VILKUTAITIS
BROTHERS, writers, contributors to
publications prohibited under the Russian-imposed
Press Ban. Literary historians puzzle over the
question of which one of them is the real author of
the popular comedy Amerika pirtyje (America in the
Bathhouse). The problem arises because Antanas
Vilkutaitis died before the ban was lifted, while his
brother Juozas, who survived him by 45 years, in turn
never disclaimed authorship.
Antanas Vikutaitis
(1864-1903) was born in Gulbiniskiai, Marijampole, on
Sept. 20, 1864. He studied physics and mathematics at
the University of Moscow from 1883-88, participated in
its secret Lithuanian student society and distributed
clandestine Lithuanian publications. Subsequently, he
moved to St. Petersburg and enrolled at the Institute
of Highway Engineering there. Upon earning his degree
from that institution in 1891 he was assigned to work
in Transcaucasia. From 1887 onwards he used various
pseudonyms (most often that of Kazys Bindokas) for his
contributions to newspapers published in East Prussia
or the United States: Ukininkas (The Farmer), Varpas
(The Bell), Vienybe Lietuvninku (Lithuanian Unity),
and Tevyne (The Fatherland). His articles dealt with
problems of the current Lithuanian national movement
and with issues of social welfare. He wrote stories
and translated two acts of Leo Tolstoy's drama Vlast'
T'my (The Power of Darkness).
He died in St.
Petersburg on March 17, 1903. An edition of his
writings appeared in Vilnius in 1976.
Juozas Vilkutaitis
(1869-1948) was born in Gulbiniskiai on March 1, 1869.
An accident at the age of seven, which necessitated
the amputation of his leg 12 years later, prevented
him from pursuing a formal education. With help from
his uncle (a priest) and student friends he became
self-educated. A stay with his brother in
Transcaucasia (1891-94) broadened his cultural
horizons. Upon returning to Lithuania, he settled on a
small farm he had inherited near Balbieriskis
(1896-1908). Having acquired a competence in legal
matters, he was appointed justice of the Fifth
District Court at Marijampole in 1908, serving until
1915, when he retreated to Russia with many thousands
of other Lithuanians. After the reestablishment of
independent Lithuania he was appointed Seinai district
judge (1919) and organized the peace tribunal at
Prienai (1920). From 1924-39 he was the notary public
in Prienai. He withdrew to Germany in 1944 and until
his death on Sept. 11, 1948, lived in the Lithuanian
refugee camp at Augsburg.
In 1890-91 he began
writing for Lithuanian underground periodicals under
the pseudonym of Keturakis. His translation of the
Polish story Kas kaltas (Who is to blame?) appeared in
an 1891 issue of Ukininkas. An original humorous
piece, Kaip Mikas apsidziauge cebatais (How Mike
enjoyed his boots), was published in a supplement the
next year. The American publication Vienybe Lietuvinku
carried his story Gaisras (The Fire) in 1892. Three
years later Amerika pirtyje appeared in Ukininkas. The
bibliographer Silvestras Baltramaitis (q. v.) ascribed
the work to Antanas Vilkutaitis. Other contemporary
intellectuals (Kazys Grinius, Petras Leonas, Juozas
Tumas-Vaizgantas) held the author to be Juozas
Vilkutaitis. This latter view long predominated in
Lithuanian textbooks and encyclopedias. It is likely
that both brothers played a hand in writing the
comedy.
Amerika pirtyje
is a realistic play describing one aspect of late 19th
century Lithuanian country life - the desire to go to
America. Vincas, a clever village tailor, becomes
amorous with Agota, a farmer's daughter, promises to
marry her and take her to America with him. After she
gives her prospective husband money she has stolen from
her father, he locks her up in the bathhouse and takes
off alone. The comedy is marked by lively action,
well-drawn characters, and witty dialogue. The comic
elements are handled naturally and with taste. The play
is the first noteworthy work of the comic genre in
Lithuanian literature, and has been widely staged in
Russia, Lithuania and America (see Theater). It
was separately published in 1895, 1904, 1921, and 1966,
and has been translated into Russian (1902) and
Belorussian (1933).
