France Prešerin, žaloigra v petih dejanjih
14 nastopajočih (5ž, 9m)
A4 format typescript (29 x 20 cm). The text has a front title France Prešerin, the cover contains information about authorship (Luiza Pesjakova – Črtomir Zorec), title, subtitle and information about the place and year of publication (Kranj 1970). There is also a handwritten note on the SLOGI library copy (sig. II 828) (a gift from Črtomir Zorac on March 8, 1972).
Poet and writer Luiza Pesjak se je rodila leta 1828 kot Aloisia Crobath. Njen oče, Blaž Crobath, starejši študijski kolega in delodajalec Franceta Prešerna, je prijateljeval z najpomembnejšimi slovenskimi razumniki: Aloisia je že kot otrok spoznala vse vidnejše intelektualce, politike in umetnike svojega časa iz Ljubljane in od drugod (v Crobathovem stanovanju je nekaj časa živel pesnik in politični izgnanec, Poljak Emil Korytko). V otroštvu in v dobi odraščanja sta jo odlikovali nadpovprečna bistrost, izobraženost in uglajenost. Vsi njeni pesniški in prozni poskusi so bili nemški, saj vse do šestdesetih let, do dobe narodnega preporoda, slovenščine še ni obvladala. V nasprotju z mnogimi slovenskimi ustvarjalci, ki so začeli pisati v nemščini in so pozneje prešli na slovenščino, njen »materni jezik« ni bila slovenščina. Njena mati je bila Poljakinja in logična izbira jezika v mešanem, čeprav slovanskem zakonu, je bila nemščina. V njenem krogu so poleg nemščine večinoma zelo dobro obvladali še francoščino, učili pa so se tudi drugih jezikov. Luiza kot ženska ni mogla obiskovati klasične gimnazije, a se je kljub temu temeljito izobrazila. Poleg kurikuluma ženskih vzgojnih zavodov je nekaj let predelovala bratovo gimnazijsko učno snov, na voljo so ji bile tudi številne inštrukcije: med njenimi domačimi učitelji je bil tudi France Prešeren.
At twenty, she unexpectedly lost her father, got married and devoted herself to her family. During this time, her literary creation faded into the background. However, more than ten years later, with the help of a local teacher who taught her five daughters, she improved her Slovenian to the point where she was able to actively participate in Slovenian cultural life. At the time of his first Slovenian publication of the song Which I love (1864 in Bleiweis News) je začela aktivno sodelovati z ljubljansko čitalnico. Pri njenem delu so jo vzpodbujali najvidnejši slovenski ustvarjalci šestdesetih in sedemdesetih let. Fran Levstik, ki je popravljal njene slovenske literarne poskuse, je bil kritičen do njenih prevodov Prešerna v nemščino. Kljub temu jo je vneto nagovarjal k pisanju spominov o ustvarjalcih in kulturnikih, ki jih je spoznala že kot otrok. Zelo aktivna je bila tudi kot sodelavka Stritarjevega Bells. Tudi Stritar je kot urednik popravljal njena slovenska besedila, vendar je zanimivo, da sta si dopisovala v francoščini. Kljub vsem opisanim literarnim dejavnostim je bila Luiza Pesjak pretežno otroška in mladinska pisateljica. Pesmi in povesti za otroke je objavljala predvsem v časopisu Kindergarten in sicer od začetka izhajanja revije pa vse do svojega dokončnega umika iz javnega in literarnega življenja (od 1871 do 1893). Istočasno je besedila objavljala tudi v nemških mladinskih in družinskih revijah. Ves čas je namreč pisala tako v slovenščini kot tudi v nemščini. Velik del njenega opusa je dvojezičen, saj je tudi prozna dela za odrasle objavljala vzporedno v slovenskem in nemškem jeziku.
In the last period of her work, she wrote a lot for The Ljubljana Bell, where she was invited by editor Fran Levec. Among other texts, she published memoirs From my childhood (1886). The text consists of three chapters (meetings with France Prešern, Emil Korytko and Stanko Vraz), and it ends with a poem dedicated to all three role models.
Her most extensive text is a novel Beata's diary, which was published in 1887.
CREATION FOR THE THEATER AND COLLABORATION WITH THE DRAMATIC SOCIETY
Even before the founding of the Dramatic Society, Luiza Pesjak adapted two short dramatic texts for the Ljubljana reading room. Both merry-go-rounds, Svitoslav bunny and Poison, were published in 1865.
