How did Georg Brandes start the modern breakthrough in Danish literature?

The "modern breakthrough" (det moderne gennembrud) in Danish literature was initiated by the critic Georg Brandes around 1870. Driven by a mission to end Denmark's cultural isolation and provincialism, Brandes sought to align the nation with progressive European intellectual trends.12

He catalyzed this movement through a series of lectures at the University of Copenhagen, which were later published as Main Currents in 19th Century Literature (1872–90). In these works, Brandes challenged writers to abandon the fantasy and abstract idealism of late Romanticism. Instead, he demanded that literature address contemporary life and reality, serving as a tool for social progress and reform.21

By advocating for naturalism and realism, Brandes influenced a generation of Scandinavian writers, including Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, and Jens Peter Jacobsen, effectively shifting the focus of literature toward the examination of political, moral, and religious problems.132