‘More Inclined to Pity Than Love’: Matthias Alexander Castrén’s Published Letters About the Nenets

Abstract

This article reads Finnish linguist and ethnographer Matthias Alexander Castrén’s published letters as travel writing influenced both by imperialist discourses and the tradition of Finnish travel writing. The article examines the letter formulae and the creation of a readership community, explores the ways in which Castrén builds involved and informative and emotional stances vis-à-vis the Nenets, and discusses the ways in which the imperial and nationalistic currents come together in the emotional economy of Castrén’s travel writing.

The article argues that the role of emotion is vital in order to understand how Castrén persuades his readers to see his point of view, and to see how he seeks to expand his readership. Castrén produces emotional stances in alignment with conventions that make the genre and its nationalist meanings readily apparent to his readers. Finally, the way Castrén’s travel writing produces a gaze that legitimates the process of othering is discussed. Concentrating on descriptions of the Nenets, the article argues that these accounts create an emotional relationship that indexes imperialism.