Comprehensive Study Notes on Czech Realism and Naturalism (19th and Early 20th Century)

The Emergence of Czech Scientific Realism and the Manuscript Controversy

In 1886, a significant shift toward scientific realism began in the Czech lands, marked by the publication of an article titled "Potřeba dalších zkoušek rukopisu Královédvorského a Zelenohorského" (The Need for Further Testing of the Queen's Court and Green Mountain Manuscripts) in the journal Atheneum. Written by the prominent linguist Jan Gebauer, this article expressed profound doubts regarding the authenticity of these manuscripts and demanded new chemical tests. This sparked an enormous public outcry, although Gebauer was not the first to raise such concerns; Antonín Vašek, the father of Petr Bezruč, had previously revived doubts about their authenticity. This "Battle of the Manuscripts" divided the Czech cultural public into two hostile camps and evolved into a struggle between a young, realistic generation of scientists and older conservatism. The entire Czech journalistic scene became involved, with the Young Czech newspaper Národní listy and the magazine Osvěta launching indiscriminate attacks against those who doubted authenticity, accusing them of a lack of patriotism, national betrayal, and cosmopolitanism.

Jan Gebauer was supported by a group of university peers who became the soul of the anti-manuscript struggle, most notably T. G. Masaryk, along with historian Jaroslav Goll and literary historian Jaroslav Vlček. This young generation of realistic scientists, operating out of the newly independent Czech university (established in 1882), sought to re-evaluate the current state of various scientific disciplines. Their efforts were encyclopedic and systematic, leading to the publication of Ottův naučný slovník beginning in 1888, the scientific review Atheneum from 1884 to 1893, and the founding of the Czech Academy of Sciences in 1890. Additionally, Jan Herben’s magazine Čas, founded in 1886, was dedicated to promoting this reformist realistic program.

The Life and Thought of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937)

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk was born on March 7, 1850, in Hodonín as the son of a blacksmith and died on September 14, 1937, in Lány. He adopted the middle name Garrigue from his wife. After earning a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Vienna, he was appointed a professor at the Czech Charles University in 1882. Masaryk recognized the constraints and narrowness of Czech public life, the pettiness of its politicians, and the conservatism of Czech science, which he felt was too closely oriented toward the German sphere. He believed the national program needed to be adapted to a modern world view. His scholarly works spanned many fields, including Česká otázka (The Czech Question, 1895), Jan Hus (1896), and Karel Havlíček (1896). In 1898, he published Otázka sociální (The Social Question), which focused on a critique of Marxism.

Masaryk also engaged with literature, most notably in his treatise O studiu děl básnických (On the Study of Poetic Works). As a literary critic, he took a sharp stance against Romanticism, viewing its lack of discipline and "fragmented" nature as a danger to the national character. He also firmly rejected Naturalism, particularly the works of Émile Zola. Masaryk primarily evaluated literary works based on their conceptual and intellectual content, showing little appreciation for aesthetic or formal values. During World War I, he became a leader of the foreign resistance alongside Edvard Beneš and M. R. Štefánik, experiences he later detailed in his book Světová revoluce. Za války a ve válce 1914–1918. In November 1918, he was elected the first president of independent Czechoslovakia and was re-elected in 1920, 1927, and 1934. He resigned from the presidency for health reasons on December 14, 1935.

Realism in Czech Prose and the Literary Climate of the 1880s

By the 1880s, literary life in the Czech lands had become more complex. Two fundamental requirements were placed upon literature: it was to continue serving national interests and strengthening political struggle, but it was also increasingly expected to faithfully capture reality and life in its full breadth. Writers were encouraged to achieve a realistic effect primarily through the direct observation of regional or social environments. This emphasis on realistic detail often led to depictions of specific segments of reality, as authors were frequently unable to portray society as a whole. Consequently, one cannot speak of a full or fully developed realism in the Czech context, such as that found in Russian or French literature; rather, certain principles of realism were applied. Czech realism flourished more in the scientific and scholarly fields, as the specific national conditions constantly subordinated literary production to the national liberation struggle. In the 1880s, prose developed mainly in two directions: historical themes, which often retained national awakening tendencies rather than pure realism, and rural themes, which often took the form of documents regarding the life of country people.

