NIKOLA THE OUTLAW, or, NIKOLA SUHAJ LOUPEZNIK by IVAN OLLBRACHT
SUMMARY
Nikola Suhaj is from a town laying in a valley which is the only place in his world where God still exists. In this valley, Jews and Christians live harmoniously. A woman named Erzika and Nikola are engaged to be married. When the war begins, the town's farmers, including Nikola, are forced to fight, leaving their families without income.
A German soldier and Nikola are in the same unit and skipping duty under the pretense of looking for missing companies when they find quarter with an old witch. The witch puts a hex on Nikola and the German to be enforced if the soldiers do not marry the witch's daughter when the war concludes. After seeing that the witch has a tail, the soldiers become afraid and shoot her. While doing target practice in the woods they discover that Nikola has supernatural control over the direction of bullets.
Eventually Nikola completely deserts the army and returns home. He spies on Erzika before finally approaching her. An army officer named Bela is hunting Nikola to return Nikola to service. Guised as a woman lost in the woods, Bela takes Nikola captive. Once back on the frontlines, Nikola deserts the army again, and when Bela tracks him down for the 2nd time, Nikola fends them off in a shootout and returns home.
When soldiers are denied their rations, they pillage the countryside and Bela uses the unrest to become the new regional captain. Poor conditions persist for soldiers. With a larger group, Bela tracks Nikola down and kidnaps his father. Nikola fends off the group in another shootout and rescues his father, but is arrested when the soldiers return shortly after.
Nikola is released and resumes his relationship with Erzika against her family's wishes. A sergeant named Vlasek arrests Nikola and Nikola has Erzika send for Nikola's family's last money to leave as bail while Nikola escapes as Vlasek sleeps. At this point, Nikola enlists a group of poor travelers to assist him in robbing rich people along the highway. Soldiers hear of the robberies but cannot find Nikola so they beat Nikola's family. When Nikola returns home, he rescues his uncle in a shootout with the soldiers. Nikola shares the money from his robberies with the townspeople and helps revitalize the town's economy. Before long, the soldiers return to arrest Nikola and he disappears into the forest.
While Nikola is in hiding, the soldiers shoot travelers from the town on the highways and frame Nikola. Nikola becomes ill in the forest and sees a witch and a doctor who help him recover. Poor marksmanship exposes Nikola's imposter and Nikola's brother Juraj finds Nikola's secret hiding place through intuition. On their way home, the brothers attempt a robbery in which they are not able to stop the wagon in time, yet Juraj still shoots the driver, and Juraj laughs at the sight of the horses' frantic galloping while Nikola condemns Juraj's unneccessary violence.
A man named Svozil begins pursuing Erzika, and is refused. A man Nikola once trusted accepts and fails a contract to capture Nikola. Juraj convinces Nikola to burn down the would-be captor's home. Erzika gives in to Svozil's advances.
Nikola sees Svozil with Erzika and kills Svozil as Erzika faints. Vlasek beats Erzika as she awakes and Erzika reveals that she gave Vlasek money for Nikola's release. Bela punishes Vlasek.
Bela puts a bounty on Nikola's head. The soldiers hold a town meeting where they unsuccessfuly try to convince farmers Nikola has aided financially that Nikola is evil. The man who once attempted to capture Nikola is found dead and the man's son, Adam, vows to kill Nikola. Two other men named Danilo and Ihnat also vow to kill Nikola. Danilo, Ihnat, and Adam go up to see Nikola to give him supplies. Juraj is suspicious as usually only one man comes to give Nikola supplies, but Nikola tells Juraj that all will be well. Adam, Danilo, and Ihnat kill Nikola and Juraj. The soldiers steal the bounty from Adam, Ihnat, and Danilo, and dump the bodies of Nikola and Juraj on the lawn of the army station as trophies.
Years later, a biographer comes to the valley to tell Nikola's story. A herdsman relates Nikola's story to the biographer. The biographer believes that Nikola lives on in the mountains as an immortal legend.
ANALYSIS
Like all Robin Hood tales, this story questions authority's supremacy over morality. Bela, the captain obsessed with hunting Nikola for deserting, states himself that he is only hunting Nikola so that he will not have to fight on the front lines, either. In this case, Bela has no moral high ground, but is doing the right thing in the eyes of the law.
While it is legal for the government to take farmers away from their work and cause families to starve, the farmers do not believe they are being treated fairly. When Nikola robs the rich who do not have to fight because they can pay their way out of it to assist those who were forced to fight he is compensating the farmers for their loss. The farmers and Nikola believe that just as the government stole the farmers' compensation, Nikola stole the rich men's money, and that there is no difference between these two crimes.
The Jewish and Christian townspeople are torn apart by Nikola's presence, despite his financial aid to the farmers. Vlasek, who is a Christian, blames Jews for Nikola's influence growing, and the Jewish captain blames Christians for lying to him about Nikola's whereabouts. If Nikola had lived longer, the harmony of the valley would have been jeopardized. Nikola's legacy for bringing the town to its feet financially would have been tainted if he had also driven apart the residents along religious lines. It is implied that God took NIkola's life, which Nikola seemed to be willing to sacrifice by not resisting his killers, so that the religious harmony would be preserved.
Nikola is not, however, perfect. He killed the witch who put a curse on him for falsely promising himself to the witch's daughter. Later, his wife leaves him for an officer. Because Nikola has paid for his crimes, his good deeds are morally pure.
SOURCE
Olbracht, Ivan. Nikola Suhaj, Robber. Trans. Roberta Finlayson-Samsour. Prague: Artia, 1954. Print. Fairy tale about a Robin Hood figure living in the early 20th century.
