Who was Minna Canth?
Minna Canth (1844–1897) was a writer, journalist, and social activist. After being widowed, Canth became the successful proprietor of her own business in Kuopio. Canth was a mother of seven and an active, fearless social activist who closely followed the latest European ideals. She was particularly inspired by the promotion of social justice and the Realism artistic movement. The rights of women and girls and the promotion of the equal right to education were issues close to Canth’s heart.
Minna Canth laid robust foundation stones for Finnish-language literature with her plays, short stories, and novellas. As a journalist, she was a sharp-tongued and forceful writer whose pen was guided by a sense of justice as well as intellectual curiosity.
Above all, Canth was a brave woman in an age where women were supposed to settle for a predetermined role in society. Canth, who was born in Tampere and worked in Jyväskylä and Kuopio, died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 53 in Kuopio in 1897. Canth’s life’s work as a leading light of equality, non-discrimination, and broad-based education is honoured throughout Finland every year on Minna Canth Day, 19 March.
“Canth's thinking and life's work have shaped our society. The same themes are still valuable today, in our time.”
Sirpa Kähkönen, author, chair of the Minna Canth Award jury