She wrote the text for the reader's needs Slovenia Guide (1866) and a shorter dramatic text In Koprivnik, which was published in the Yearbook of the National Reading Room in Ljubljana (1872, with the subtitle: a dramatic scene presented in the solemn speech of the Ljubljana reading room Guide to commemorating the 4th day of the feast 1872).
In the collection Slovenska Talija, she published a translation of the merry play A party girl (1870, vol. 14) and one-act plays My late one (1873, vol. 23).
The highlight of the author's work for the theater was the premiere and printing of the libretto Gorenje nightingale (1872).
In different periods, the literary work of Luiza Pesjak received more or less attention, but thanks to new and new settings Gorenjski slavček she never quite sank into oblivion. Reading records of her work, we get the impression that interest in her is growing. We also collected some literature in our library.
More recent literature, records and analysis are available online:
- The forgotten half: portraits of women of the 19th and 20th centuries in Slovenia
- A little German, a little Slovenian
- Narrative texts by Slovenian women writers -contemporary Zofka Kveder
- Lujiza Pesjakova – student of the great master of Slovenian poetry
The poet and writer Črtomir Zorec (1907-1991) began his professional career as a teacher and principal at the Secondary Textile School in Kranj, and continued as a curator and later director of the Gorenje Museum (1962-1971). In addition to local history texts, he published articles about the life and work of France Prešeren, which he also collected in a book In Prešeren's footsteps (1964). The fruit of his engagement with the great poet is, among other things, the arrangement of Prešeren's house in Kranj and the erection of the Kranj Prešeren monument.
In addition to domestic studies and literary history, he was also involved in theater and drama. He worked with the Prešeren Theater as a playwright, director and editor of the theater paper. Among his works for the theater is also a reworking and addition of a tragedy Prešerin, which was preserved among the manuscripts in the legacy of Luiza Pesjak (NUK, Ms 488). Črtomir Zorec wrote the fifth act, which, according to information in secondary literature, should have taken place in 1849 and depicted Prešeren's illness and death.
LUIZA PESJAK AND FRANCES PRESHEREN
Pisateljičin oče je s Prešernom, ki je bil od njega tri leta mlajši, prijateljeval že v študentskih letih na Dunaju. Leta 1833 je v Ljubljani uspel odpreti lastno odvetniško pisarno in že leto pozneje se je Prešeren pri njem zaposlil kot odvetniški pripravnik in vodja pisarne. Po relativno nestabilnem obdobju menjavanja raznih služb je ostal pri Blažu Crobathu več kot desetletje (1834-1846) – vse do odhoda v Kranj. Crobath je bil Prešernu izjemno naklonjen: imela sta podobne nazore in veliko skupnih prijateljev. Med njimi je bil poleg Matije Čopa in Andreja Smoleta tudi mladi poljski izgnanec Emil Korytko. Z njim so bili verjetno tako tesno povezani tudi zato, ker je bila Crobathova žena Poljakinja. V zakonu se jima je rodilo pet otrok. Najstarejša, Aloisia, ki je bila nadarjen in vedoželjen otrok, je imela v dekliškem zavodu le omejene možnosti izobraževanja, tako da je imela tudi privatne učitelje; zgodovino, latinščino in angleščino jo je poučeval tudi France Prešeren. Kot lahko beremo v njenih spominih, sta s Prešernom v originalu skupaj prebirala roman angleškega avtorja Oliverja Goldsmitha Wakefildski vikar respectively Vicar of Wakefield, as the title of the later Slovenian translation read. The text had a significant influence on German and Slovenian romances (Tatjana Kopitar: Olivera Goldsmitha The Vicar of Wakefield with Slovenes until 1876, Slavic magazine, 12. 1959/60, no. 1-4, p. 194–223).
During Prešeren's tenure, the Chrobaths changed three locations, but in all three cases they lived in the house where they also had business premises. Given that s Prešeren friends and that he was at their house practically every day, his teaching his eldest daughter was understandably and logistically quite simple.
Prešeren also helped young Alojzia or Luiza with preparations for the recitation of verses, which he composed during the feasts in honor of her parents. In the first half of the nineteenth century, Slovenian educated people communicated mostly in German. It is interesting that the young creator was inspired to write poetry by Slovenian poets, but for the first half of her life she only expressed herself in German, so it is completely understandable that Prešeren dedicated exclusively German verses to her.
