The 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature was the fourth literary prize resulting from Alfred Nobel's will. It was equally divided between the French Provençal philologist Frédéric Mistral (1830–1914) "in recognition of the fresh originality and true inspiration of his poetic production, which faithfully reflects the natural scenery and native spirit of his people, and, in addition, his significant work as a Provençal philologist" and the Spanish engineer and dramatist José Echegaray Eizaguirre (1832–1916) "in recognition of the numerous and brilliant compositions which, in an individual and original manner, have revived the great traditions of the Spanish drama."
It was the first of the four occasions when the Nobel Prize in Literature has been shared between two individuals.Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature nobelprize.org
Laureates
Frédéric Mistral
Mistral’s passion for poetry was sparked by one of his teachers, the Provençal poet Joseph Roumanille. He spent many years compiling Trésor dóu Félibrige, a dictionary of the Provençal language published by the Felibrige literary society, which he founded himself. His most important work, Mirèio, was published in 1859, the result of eight years of work.Frédéric Mistral – Facts nobelprize.org He also authored Lou Tresor dóu Félibrige (1878–1886), which to date remains the most comprehensive dictionary of the Occitan language, and one of the most reliable, thanks to the precision of its definitions. It is a bilingual dictionary, Occitan-French, in two large volumes, with all of the dialects of oc, including Provençal. Mistral owes to François Vidal the work of typesetting and revising that dictionary.
José Echegaray Eizaguirre
Echegaray’s literary debut took place relatively late, in 1874 when he was 42 years old. He subsequently had a productive career, publishing an average of two plays a year for the rest of his life. A mathematician, engineer and administrator, he built his plays with the same regard for exactitude and duty that inspired his public life. Conflicts involving duty are at the heart of most of his plays, and he upheld the idea with uncompromising severity. His exalted romanticism is apparent in his choice of subjects.José Echegaray – Facts nobelprize.org His most famous plays include El gran Galeoto (adapted into a silent film entitled "The World and His Wife"), La esposa del vengador ("The Avenger's Wife", 1874), and Conflicto entre dos deberes ("Conflict of Two Duties", 1882). He also extensively wrote 25 to 30 mathematical physics volumes.
Deliberations Nominations For the 1904 prize, the Swedish Academy received 29 nominations for 21 writers.Nomination archive – 1904 nobelprize.org Among the nominees were Albert Sorel, Anatole France (awarded later in 1921), Leo Tolstoy, Henrik Ibsen, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Rudyard Kipling (awarded in 1907), and Henryk Sienkiewicz (awarded later in 1905). Two of the nominees were women, Swedish novelist Selma Lagerlöf (awarded later in 1909) and French actress Émilie Lerou.
The authors Edwin Arnold, Anton Chekhov, Kate Chopin, Karl Emil Franzos, Lafcadio Hearn, Theodor Herzl, Wilhelm Jordan, Mór Jókai, Antonio Labriola, Dumitru Theodor Neculuță, Auguste Molinier, Larin Paraske, Ștefan Petică, Abai Qunanbaiuly, Samuel Smiles, Leslie Stephen, Hans von Hopfen, and Jose Clemente Zulueta died in 1904 without having been nominated for the prize.
Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)1Demetrios Bernardakis (1833–1907)drama, history, essaysAthanasios Vernardakis (1848–1925)2Georg Brandes (1842–1927)literary criticism, essaysTroels Frederik Lund (1840–1921)3William Chapman (1850–1917)poetry, translationFrançois Lhomme (1846–1929)4Robert Langton Douglas (1864–1951)history, essays5José Echegaray Eizaguirre (1832–1916)dramaDaniel de Cortázar Larrubia (1844–1927)6Anatole France (1844–1924)poetry, essays, drama, novel, literary criticismMarcellin Berthelot (1827–1907)7Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906)dramaJakob Minor (1855–1912)8Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936)short story, novel, poetryEdwin Arnold (1832–1904)9Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940)novel, short storyHarald Hjärne (1848–1922)10Émilie Lerou (1855–1935)novel, memoirs, dramaJules Claretie (1840–1913)11Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949)drama, poetry, essaysPaul Thomas (1852–1937)12George Meredith (1828–1909)novel, poetry3 members of the Incorporated Society of Authors13Frédéric Mistral (1830–1914)poetry, philology14John Morley (1838–1923)biography, literary criticism, essays15Lewis Morris (1833–1907)poetry, songwriting, essays16Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846–1916)()novelHarald Hjärne (1848–1922)17Albert Sorel (1842–1906)history, essaysGabriel Hanotaux (1853–1944)18Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909)poetry, drama, literary criticism, novel19Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910)novel, short story, drama, poetry20Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853–1912)()poetry, drama, translation21Theodor Zahn (1838–1933)theology, essaysLars Dahle (1843–1925)
Prize decision In their report to the Swedish Academy dated 12 september 1904, the Nobel committee proposed that that year's Nobel Prize in Literature should be awarded to the French Provençal poet and philologist Frédéric Mistral: "His poetry has spread its Provençal sunlight to many regions, yes, even to the land of the Hyperboreans, where many a heart has been warmed by his songs. May the great Nobel Prize now be awarded to him as recognition and tribute! The ideality that the testator demands of the author who is to be considered worthy of this prize is found in abundance in the poet, whose poetry, which has never valued anything low, is distinguished by a both healthy and flourishing rich, artistic ideality, in the man who has truly devoted his entire life to one thing, to the uplift and refinement of the spiritual interests, language and literature of his native land."
For the 1904 prize, Polish novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz (subsequently awarded the 1905 Nobel Prize in Literature) and Spanish playwright José Echegaray were also considered. Acclaimed French author Anatole France (subsequently awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature) was rejected by the Nobel committee: "If one considers Anatole France's work as a whole, one must certainly admire his technique and his biting wit; but one feels, in any case, that there is something desolate, even disconsolate, in his elusive, icy mockery, and one is unable to discover anything positive in his conception of our human life, which seems to him rather like a pitiful farce", as were the candidacies of Leo Tolstoy, Henrik Ibsen and Selma Lagerlöf (subsequently awarded in 1909).
During the final deliberations, committee chairman Carl David af Wirsén became worried about the poor quality of recent translations of Mistral's works by committee member Rupert Nyblom, especially on his masterpiece Mirèio. Wirsén was worried about the reputation of the committee and proposed withdrawing Mistral's candidacy and opting for Echegaray instead. After failing to get major approval and only find fifty per cent support for this proposal, the Swedish Academy decided to share the prize, as a compromise choice, between the two men.Gustav Källstrand Andens Olympiska Spel: Nobelprisets historia, Fri Tanke 2021
On 17 November 1904 the Swedish Academy decided that that year's Nobel Prize in Literature should be shared between Frédéric Mistral "in recognition of the fresh originality and true inspiration of his poetic production, which faithfully reflects the natural scenery and native spirit of his people, and, in addition, his significant work as a Provençal philologist" and José Echegaray "in recognition of the numerous and brilliant compositions which, in an individual and original manner, have revived the great traditions of the Spanish drama."
Reactions There was an uproar in the press in Spain and Italy, as Spain thought Benito Pérez Galdós – one of Europe's greatest living novelists at the time – would get the prize, same as Italians felt when they found that their national poet Giosuè Carducci was not recognized.Gustav Källstrand Andens Olympiska Spel: Nobelprisets historia, Fri Tanke 2021
Award Ceremony At the award ceremony in December 10, 1904, af Wirsén said:
Echegaray was not able to partake in nobel banquet and the awarding ceremony in Stockholm due to health conditions.
Notes
References
External links Award ceremony speech by C.D. af Wirsén nobelprize.org