The image of Lapland in the Finnish literature

The image of Lapland is a particular constant that has long attracted Finnish writers and poets for its unexploredness. The authors drew on Finnish, Sámi and Karelian mythology and used folklore to describe Lapland and its inhabitants. An important theme was the depiction of literary characters in interaction with their environment. Over time these images have been creatively re-imagined, the fiction has been combined with reality in the most unexpected combinations. The image of Lapland in the works of such Finnish writers as F.M. Fransen, S. Topelius, E. Leino, K. Vala, U. Kailas, J. Sinisalo is investigated. It is aimed to trace the evolution of the image of Lapland and Laplanders in Finnish literature, to explore the mutual relations of literary characters with the environment, to bring out the basic points of the writers' ecological world view, and to study those features which remain unchanged. Since the early nineteenth century Lapland symbolism has been part of the archetypal system of Finnish literature, linked primarily to the folklore tradition. The authors have gradually shifted from depicting a unique culture as a romantic subject to exploring the ethical principles of the relationship between man and nature in the North, and have shown how the images of Lapland affect the emotional state of the literary protagonists. The nature of Lapland and its ecological, cultural and historical particularities through the lens of a literary artist are powerful stimuli for the production of outstanding literary works.