Prešeren's manuscript of the poem has been preserved Dem Wohlgebornen Fräulein Aloisia Crobath, which the poet dedicated to Luiza for her fourteenth birthday. Below the poem is written the date, June 21, 1842, the day Luiza danced.
Two years later, Prešeren, who was familiar with her poetic attempts, dedicated a text to her An eine junge Dichterin:
Fühlst du Begeist'rung dir den Busen schwellen,
Vom inner'n Gott zum Dichten dich getrieben,
Dann ist dir wahrlich keine Wahl geblieben,
Du mulit dich Sapphos Gilde zugesellen.
Mußt wandeln ihn, des Ruhmes Pfad, den hellen;
Mag bleiben unerhört des Mädchen Lieben,
Mag auch darob dein Lebensglück zerstieben,
Der Tod auch deiner harren in den Wellen.
Doch fühlest du dich frei von solchem Drange,
Dann greife du nach glücklicheren Loosen,
So lang das Jugendroth umfließt die Wange.
Dir winkt der Liebe Pfad, bestreut mit Rosen,
Der Myrtenkranz, der harret deiner, lange
Nicht nach dem Lorbeerreis, dem freudenlosen!
Although they communicated in German, according to the poet's testimony, she had a copy Poetry, who gave it to her, wrote a Slovenian dedication. The following year he praised her German translation of the poem Lost faith (1847), and a year later, at her father's funeral, they probably met for the last time. Blaž Chrobath died in the summer of 1848, followed by Prešeren a few months later.
V šestdesetih letih so vzporedno z Luizinim učenjem slovenščine in prvimi literarnimi poskusi v slovenskem jeziku nastajali tudi njeni prevodi Prešerna v nemščino. Nekaj jih je tudi objavila (v: Triglav, Slavische Blätter), and even more of them remained in her handwritten legacy among the translations of other Slovenian poets into German.
Prešeren's introductory talk about love is interrupted by Andrej Smole, who goes with the poet to Dolenčeva's inn. Prešeren, in love, proposes to the innkeeper's daughter Zalika, but it turns out that the girl does not care for him and that the feelings of love are one-sided.
Naslednje dejanje se odvija štiri leta pozneje v dvorani Licejske knjižnice. V pogovor med Prešernom in Čopom avtorica vplete veliko znanih dejstev iz njunega življenja in širšega kulturnega dogajanja tridesetih let devetnajstega stoletja. V ospredju je spor z državnim cenzorjem Jernejem Kopitarjem, črkarska pravda, Kranjska čbelica, jezikoslovje in bitke med slovenskimi izobraženci. Prešeren Čopa spodbuja, naj čim več piše, v nadaljevanju pa si izmenjata izraze globokih prijateljskih čustev. Po prihodu Mihe Kastelica, skriptorja in urednika Kranjske čbelice, se pogovor spet obrne k aktualnemu kulturnemu dogajanju. Čop odhiti pisat odgovor Kopitarju, Prešeren pa Kastelicu zaupa svoje načrte o pisanju tragedije.
Two years later, we move again to Prešeren's apartment. He is visited by a grieving widow whose two daughters have recently died. Prešerna asks him to write an epitaph for their mushroom. When the kind-hearted poet grants her wish, Matija Čop asks him if he will also write grave verses for him. Before rushing to Tomačevo to bathe in the Sava, Čop comforts and cheers up the unfortunate Prešeren, who is drowning in a melancholy mood.
The fourth act is a continuous continuation of the previous one in time and space. Andrej Smole visits the poet and talks to him about Julia. They are later joined by Miha Kastelic, who rushes to his friend to tell him the news of Čop's death.
Peto dejanje se odvija v Kranju na zadnji dan pesnikovega življenja. Gostilničar Mayr, dekan Dagarin in trgovec Killer se pogovarjajo o hudo bolnem pesniku, ko v gostilno stopi Ana Jelovšek s hčerjo in sinom. Dogajanje se nadaljuje ob pesnikovi smrtni postelji. Ana ga roti, naj prizna njuna otroka in Prešeren ji zatrjuje, da bo vse uredil, ko bo ozdravel, potem pa nenadoma izdihne pred svojima otrokoma Ernestino in Francetom.