Cultivation of new readers in the early criticism of Žemaitė's works (1895-1915)

ENThis article investigates the rise of the peasantry as new readers and Lithuanian intellectuals' reactions to this phenomenon as they took the initiative in directing the peasants' cultivation as readers. These intellectuals were concerned with the development of the peasants, and sought to form their reading habits, influence the readers' choices as to reading material, and so on. This article goes on to analyze how Zemaitė's status as a peasant writer was established during her early reception, and how the evaluation of her work depended on the imagined addressee. By analyzing the reviews and broader studies of Žemaitės published works in the Lithuanian press from 1895-1915, this article aims to show that the formation of the common people as a potential and especially important national reading public was an integral part of her canonization process. Yet another important aim of this research is to reveal how the reception of Žemaitės works brought everyday village life peasant onto the horizon of modern Lithuanian culture, and how this became the foundation of one of the new literary styles in Lithuania, namely Realism. [Extract, p. 273]