Amatöörit tutkimusten hämärillä poluilla. Henkilöt, miljöö ja intuitio 1940-luvun suomenkielisissä salapoliisiromaanisarjoissa

Abstract

Kiinnostus 1940-luvun suomenkielistä salapoliisikirjallisuutta kohtaan on virinnyt viime vuosina, mutta vielä toistaiseksi se on säilynyt vähän tutkittuna kohteena. Vuosikymmenen uutuuksiin kuuluivat kotimaiset salapoliisiromaanisarjat. Aarne Haapakosken teokset arkkitehti Klaus Karman tutkimuksista olivat sota-ajan suosituinta kotimaista salapoliisituotantoa, ja rauhan vuosia hallitsivat Vilho Helasen romaanit varatuomari Kaarlo Raudan tapauksista. Kaarlo Erhon luoman sanomalehtimies Kalle Kannon selvittämät rikokset saavuttivat säästeliäämpää suosiota kuin lajin suomenkieliseen kaanoniin kuuluvat Karma- ja Rauta-romaanit. Kanto-sarjan teokset ilmestyivät vuosina 1943-1949.

Salapoliisikirjallisuus toistaa kaavoittuneita rakenteita ja sisältöjä. Lajin yksittäiset edustajat eroavat toisistaan vain näennäisesti pintatason elementtien eli motiivien osalta. Toimintapainotteinen juoni korostaa salapoliisin henkilöön ja toimintaan liittyviä motiiveja. Yleisesti ottaen kiintoisimpia ovat salapoliisin tutkimusten yhteydessä esiintyvät motiivit ja niiden variaatio. Teosten lopuissa selvitetyn tapauksen vaativuutta korostavat konventionaaliset tilannemotiivit jätetään usein värittämättä salapoliisin persoonaan liittyvin omaperäisin vivahtein.

Salapoliisi on teoksen keskipiste. Olennaisimpien sivuhenkilöiden piirteet suovat tilaisuuden esittää salapoliisin mieltymyksiä, mielipiteitä ja asenteita. Miljöön vaikutus tutkimuksiin rajoittuu lähinnä siihen, että salapoliisin toiminta pyrkii olemaan ympäristötekijöihin ja olosuhteisiin nähden ristiriidatonta.

Salapoliisien menetelmien lisääntynyt intuitiivisuus on pantu merkille jo kauan sitten, mutta tämän moninaisuudessaan hämärän kyvyn ilmenemismuodot odottavat edelleen tarkempia kartoituksia. Erhon, Haapakosken ja Helasen salapoliisit suvaitsevat intuitiivisuutta lähes varauksetta. Se ilmenee kuvittelukykynä, vaistoilevana aavistelemisena, ihmistuntemuksena ja oivalluskokemuksina. Vertailuaineistona käytetyissä Arthur Conan Doylen Sherlock Holmes -tarinoissa ja Agatha Christien Poirot-romaaneissa nämä kyvyt eivät useinkaan edusta intuitiota vaan menetelmällistä, ei-intuitiivista analyysiä. Intuitiivisilta vaikuttavien kykyjen intuitiivisuutta torjuva menetelmällisyys käy ilmi Holmesin ja Poirot n kommenteista, jotka osoittavat salapoliisin pyrkivän ohjailemaan menetelmiinsä kohdistuvia tulkintoja. Myös Kanto, Karma ja Rauta esittävät lajityypillisiä menetelmäselostuksia, mutta niissä ei käsitellä intuitiota. Heidän intuitiivisuutensa ilmenee vain toiminnassa, ja sen luonnetta sivutaan vain satunnaisissa maininnoissa.

This study deals with three Finnish detective novel series written in the 1940's. Aarne Haapakoski s (1904-1961) novels about the architect detective Klaus Karma made him the most popular writer of detective fiction in war-time Finland. While Haapakoski, also known under the pseudonym Outsider, continued writing Karma books into the late 40 s, Finnish post-war detective fiction was dominated by Vilho Helanen (1899-1952) whose novels feature the lawyer detective Kaarlo Rauta. Kaarlo Erho (1905-1967) started to write novels about the journalist detective Kalle Kanto during the war and continued writing until the end of the decade. He never achieved the same level of success as Haapakoski and Helanen whose works form part of the canon of Finnish detective fiction.

This study focuses on the surface elements or motifs of the novels such as characters, milieus, and situations. This is the level where the individual detective novels differ from each other. The study falls under the category of basic research; it is the first comprehensive study of these novels.

