Aldona Liobytė – Classic Children's Literature and the Resistance: Can Fairy Tales Destroy the Regime?

Aldona Liobytė-Paškevičienė (1915–1985), a children's writer and translator from Vilnius, is an undeservedly forgotten resistant. Lithuanian resistants opposed the Soviet government and its occupation of their country quietly but persistently, by cherishing the values, language, customs and culture of the nation. People often refer to Liobytė as an “aunt” not only because her most important works are for children, but also because she fostered orphans and the children of her relatives in her home. While working at the State Literature Publishing House, she was also a patron of young writers and artists. Her most important achievement was educating young readers and bringing creative minds together in collaborative projects. 

Liobytė's works for children were inspired by Lithuanian folklore, because what we call the memory of the nation lies in its folklore – fairy tales, legends, sagas, and songs. There are echoes of the old way of living, values, and perceptions of the world hiding in what seem to be fantastic stories – you just need to read carefully and attentively to find them. Liobytė's most important plays for children were inspired not only by fairy tales, but also by old songs – this is how Kupriukas Muzikantas (‘Humpback Fiddler’), Meškos Trobelė (‘The Bear’s Hut’), Trys Negražios Karalaitės (‘Three Ugly Princesses’), Kuršiukas (‘The Little Curonian’), Devyniabrolė (‘Elenytė and Her Nine Brothers’), Aukso Obuolys (‘The Golden Apple’) were created. Her most popular fairy tale book, published in four editions, is Pasaka Apie Narsią Vilniaus Mergaitę ir Galvažudį Žaliabarzdį (‘The Tale of the Brave Girl from Vilnius and Greenbeard the Assassin’). This book is also special because it was illustrated by talented artist Birutė Žilytė. The collection of fairy tales Gulbė Karaliaus Pati (‘The Swan Wife of the King’) compiled by Liobytė features various types of Lithuanian folk tales: fairy tales about animals and about miracles, tales about the foolish devil, household tales, and comic tales. Kęstutis Urba, a famous researcher of children's literature, says that, whilst Liobytė’s work reminds readers of Lithuanian folk tales, her own witty and playful style is also evident.

Another important contribution by Liobytė to Lithuanian literature was the translation of classic children’s literature during the Soviet era. She translated Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, Winnie-the-Pooh by Alan Alexander Milne, and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Today, books not translated from the original language are considered to be of little value, but there was a “literary famine” during the Soviet era in Lithuania and there was a lack of translators from many languages, so Liobytė translated works such as Nils Karlsson-Pyssling by Astrid Lindgren and The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi from Polish.

Liobytė’s fairy tales, plays, and translations gave Lithuanian children the opportunity to discover both Lithuanian folk wisdom and classics of children's literature from around the world. This was the essence of her resistance to the Soviet occupation: in her works and translations Liobytė helped children to develop into smart, independent, and critically thinking adults. It was these intelligent critical thinkers who later united in the fight for Lithuania’s independence and overthrew the hostile Soviet regime.