembach) is an 1869Prosper Mériméehorror fantasynovella.It was one of the last stories by Mérimée, started in July 1868 and published in theRevue des deux Mondesin September 1869.The title is a misspelling of theLithuanianwordlokysfor "bear".The plot revolves around a young man who is suspected to be half-human half-bear. Robin MacKenzie from University of St Andrews classifies the plot into awerewolftheme with some elements ofvampirism(the motif of drinking blood repeats through the work).The novella primarily deals with the dual nature of human–beast. It also contrasts Western education and Christianity withpagan Lithuanian rituals and beliefs,on more broadly – cultured civilization with primordial wilderness.

Plot

The story is told from the point of view of an observer – professor Wittembach, a pastor and an amateur ethnographer - who comes to aSamogitianmanor in ruralLithuaniawhile on a mission to translate theGospel of MatthewintoSamogitian.The plot revolves around a young man, Count Michel Szémioth, who is suspected to be half-human half-bear, since he was born after his mother was mauled (and, as believed by peasants, raped) by a bear. Through the novel, the protagonist, Michel/Lokis, manifests signs of animal-like behavior until he finally kills his bride by a bite to her throat and runs away into the forest on his wedding night. Some critics consider the tale to be an inversion of theBeauty and the Beast,whereby the Beauty transforms a man into a Beast, rather than vice versa.

Inspiration

Mérimée conceived the novella in spring 1867 as a contrast to horror stories often read at the court ofEmpress Eugenie.Intrigued by the human–beast duality, he quickly decided against a parody. It is believed that Mérimée borrowed the plot from the 13th-centuryGesta Danorum,published inRevue des deux Mondes.Gesta Danorumincludes a story of a girl kidnapped and impregnated by a bear. The girl gives birth to a son who exhibits violent sexual tendencies as an adult.

Epigraph and title

"Miszka su Lokiu, Abu du tokiu"cited at the beginning of the novel as anepigraphto the manuscript is a slightly corrupted Lithuanianproverb"Meška su lokiu, abudu tokiu".The proverb was included in Lithuanian dictionaries byGeorg Heinrich Ferdinand Nesselmann,published in 1851,and byAugust Schleicher,published in 1857,but judging by Mérimée's correspondence, he did not know about these publications and received the proverb fromIvan Turgenev."Meška" and "lokys" are different names (synonyms) for the "bear" in Lithuanian, so the proverb almost literally means "Grizzlyandbearare both the same. "According to an (incorrect) explanation given by professor Wittembach at the end of the novella," miszka "is not a Lithuanian word but a rendering of" Mishka ", a Russian-languagehypocoristicform of "Michael", the protagonist's name.In the English translation the proverb is footnoted with the following comment:"The two together make a pair"; word for word, Michon (Michael) with Lokis, both are the same. Michaelium cum Lokide, ambo [duo] ipsissimi.

Inaccuracies

The novella draws elements, such as thunder godPerkūnasor cult ofžaltys(grass snakes), from thepagan Lithuanian rituals and beliefs,but is not historically or culturally accurate.For example, the plot takes place in 1866, but the work does not address social or political situation after theJanuary Uprisingof 1863–1864. The extinction of thePrussian languageis dated a full century later than it actually happened. The protagonist is aProtestant,though that is very rare in Catholic Samogitia. Some cultural elements, likerusalkaor card gamesDurakandPreferans,were taken from Slavic (Russian) culture rather than Lithuanian.

Adaptations

Film

• The Marriage of the Bear(1926), a Russian film byKonstantin EggertandVladimir Gardin.It was based on the 1922 Russian play with the same name (Russian:Медвежья свадьба)byAnatoli Lunacharskyloosely based onLokis.
• Lokis(1970) by Janusz Majewski
• La Bête(1975) by Walerian Borowczyk, loosely based on the novella
• Massacre(2010) byAndrej Kudzinenka,a Belarusian film with the plot loosely based onLokisand Belarusian legends.

Opera

• Lokys(2000) was commissioned by theVilnius Festival(2000) to libretto byAušra Marija Sluckaitė-Jurašienėand composition byBronius Kutavičius.This afterwards entered the repertoire of theLithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

See also

• Jean de l'Ours( "John-of-the-Bear" )
• Valentine and Orson

External links

• Lokistitle listing at theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
• Sprenger, Scott (2009). "Mérimée’s Literary Anthropology: Residual Sacrality and Marital Violence in 'Lokis,'"Anthropoetics XIV, no. 2 Winter 2009.