The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek
"The Good Soldier Švejk" is a satirical novel written by Czech author Jaroslav Hašek, first published between 1921 and 1923. The story follows Josef Švejk, a dog trader who is classified as "feebleminded" and initially discharged from military service. However, the outbreak of World War I leads to his conscription back into the army. Throughout the narrative, Švejk's innocent yet confusing responses to authority figures highlight the absurdities of war and bureaucracy. He often finds himself in comical predicaments, such as being sent to a lunatic asylum and serving as an orderly to a chaplain whose interests lie more in gambling and alcohol than in his priestly duties.
Švejk's adventures involve misunderstandings with military personnel, encounters with mistaken identities, and various misadventures that illustrate his resilience and the absurdity of military life. The novel critiques the inefficiencies and irrationalities of the Austro-Hungarian military system, making it a key work of anti-war literature. Hašek's use of humor and satire invites readers to reflect on the challenges of individual agency within the constraints of a larger, often nonsensical, system. Ultimately, "The Good Soldier Švejk" remains a significant cultural touchstone in Czech literature, celebrated for its commentary on human folly amidst the chaos of war.
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The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek
First published:Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světove války, 1921-1923 (English translation, 1930; unabridged translation, 1973)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Satire
Time of plot: World War I
Locale: Bohemia and Austria
Principal characters
Josef Švejka , a soldierJindrich Lukáš , a lieutenant and Švejk’s superiorOtto Katz , a chaplainColonel Kraus , Lieutenant Lukáš’ superiorLieutenant Dub , a former schoolteacher
The Story:
Josef Švejk, by profession a dog trader, is discharged from his military service saddled with the classification of “feebleminded.” The shots in Sarajevo, however, which signal the beginning of World War I, bring Švejk back into the army. A careless remark soon leads to his arrest, but he convinces the police of his feebleminded condition and is sent to a lunatic asylum. Medical authorities are so irritated by Švejk’s cheerfulness that they classify him as a malingerer of weak intellect and send him back to the police. Švejk’s habit of giving the most innocent and confusing replies to all bureaucratic inquiries causes the police to send him home again.
When the Austrian army suffers its first major losses, however, the war ministry decides that Švejk should be conscripted into military service once more. Švejk comes to the medical examination in a wheelchair, with crutches by his side to indicate the bad state of his rheumatism. The army doctor, who is in the habit of finding everybody fit for service, is incensed by Švejk’s performance. The good soldier Švejk’s first station becomes the military prison. Treatment in the infirmary of the military prison is aimed at intensifying each patient’s desire to serve his fatherland away from the infirmary.
The main diversion in the prison is the Mass celebrated by the chaplain, Otto Katz, a priest whose love for alcohol surpasses by far his dedication to priestly duties. Katz, impressed by Švejk, requests that the soldier be assigned to him as an orderly. In this capacity, Švejk becomes indispensable as an altar boy during Mass, as a helper at various drinking bouts, and as a stimulating partner during unorthodox religious debates.
Švejk’s good fortune does not last long. Katz is as fond of gambling as he is of wine. During a poker game, he loses Švejk to Lieutenant Lukáš, who is beloved by his subordinates but disliked by his superiors. Švejk is now expected to handle many delicate situations in connection with Lieutenant Lukáš’s love for the opposite sex. Frequently, the lieutenant despairs over the embarrassing predicaments that develop each time Švejk handles a project.
One day Švejk procures a dog, which he gives to Lieutenant Lukáš. The animal actually belongs to Colonel Kraus, one of Lukáš’s superiors. When the lieutenant takes an evening stroll with the dog, he has a most unpleasant encounter with Colonel Kraus, who recognizes his missing pet. The colonel promptly arranges a transfer for the lieutenant and his orderly to a battalion destined for frontline duty.
On the train, Švejk manages to insult a fellow passenger who turns out to be an inspector general. When he inadvertently releases the emergency brake and is unable to pay the requested fine, he is taken from the train, much to the delight of Lieutenant Lukáš, who has not yet recovered from the incident of the dog. The train moves on without Švejk, who finds himself considered a mistreated war hero by the people at the railroad station. A collection is taken up to pay his fine, and he is entertained with free beer. Later, military police arrest Švejk when they discover that he is without identification papers. A cross-examination, conducted at headquarters, frustrates the investigating officer, and he orders Švejk to proceed on foot to the destination point he is supposed to reach by train.