In closed milieus like hotels and manor houses, Karma's investigations take the form of conventional room searches, and he often partners up with a Watson figure who keeps his eyes and ears open. In the country villages depicted by Haapakoski, rumours are flying around, but their usefulness remains limited as far as mystery solving is concerned. That is because the seemingly impeccable murderer has a sinister secret dating back to a time before he moved to the village. The murderer commits the crime to protect this secret which an acquaintance from his past life is threatening to reveal. In small towns, the basic composition of the crime remains the same, but Karma also makes friends with locals who know their town and its inhabitants. In Helsinki, public places such as restaurants and streets provide the setting for Karma's chance encounters with people connected to the case under investigation. Karma is also familiar with the underworld of Helsinki.

The most common character type in Haapakoski s Karma novels is the eccentric with a hobbyhorse. Karma's belief in fatalism and his interest in parapsychology suggest that the detective himself is one of them. Another common type is the obvious crook whose ugly appearance is indicative of his bad nature. Many of the crooks are degenerate psychopaths with crime running in the family. The criminals physical characteristics and distinguishing features play an important role in identification. Correspondingly, the criminals often make use of disguises and doubles.

In Erho s Kanto novels, both the criminals and the detective are colourless and shadowy characters with few memorable traits. What is depicted in great detail are the unusual objects and phenomena. The emphasis on the exotic objects associated with the crime makes the investigation resemble a treasure hunt. Some of Kanto's cases are set in manor houses, but most often the events take place in an ordinary small town. The most important feature of the town is its small size which makes it possible for the crook and Erho s Watson character, Ville, to cross paths. Ville, who tails the crooks, is often instrumental in solving the case. It is obvious that he is a prime mover without whom Kanto would face insurmountable obstacles in his investigations.

While Helsinki is the scene for the majority of Rauta's cases, some of his cases take place in small country villages, too. As is typical of the novel of manners, for instance, the milieu of Helanen s novels is less a geographical than a social one. The characters, including Rauta as well as his Watson-like wife, are upper class social types. Even though Rauta deals mostly with members of his own class, some of the novels offer brief glimpses into Helsinki's underworld. In all the cases, loveless marriages or socially unacceptable dating sow the seeds of unhappiness and disaster. Rauta s interaction with others is a combination of social role play and chess. His polite and socially orthodox behaviour helps him to move living and mostly female pieces on the chessboard of the case. The most recurring character type in the Rauta novels is the beautiful and wicked woman. Most often she is the victim whose true nature is revealed in rumours. The female murderers are motivated by hateful and vengeful jealousy. For some of them, it is a question of self-interest, while the others are trying to help their secret love interests without even daring to hope to be loved in return. The male murderers are often motivated by jealousy mixed with lack of social appreciation. A person with an unpleasant appearance does not have the slightest chance of reaching the highest rung of the social ladder.

The second question tackled in this study involves the nature of intuition. By intuition I mean the opposite of logic thinking and reasoning. Intuition can take diverse forms, and it eludes strict definitions. To estimate the distinctiveness or conventionality of the portrayal of intuition in the three series under investigation, I use Agatha Christies's Poirot novels and Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes stories as points of comparison. When comparing the forms of intuition found in the three novel series to those of Chesterton's Father Brown, I found few similarities. The prevalent form of intuition in the three series is the imagination fed by the detective's love for theories. Imagination, in this context, is a subject of conversation rather than an ability manifested in the detective's actions. Karma and Kanto s eureka moments are described in quite a detailed manner. Each of the detectives has his unique way of arriving at the solution intuitively. However, in the Karma and Kanto novels, the trustworthy hunch can be attributed to the detective's innate quality rather than to wisdom accrued from experience as in the Poirot books.

In the Rauta novels, the hunch turns out to be based on the female intuition of the detective's wife. In the Poirot novels and Holmes stories, female intuition is worthy of respect as long as the woman in question does not try to play detective. The most extraordinary form of hunch found in the three novel series involves Karma's paranormal experiences where he hears a voice warning him about the nearing danger. Kanto's greater interest in objects than in people makes him a poor psychologist. In the Karma and Rauta novels, knowledge of human nature is an innate feature, and it resembles that vague understanding of things that Poirot calls psychology. Karma s knowledge of physiognomy can be regarded as though not without reservations a form of psychology that dates back to Holmes days.