Major Figures of Historical Realist Prose: Alois Jirásek

Alois Jirásek (1851–1930) represents the pinnacle of Czech realistic historical prose. Born in Hronov to a baker, he originally intended to study painting but abandoned it for financial reasons and instead studied history at the Faculty of Arts in Prague. He taught in Litomyšl, which served as a major inspiration for his writing, and later in Prague. His artistic ascent occurred at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. During WWI, he became politically active, being the first to sign the May Manifest of Czech Writers in 1917, which declared the writers' commitment to the struggle for an independent state. Jirásek’s work has been met with both uncritical worship and wholesale rejection. He sought to create vast panoramas of the Czech past to encourage interest in history through fiction. His conception of history followed that of Palacký, striving for truthfulness according to historical fact, though some of his views—such as the uncritical celebration of Hussitism and his view of the Baroque as an era of "Temno" (darkness)—were later re-evaluated. His democratic view of history emphasized the masses over great individuals; his novels are rarely monographic, choosing instead to use several characters to typify "the people."

Jirásek’s work is categorized into three main thematic circles. The first is the Hussite Era, which includes the trilogy Mezi proudy (Between the Currents, 1887–1890) dealing with the reform movement under Wenceslaus IV; Proti všem (Against All, 1893) depicting the peak of the revolution; and Husitský král (1920) focused on George of Poděbrady. His dramas from this period include Jan Hus, Jan Žižka, and Jan Roháč. The second is the Post-White Mountain Era, including Psohlavci (The Dog-Heads, 1883–1884), featuring the anti-feudal rebellion leader Jan Sladký-Kozina fighting against Laminger. Another major work is Temno (Darkness, 1912–1914), capturing the 1720s and the resistance of secret non-Catholics against Jesuit pressure. His symbolic play Lucerna (The Lantern, 1905) also fits here, blending folk fairy-tale elements with the world of nobility and subjects. The third circle is the National Revival, dominated by the five-part F. L. Věk (1888–1906), tracing the revival process from the 1770s to the 1820s through the character of F. L. Hek. Other works include Filozofská historie (1877), an idyllic story of students in Litomyšl, and the drama Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová. For the youth, he wrote Staré pověsti české (1894).

Other Key Figures in Historical and Rural Prose

Václav Beneš Třebízský (1849–1884) was a Catholic priest who wrote patriotically-tuned historical prose with romantic plots, often sympathizing with Hussitism and peasant revolts. His works include the stories V červáncích kalicha and the novel Bludné duše (1879), which depicts a peasant uprising in the Slaný region in the 1780s. Zikmund Winter (1846–1912) is often considered the most significant historical writer after Jirásek. A professor of history, he utilized archival materials and a more modern linguistic approach. His only novel, Mistr Kampanus (1909), provides an extensive picture of Charles University around 1620. Its central character is Jan Kampanus, a kind and honest humanist rector who eventually commits suicide after converting to Catholicism in a failed attempt to save the university from Jesuit control.

Rural prose also grew from the traditions of the National Revival. Karel Václav Rais (1859–1926) was a teacher who focused on his home region of Hlinecko and the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. His prose on human relationships, such as the collections Výminkáři (1891) and Rodiče a děti (1893), offers a harsh look at poverty and the greed that corrupts family ties, particularly regarding the elderly. His novel Kalibův zločin (Kaliba's Crime, 1895) is a tragic story of a good man driven to crime by two women. Later, Rais shifted toward idealization in works like Zapadlí vlastenci (Forgotten Patriots, 1893), which celebrates priests and teachers as national workers, and Západ (The West, 1896), a chronicle of a noble village priest. In Pantáta Bezoušek (1897), he uses a rustic, honest farmer to contrast with the complexities of Prague life.

