Minna Canth
Portrait of Minna Canth by Kaarlo Vuori
Born	March 19, 1844 Tampere, Finland
Died	May 20, 1897 (aged 52) Kuopio, Finland
Occupation	writer
Spouse	Johan Ferdinand Canth (1835–1879)
Parents	Gustaf Vilhelm Johnsson Lovisa Ulrika Archelin

Minna Canth (born Ulrika Wilhelmina Johnsson, March 19, 1844, Tampere - May 20, 1897, Kuopio) was a Finnish writer and social activist. Canth began to write while managing her family draper's shop and living as a widow raising seven children. Her work addresses issues of women's rights, particularly in the context of a prevailing culture she considered antithetical to permitting expression and realization of women's aspirations. Her play "The Pastor's Family" is her best known. In her time, she became a controversial figure, due to the asynchrony between her ideas and those of her time, and in part due to her strong advocacy for her point of view. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jan. ... Tampere ( , Tammerfors in Swedish) is a city in southern Finland located between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. ... is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Kuopio is a Finnish city located in the province of Eastern Finland and the region of Northern Savonia. ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jan. ... Tampere ( , Tammerfors in Swedish) is a city in southern Finland located between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. ... is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Kuopio is a Finnish city located in the province of Eastern Finland and the region of Northern Savonia. ... Social activists are people who act as the conscience and voice of many individuals within a society. ... The term women’s rights typically refers to freedoms inherently possessed by women and girls of all ages, which may be institutionalized or ignored and/or illegitimately suppressed by law or custom in a particular society. ...

Minna Canth is the first woman to receive her own flag day in Finland, starting on March 19, 2007. The Finnish flag By law, the Finnish flag must be flown from public buildings on the following days: February 28, day of Kalevala; the occasion is also celebrated as the Day of Finnish culture May 1, Labour Day Second Sunday in May, Mothers Day June 4, birthday of Carl Gustaf... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Most important works

Minna Canth's most important works are the plays Työmiehen vaimo (The worker's wife, 1885) and Anna Liisa (1895).

In Työmiehen vaimo, the main character Johanna is married to Risto, an alcoholic who wastes all his wife's money. Johanna cannot prevent him - her money is legally his, not hers. The play's premiere caused scandal, but a few months later, parliament enacted a new law about separation of property.

Anna Liisa is a tragedy about a fifteen-year-old girl who gets pregnant without being married – she manages to hide her pregnancy, and when the child is born, she suffocates it in a fit of panic. Her boyfriend Mikko's mother helps her – she buries the baby in the woods, but a few years later, when Anna Liisa wants to marry her fiancé Johannes, she is blackmailed by Mikko and his mother. They threaten her to reveal her dark secret if she does not agree to marry Mikko, but Anna Liisa refuses. In the end, she decides to confess what she has done. She is taken to prison, but is much relieved after owning up and seems to have found peace.

Further reading

Toward equality : proceedings of the American and Finnish Workshop on Minna Canth, June 19 - 20th, 1985, Kupio / Hrsg.: Sinkkonen, Sirkka. Kuopio : Yliop., 1986. ISBN 951-780-823-2

External links

• Works by Minna Canth at Project Gutenberg

• Website about the life of Minna Canth in 1844-1897 in Finnish