Švejk marches off in the wrong direction and is arrested as a suspected spy. An ambitious sergeant, interpreting Švejk’s confusing way of answering questions as highly intelligent evasions, considers him a prize catch. Švejk is transferred to higher authorities, but the captain in charge prefers to believe Švejk’s implausible explanation to the more implausible report that the sergeant has prepared. Švejk is returned to his regiment and to the surprised Lieutenant Lukáš. The lieutenant, determined that Švejk should not cause him any further embarrassment, orders Švejk transferred to the regimental dungeon for unauthorized absence from duty. After three days, however, Lieutenant Lukáš’s superior officer, who nourishes a grudge against him, sends Švejk back to the lieutenant to resume his old position, and Lieutenant Lukáš is forced to accept the situation.
Before long, Lieutenant Lukáš discovers a lady whom he considers a good prospect for another amorous adventure. Švejk is assigned to deliver a letter to the lady, but the letter reaches her husband instead. The delivery of the letter turns into a street fight, which in turn results in Švejk’s arrest and a great deal of unfavorable publicity around the garrison.
Lieutenant Lukáš is now appointed company commander of a unit on its way to the Russian front; he also has strict orders to take Švejk along as a company orderly. In his new duty post, Švejk’s first assignment is that of telephone operator, a duty that gives him ample opportunity to confuse the preparations for the transfer to the front. His next contribution to the war effort occurs as the result of exercising his commonsense judgment: When a coding system based on the second volume of a novel is to be installed for the regiment, Švejk distributes the first volume because he is of the opinion that everybody should start reading a book at the beginning.
The most disliked officer of the regiment is Lieutenant Dub, a former schoolteacher who considers it his duty to transplant barracks drill discipline to the front line. Several episodes with Švejk convince Lieutenant Dub that he has enough material to proceed with a court-martial against Švejk. During a short stay in a small village, however, Švejk, having been ordered to look for Lieutenant Dub, discovers his superior drunk in a brothel. This discovery gives Švejk an opportunity to ridicule the lieutenant in front of all the soldiers. Švejk is also valuable in assisting the quartermaster to find billets and supplies.
Švejk’s last assignment is an order from Lieutenant Lukáš to find the road to the next village. Švejk, trusting his common sense, disregards the map and loses his way. When he approaches a pond, he finds a Russian prisoner of war taking a bath. The sight of Švejk causes the Russian to flee stark naked. Švejk cannot resist the temptation to try on the Russian’s uniform. At this moment soldiers arrive to recapture the escaped “enemy.” Švejk is assigned to a gang of Russian prisoners repairing the railroad leading to the Russian front.
Bibliography
Cushman, Jenifer. “Criminal Apprehensions: Prague Minorities and the Habsburg Legal System in Jaroslav Hašek’s The Good Soldier Švejk and Franz Kafka’s The Trial.” In Literature and Law, edited by Michael J. Meyer. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2004. Cushman’s analysis of Hašek’s novel focuses on its representation of lawyers and the Austro-Hungarian legal system.
Doležel, Lubomîr. “The Road of History and the Detours of the Good Soldier.” In Language and Literary Theory: In Honor of Ladislav Matejko, edited by Benjamin A. Stoltz. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1984. An accessible example of postmodernist scholarship, which discusses the character Švejk as inhabiting “ludic” space between obligation and punishment. Although the article employs a few complex literary terms, it is a highly readable and astute analysis of the character.
Goetz-Stankiewicz, Marketa. “Kafka and Hašek—Reflections on a Meeting in the House of Fiction.” In Language and Literary Theory: In Honor of Ladislav Matejko, edited by Benjamin A. Stoltz. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1984. A comparison of the two authors, focusing on the differences in their literary themes. The essay also provides a valuable discussion of Hašek’s influences on later writers.
Parrott, Cecil. The Bad Bohemian: A Life of Jaroslav Hašek. London: Bodley Head, 1978. A biography by the English translator of the 1973 edition of The Good Soldier Švejk that examines parallels between Hašek’s life and his novel.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Jaroslav Hašek. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982. A comprehensive survey of the historical background of The Good Soldier Švejk, Hašek’s political activities and literary career, and the continuing critical controversy about the novel. Includes a character analysis and discussion of structure and themes.
Součkovä, Milada. A Literary Satellite: Czechoslovak-Russian Literary Relations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970. Examines Russian and Czech responses to the novel as literary propaganda and the debate over whether Švejk is a suitable character to represent the Czech military.
Steiner, Peter. “Tropos Kynikos: The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek.” In The Deserts of Bohemia: Czech Fiction and Its Social Context. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2000. Steiner focuses on the political and social ideas expressed in Hašek’s novel and in works by other Czech writers, arguing that in these works, politics cannot be separated from literature.
Weitzman, Erica. “Imperium Stupidium: Švejk, Satire, Sabotage.” Law and Literature 18, no. 2 (Summer, 2006): 117. Argues that the satire in Hašek’s novel “lies less in the irreverence and humor of its content than in its deep structural mechanisms of repetition, delay, and non-resistance pushed to the point of absurdity.”