Historicism and Realism in the Works of Bohumil Říha (A Study of the Novels “The Peasant” and “Kneel Before Me”)

Abstract

The article examines the problem of historicism and realism in the works of the Czech writer of the second half of the 20th century, Bohumil Říha, using the epic novel “The Peasan”" (“Venkovan”) and the historical novel “Kneel Before Me” (“Přede mnou poklekni”) as examples. The two-part novel "The Peasant" covers events in Czech history from the late 19th century up to the 1950s. Within it, one can distinguish features of a family chronicle and a bildungsroman. The author touches upon a wide spectrum of themes and issues: village life, collectivization, the development and formation of the human personality, the place and role of women in society and the family, the theme of love, fathers and children, the events of the First and Second World Wars, and others. The novel is characterised by the presence of certain features of socialist realism. The epic novel "The Peasant" was created simultaneously within the framework of village prose, which developed very fruitfully in Czech literature of the second half of the 19th century, and the "industrial" or "construction" novel of the 1940s–1980s in socialist Czechoslovakia. The imagery system in the novel is extensive. The characters are depicted as psychologically complex, socially determined individuals. The house and the metallurgical combine became the core semantic, symbolic images in the epic. The historical novel "Kneel Before Me" is the first part of a trilogy about the Hussite king George of Poděbrady. The article examines the tragic concept of history held by the Czech author, his skepticism regarding humanity’s ability to shape historical perspective, which is traced through the plot twists of the characters. B. Říha does not lay claim to existential depths, nor does he rise to the level of ironic pathos, but neither does he create an example of mass literature, as the novel contains numerous reflections on life, fate, love, humanity’s place in the world, and choice. The novel is written as a traditional, Walter Scott-style historical novel in an action-adventure vein, within a realist aesthetic with deep psychological study of the characters.

Received 11 February 2026

Revised 28 May 2026

Accepted 10 June 2026

For citation: Vostrikova, E. V., 2026. Historicism and Realism in the Works of Bohumil Říha (A Study of the Novels “The Peasant” and “Kneel Before Me”). Slavic World in the Third Millennium, 21 (1–2), pp. 135–151. https://doi.org/10.31168/2412-6446.2026.21.1-2.08