Marta Sillaots

Marta Sillaots (real name Marta Adolfine Reichenbach, from 1923 Gerland, Estonianised in 1936 as Rannat; 12 May / 30 April 1887 – 15 July 1969) was a prose writer, children’s writer, critic and translator.

Sillaots was born in Virumaa County and studied at Tallinn Girls’ Gymnasium; she received the qualifications of a home tutor at Tallinn Nikolai Gymnasium. She worked as a teacher, a telegraph clerk and in the editorial office of the newspaper Tallinna Teataja. From 1922, she was a professional translator and writer, a member of the Estonian Writers’ Union. The NKVD arrested Sillaots in 1950. She was deported to Siberia in 1952 from where she returned to Estonia in 1955. Sillaots died in Tallinn and was buried in Tallinn Forest Cemetery. Her brothers were zoologist and hydrobiologist Heinrich Riikoja (1891–1988) and technical scientist Helmut Riikoja (1909–1990).

Sillaots made her print debut in Estonian Esperantists’ publication Estlanda Esperantisto in 1908. Thereafter, she published articles on education, fiction pieces, and soon also literary criticism in the press. Her first book published in print, Algajad (‘Beginners’, 1912), offers an insight into the psychology of three young women. Sillaots’s later work also often focuses on women’s issues, e.g. Anna Holm (1913); the problems of women’s emancipation are depicted in Neli saatust (‘Four Fates’, 1938). The ideal in Sillaots’s creation is a rational, independent and socially active female character. Sillaots uses autobiographical material in the novel Viiskümmend (‘Fifty’, 1937) in which the female character looks back on the years she lived. Sealtpoolt künniseid (‘From Beyond the Thresholds’, 1939) brings together memoirs and material of cultural history.

In addition to works for adults, Sillaots’s interest in educational issues and psychological development is also reflected in her books for children. Among these, the best-known is the tetralogy about the adventures of triplet boys: Trips, Traps ja Trull (‘Tic, Tac and Toe’, 1935), Trips, Traps ja Trull Tartus (‘Tic, Tac and Toe in Tartu’, 1936), Trips, Traps ja Trull Haapsalus (‘Tic, Tac and Toe in Haapsalu’, 1937) and Trips, Traps ja Trull saavad sõbra (‘Tic, Tac and Toe Find a Friend’ 1938). In the vividly told age-appropriate stories for small children, the educational aspect has its place, but there is no excessive didacticism — humour also plays its role.

Sillaots’s literary criticism concentrates particularly on the psychological development and credibility of female characters. In addition to articles and reviews, she also published longer treatments: Ed. Vilde naistüübid (‘E. Vilde’s Female Types’, 1925), A. Kitzbergi toodang (‘A. Kitzberg’s Output’, 1925), A. H. Tammsaare looming (‘A. H. Tammsaare’s Creation’, 1927), Romain Rolland (1940). Sillaots’s literary critical works can be found in the collection Kirg ja kavalus (‘Passion and Cunning’, 2012), published in the series Eesti mõttelugu (‘History of Estonian Thought’).

Sillaots made a significant contribution to the translation of major works of world literature into Estonian. She has translated, for example, the following books: Strong as Death by G. de Maupassant, Madame Bovary by G. Flaubert, Colas Breugnon by R. Rolland, volume I of The Forsyte Saga by J. Galsworthy, Fathers and Sons by I. Turgenev, David Copperfield and Pickwick Club by C. Dickens, Magic Mountain by T. Mann, The Idiot by F. Dostoevsky, volumes III and IV of War and Peace by L. Tolstoy.

A. K. (Translated by I. A.)

Books in Estonian

Novels
Neli saatust: psühholoogiline varipilt. Tartu: Eesti Kirjastuse Kooperatiiv, 1938, 203 lk. [2. trükk: 2010]
Viiskümmend: biograafiline visand. Tartu: Eesti Kirjastuse Kooperatiiv, 1937, 176 lk. [2. trükk: 2010]

Short prose
Algajad. Tallinn: Maa, 1912, 178 lk
Elga: Ühe naese päewaraamat. Tartu: Postimees, 1912, 22 lk
Anna Holm. Tallinn: Maa, 1913, 275 lk
Kodukäijad. Tallinn: Maa, 1921, 136 lk

Books for children
Lapsed: Kirjeldused laste elust. Tallinn: Maa, 1914, 96 lk
Trips, Traps ja Trull. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1935, 78 lk [järgmised trükid: 1948, 1983]
Trips, Traps ja Trull Tartus. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1936, 78 lk
Trips, Traps ja Trull Haapsalus. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1937, 74 lk
Trips, Traps ja Trull saavad sõbra. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1938, 79 lk
Matkamehed. Tartu: Eesti Kirjastuse Kooperatiiv, 1938, 95 lk
Armi ja vana vares. Tartu, Tallinn: Loodus, 1940, 16 lk [2. tr 2010]
Kolm lugu lastele. Tallinn: Eesti Kirjastus, 1942, 21 lk
Salme ootab kevadpühi. Tallinn: Eesti Kirjastus, 1942, 14 lk
Tähekeste juures: jõulumuinasjutt. Tallinn: Eesti Kirjastus, 1942, 31 lk [2. tr 1992]
Trips, Traps, Trull ja teised jutud. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1987, 205 lk
Lugu vana kana kolmest tütrest. Tallinn: TEA kirjastus, 2012, 29 lk
Trips, Traps ja Trull. Tallinn: Tänapäev, 2023, 202 lk

Miscellaneous
Marta Sillaots, Heinrich Riikoja, Kodu: kogu koduloolist materjaali. I Tartu: Loodus, 1923, 126 lk
Marta Sillaots, Heinrich Riikoja, Kodu: kogu koduloolist materjaali. II Tartu: Loodus, 1926, 80 lk
A.Kitzberg’i toodang. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1925, 68 lk
Eduard Vilde naistüübid: kirjanduslikud vaatlused. Tartu: Loodus, 1925, 46 lk
A.H. Tammsaare looming. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1927, 130 lk
Sealtpoolt künniseid: tagasivaade. Tallinn: Eesti Kirjastuse Kooperatiiv, 1939, 220 lk [2. tr 2009]
Romain Rolland: tõe ja inimsuse eestvõitleja. Tartu: Eesti Kirjanduse Selts, 1940, 131 lk
Kirg ja kavalus. Koost H. Runnel. Tartu: Ilmamaa, 2012, 447 lk. [‘Eesti mõttelugu’ 104.]