Antal Stašek (1843–1931), born Antonín Zeman, was the father of Ivan Olbracht and spent much of his life in Semily. His novel O ševci Matoušovi a jeho přátelích (1932) depicts the revolutionary atmosphere of 1848 through the character of Matouš Štěpánek, a rebellious folk thinker influenced by the Communist Manifesto. Josef Holeček (1853–1929) spent his life creating the ten-part prose epic Naši (1898–1930), a chronicle of the Vodňany and Písek regions. The central figure, farmer Kojan, represents the healthy core and wisdom of the nation, emphasizing the deep connection between the farmer, the soil, and ancestral traditions.

Realism and the Masterpieces of the Mrštík Brothers in Drama

After the permanent opening of the National Theatre in 1883, the stage became a center for Czech theatrical life, though realism and naturalism struggled against the conservative public preference for French comedies or national tragedies. Realism entered drama slowly through specific character types. Ladislav Stroupežnický (1850–1892), dramaturg of the National Theatre, transitioned from historical plays like Zvíkovský rarášek to the landmark realistic drama Naši furianti (Our Swaggerers, 1887), which initially faced critical resistance for its raw portrayal of Czech peasants.

Gabriela Preissová (1862–1946) brought further realistic successes with Gazdina roba (The Farm Mistress, 1889), involving a seamstress who leaves her husband for a lover and eventually commits suicide, and Její pastorkyňa (Her Stepdaughter, 1890), where a woman commits infanticide to save her stepdaughter's reputation. Both were later turned into famous operas by Josef Bohuslav Foerster (Eva) and Leoš Janáček. The peak of this movement was Maryša (1894), co-authored by the Mrštík brothers. This tragedy follows a young woman forced into a loveless marriage for property reasons, who ultimately poisons her husband. The play stands out for its logical structure and sharp characterizations.

Alois Mrštík (1861–1925) provided a home for his more dynamic brother Vilém in southern Moravia. Alois was the primary author of Rok na vsi (A Year in the Village, 1903–1904), a chronicle of a Moravian village structured by the agricultural year. It criticizes the city for the moral decay within the village (alcoholism, debt) and depicts the village as an oasis of natural humanity, though any deviation from moral norms is punished, as seen in the tragic end of Cyril Rybář. Vilém Mrštík (1863–1912), a promoter of Zola and Russian realism, struggled with existential insecurity and ended his life by suicide. His individual works include the impressionistic Pohádka máje (A May Tale, 1897), where a Prague student finds true feeling for a naive girl named Helenka, and the novel Santa Lucia (1893), which follows a Moravian student's disillusionment and eventual death in Prague.

Czech Naturalism: Šlejhar and Čapek-Chod

Czech Naturalism emerged alongside Realism, heavily influenced by Émile Zola. Naturalists emphasized social and hereditary determinism, depicting characters as victims of their environment, often involving alcoholism, cruelty, and the crushing influence of industrialization. Josef Karel Šlejhar (1864–1914) is known for extreme pessimism and wounded compassion. His novel Kuře melancholik (The Melancholy Chicken, 1889) draws a parallel between a dying child and a chicken, highlighting the animalistic suffering and the triumph of evil over goodness. His novel Lípa (The Linden Tree, 1908) uses the fall of a family tree to symbolize the disintegration of old farming traditions.

Karel Matěj Čapek-Chod (1860–1927) is the most typical representative of Czech Naturalism. A journalist and art critic from Domažlice, he used the suffix "Chod" to distinguish himself from the Čapek brothers. His major novels include Antonín Vondrejc (1917–1918), a portrait of the Prague artistic bohemia, and Turbina (The Turbine, 1916), which chronicles the comprehensive decline of the Prague middle class.

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