Pöllönkorven naamiaisyö : Kolminäytöksinen huvinäytelmä by Kaarle Halme

"Pöllönkorven naamiaisyö" by Kaarle Halme is a three-act comedic play written in the early 20th century. Set around a lively masquerade night at a provincial inn, it follows the blustering landowner Esa Pöllönkorpi, the smooth-talking traveler Freckstedt, Vilho Härjänheimo, and coachman Kalle Kaljunen as their flirtations with Anna (Annastiina Tissala), Siina, and others spiral into farce. The play pokes fun at rural pride, social climbing, and the notion of “multa-aateli” (true worth versus hollow gentility) through disguise, misrecognition, and boastful promises. The opening of the play places everyone in a snowbound inn where rooms are scarce and a masquerade downstairs draws the guests into mischief. Kalle flirts haplessly with the brisk Anna and, in disguise, accidentally kisses the pretentious Siina; meanwhile, Pöllönkorpi and Freckstedt arrive, bluffing titles and trading quips about class. Pöllönkorpi, puffed up with wealth and pride, hunts for his former dairymaid Annastiina, hides a bulging wallet, and debates with Kalle and Härjänheimo about what makes someone “multa-aatelia,” leading to Arvi’s neat definition: to become truly civilized without aping the gentry. Masked encounters multiply: Pöllönkorpi mistakes Siina for Annastiina and is humiliatingly exposed when she unmasks. By the start of the third act, the men vow to drown embarrassment in revelry and hastily strike deals, while Anna prepares a sharp letter to Pöllönkorpi about his courting and retreat, and Siina fumes—half from wounded pride, half from the force of an all-too-hearty kiss. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

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About this eBook

Author Halme, Kaarle, 1864-1946
Title Pöllönkorven naamiaisyö : Kolminäytöksinen huvinäytelmä
Original Publication Hämeenlinna: Arvi A. Karisto Oy, 1920.
Series Title Seuranäytelmiä ; 214.
Credits Tapio Riikonen
Language Finnish
LoC Class PH: Language and Literatures: Finno-Ugrian and Basque languages and literatures
Subject Comedy plays
Subject Finnish drama -- 20th century
Category Text
EBook-No. 77367
Release Date
Copyright Status Public domain in the USA.
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