SUMMARY
Nikola Suhaj is from a town laying in a valley which is the only place in his world where God still exists. In this valley, Jews and Christians live harmoniously. A woman named Erzika and Nikola are engaged to be married. When the war begins, the town's farmers, including Nikola, are forced to fight, leaving their families without income.
A German soldier and Nikola are in the same unit and skipping duty under the pretense of looking for missing companies when they find quarter with an old witch. The witch puts a hex on Nikola and the German to be enforced if the soldiers do not marry the witch's daughter when the war concludes. After seeing that the witch has a tail, the soldiers become afraid and shoot her. While doing target practice in the woods they discover that Nikola has supernatural control over the direction of bullets.
Eventually Nikola completely deserts the army and returns home. He spies on Erzika before finally approaching her. An army officer named Bela is hunting Nikola to return Nikola to service. Guised as a woman lost in the woods, Bela takes Nikola captive. Once back on the frontlines, Nikola deserts the army again, and when Bela tracks him down for the 2nd time, Nikola fends them off in a shootout and returns home.
When soldiers are denied their rations, they pillage the countryside and Bela uses the unrest to become the new regional captain. Poor conditions persist for soldiers. With a larger group, Bela tracks Nikola down and kidnaps his father. Nikola fends off the group in another shootout and rescues his father, but is arrested when the soldiers return shortly after.
Nikola is released and resumes his relationship with Erzika against her family's wishes. A sergeant named Vlasek arrests Nikola and Nikola has Erzika send for Nikola's family's last money to leave as bail while Nikola escapes as Vlasek sleeps. At this point, Nikola enlists a group of poor travelers to assist him in robbing rich people along the highway. Soldiers hear of the robberies but cannot find Nikola so they beat Nikola's family. When Nikola returns home, he rescues his uncle in a shootout with the soldiers. Nikola shares the money from his robberies with the townspeople and helps revitalize the town's economy. Before long, the soldiers return to arrest Nikola and he disappears into the forest.
While Nikola is in hiding, the soldiers shoot travelers from the town on the highways and frame Nikola. Nikola becomes ill in the forest and sees a witch and a doctor who help him recover. Poor marksmanship exposes Nikola's imposter and Nikola's brother Juraj finds Nikola's secret hiding place through intuition. On their way home, the brothers attempt a robbery in which they are not able to stop the wagon in time, yet Juraj still shoots the driver, and Juraj laughs at the sight of the horses' frantic galloping while Nikola condemns Juraj's unneccessary violence.
A man named Svozil begins pursuing Erzika, and is refused. A man Nikola once trusted accepts and fails a contract to capture Nikola. Juraj convinces Nikola to burn down the would-be captor's home. Erzika gives in to Svozil's advances.
Nikola sees Svozil with Erzika and kills Svozil as Erzika faints. Vlasek beats Erzika as she awakes and Erzika reveals that she gave Vlasek money for Nikola's release. Bela punishes Vlasek.
Bela puts a bounty on Nikola's head. The soldiers hold a town meeting where they unsuccessfuly try to convince farmers Nikola has aided financially that Nikola is evil. The man who once attempted to capture Nikola is found dead and the man's son, Adam, vows to kill Nikola. Two other men named Danilo and Ihnat also vow to kill Nikola. Danilo, Ihnat, and Adam go up to see Nikola to give him supplies. Juraj is suspicious as usually only one man comes to give Nikola supplies, but Nikola tells Juraj that all will be well. Adam, Danilo, and Ihnat kill Nikola and Juraj. The soldiers steal the bounty from Adam, Ihnat, and Danilo, and dump the bodies of Nikola and Juraj on the lawn of the army station as trophies.
Years later, a biographer comes to the valley to tell Nikola's story. A herdsman relates Nikola's story to the biographer. The biographer believes that Nikola lives on in the mountains as an immortal legend.
ANALYSIS
Like all Robin Hood tales, this story questions authority's supremacy over morality. Bela, the captain obsessed with hunting Nikola for deserting, states himself that he is only hunting Nikola so that he will not have to fight on the front lines, either. In this case, Bela has no moral high ground, but is doing the right thing in the eyes of the law.
While it is legal for the government to take farmers away from their work and cause families to starve, the farmers do not believe they are being treated fairly. When Nikola robs the rich who do not have to fight because they can pay their way out of it to assist those who were forced to fight he is compensating the farmers for their loss. The farmers and Nikola believe that just as the government stole the farmers' compensation, Nikola stole the rich men's money, and that there is no difference between these two crimes.
The Jewish and Christian townspeople are torn apart by Nikola's presence, despite his financial aid to the farmers. Vlasek, who is a Christian, blames Jews for Nikola's influence growing, and the Jewish captain blames Christians for lying to him about Nikola's whereabouts. If Nikola had lived longer, the harmony of the valley would have been jeopardized. Nikola's legacy for bringing the town to its feet financially would have been tainted if he had also driven apart the residents along religious lines. It is implied that God took NIkola's life, which Nikola seemed to be willing to sacrifice by not resisting his killers, so that the religious harmony would be preserved.
Nikola is not, however, perfect. He killed the witch who put a curse on him for falsely promising himself to the witch's daughter. Later, his wife leaves him for an officer. Because Nikola has paid for his crimes, his good deeds are morally pure.
- soldier deserts the army
- soldier begins robbing the rich to help returning soldiers
- the army puts a bounty on the soldier
- three men kill the soldier and he becomes a legend
SOURCE
Olbracht, Ivan. Nikola Suhaj, Robber. Trans. Roberta Finlayson-Samsour. Prague: Artia, 1954. Print. Fairy tale about a Robin Hood figure living in the early 20th century.
