To celebrate the Day of Finnish Literature and Aleksis Kivi, here's an old text trying to fit Michael teachings to one of the basic works of Finnish literature.

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The novel Seven Brothers by Aleksis Kivi about becoming independent adults with a position in society. My "analysis" is based mainly on my memories and impressions of the book, films, theatre performances, etc. But I admit to being influenced by Ilkka Malmberg's pleasant book, Seitsemän miestä (2005).

The brothers are: Juhani, the eldest, the elder twins Tuomas and Aapo, Simeoni, the younger twins Timo and the Lauri, and Eero the youngest. At the start they are 18-25 year old badly brought-up orphans, who have inherited large tracts of land. The boys decide to learn to read in order to be able to marry, but get problems with authorities and flee into the wilderness. On a hunting expedition they run away from a herd of 40 bulls to the top of a large rock called Hiidenkivi. Finally - starving - they decide to kill the bulls. The owner demands payment, and the boys have to start serious farming on their "forest estate". They even learn to read, and become respectable. The Third Internal Monad is completed, the seven-headed animal has become seven individual men. At the end of the book, there might be seen the first inkling of the approaching Fourth Internal Monad in Juhani's religious conversion and Simeoni's attempted suicide.

When I became acquainted with the Overleaf system of Michael, it was only natural that I tried to apply the Roles to the brothers. I soon gave up, because it seemed apparent that it was impossible, at least in the sense of one brother representing one Role. But making a new start, I realised that it is after all possible to argue for one Role for each brother, as I've done below. It is also perfectly possible to try to apply the Overleaves to their personalities, as I have done, although I haven't even tried to find a different set for each of the brothers.

The Toukola boys' jeering song (my translation) about the sons of Jukola gives some idea of their characters: "May every throat yell, / because I want to sing a song / about the strength of seven men. / As stars in The Plough / there are boys in Jukola, / sturdy and slothful guys. / Juhani roars, the cabin echoes, / he's the big boy of the farm, / grim "Jussi boy". / Tuomas stands like an oak, / when Aapo preaches, / the great Solomon of Jukola. / Simeoni with his scant beard / moans, "poor human being, / miserable, sinful devil. / Simeoni boils the peas, / Timo throws in the fat, / spits in the foaming pot. / Lauri lad is busy in the woods, / looking for crooked trees, / roots in the moors like a badger. / Last comes the tip of the tail, / little Eero, slippery rogue, / Jukola's snapping mutt. / That is a series of brothers, / noble like a herd of bullocks, / with the strength of seven men."

One the surface, the religious Simeoni with his visionary tendencies might appear a likely candidate for a Priest, but I would rather regard him as a Spiritualist Server in Self-Destruction. Eero might be a Sage in Arrogance, making fun of his elders, Lauri, who is good with his hands and tells what he really thinks when he gets drunk on Hiidenkivi, is probably an Artisan in Restraint. I suppose one might accept Juhani as King, because the younger brothers accept his authority in spite of his stupidity. But then, is Aapo, always eager to offer his advice, an Arrogant Sage or a Priest? I've chosen Priest. Timo is hard to define, so he might be a Scholar in spite of his learning difficulties: a Moving or Instictive Centred Scholar would have other things to study in his life. I suppose the reliable Tuomas might be a Warrior.

As for the other Overleaves, I've even had the cheek to assign each a body type. Kivi doesn't say much of their looks, except that they are all sturdy, tanned, and have a rough blondish hair. Aapo is said to be the tallest, Eero the smallest, and Tuomas to have the broadest shoulders.

The Soul Age is difficult to determine. Their dependence on each other (community) might indicate that they are either Baby or Mature.

This chart is very impressionistic and far from conclusive. I think I would be willing to argue that Eero is a Cynic Sage, Simeoni a Spiritualist Server, and Lauri an Artisan, but otherwise everything is very much subject to debate. For instance, I've classified Juhani as King and Tuomas as Warrior, but it could very well be the other way round: Tuomas as King would allow the firstborn, impulsive Juhani, apparent authority while at the same time quietly controlling him.

It is interesting how the roles grouped themselves in a fairly natural order when I listed the brothers according to their age, realising it for the first time when I saw this table. First come the Action Axis roles, King and Warrior, then the Inspiration Axis Roles, Priest and Server, then the Assimilation Axis Role, Scholar, and finally the Inspiration Axis Roles, Artisan and Sage.

 

 

 

Juhani

 

Tuomas

 

Aapo

 

Simeoni

 

Timo

 

Lauri

 

Eero

 

Role

 

King

 

Warrior

 

Priest

 

Server

 

Scholar

 

Artisan

 

Sage

 

Goal

 

Dominance

 

Acceptance

 

Acceptance

 

Acceptance

 

Submission/Re-evaluation

 

Flow

 

Growth

 

Attitude

 

Stoic

 

Stoic

 

Pragmatist

 

Spiritualist

 

Idealist

 

Stoic

 

Cynic

 

Mode

 

Aggression

 

Power

 

Caution

 

Passion

 

Observation

 

Reserve

 

Aggression

 

Chief Feature

 

Impatience

 

Stubbornness

 

Arrogance

 

Greed

 

Stubbornness

 

Self-Deprecation

 

Arrogance

 

Centre

 

Moving

 

Moving

 

Intellectual

 

Emotional

 

 Moving

 

Emotional

 

Intellectual

 

Body Type

 

Jupiter

 

Mars/Jupiter

 

Moon

 

Saturn/Moon

 

Moon/Jupiter

 

Saturn/Venus

 

Mercury

 

Soul Age

 

Mature

 

Baby

 

Young/Baby

Mature

 

Infant/Baby

 

Old

 

Young