Tofylis, or The Marriage of Zosė

by Žemaitė

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This story, by one of Europeâe(tm)s most skilful practitioners of the art of short fiction, has now been translated into English for the first time. ZosÄ--, a beautiful, diligent and innocent peasant girl, works as a maid in the service of a wealthy country estate. Courted by the local young men and resistant to the attentions of her master, who forces himself upon her, she is in fact wholly in love with Tofylis, the huntsman. But Tofylisâe(tm)s good looks and practised seduction show more manoeuvres have blinded her to his brutishness and faux sophistication. This simple tale from 1897 is made deeply complex by �½emaitÄ--âe(tm)s acute, compassionate eye and ear for the lives of the lower classes in Lithuania at the time. As a depiction of patriarchal attitudes, coercive control and the limited options facing poor women, it has remarkable contemporary resonance. show less

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MissBrangwen 462 reviews

I cannot really say that I enjoyed this story, the reason being that it is very gloomy and depressing. Nevertheless, it is interesting and worth reading. It is a short tale about a young peasant woman called Zosė, who works as a maid on an estate. She is caught up in a web of miseries. At first she is deeply in love with Tofylis, the dazzling huntsman, but when he finally marries her, the marriage is a deeply unhappy one. In addition, Zosė is pursued by her employer and her mother blames her instead of supporting her.
The story is mainly told in inner monologues and dialogues, which makes it a bit constructed at times and hems the reading flow a bit. On the other hand, like this Zosė's pain and loss of hope is presented in a direct, show more unembellished style. She is caught within the constraints of her class and her gender, and the author makes this clear in an unmediated way. show less

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