19th-century Norwegian literature
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What is 19th-century Norwegian literature?
After Norway's separation from Denmark in 1814, 19th-century Norwegian literature became a means to define independence. Henrik Wergeland, who called for a departure from Danish influence, and Johan Sebastien Cammermeyer Welhaven, who wanted to maintain Danish culture, became representative of Norway's opposing views at the time.
The mid-19th century saw national Romanticism emerge, with writers exploring Norway's past. Landmark works include Norske folkeeventyr (Norwegian Folk Tales) and Ivar Aasen's development of a contemporary literary language rooted in Old Norse. Camilla Collett's Amtmandens døttre (The District Governor’s Daughters) paved the way for the realistic "problem" literature of Henrik Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.
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Who were some famous Norwegian writers from the 19th century?
The 19th century was a significant period for Norwegian literature, marked by a quest for national identity and a focus on social issues. Several writers emerged as key figures during this time.
Some of the most famous Norwegian writers from the 19th century include:
* Henrik Ibsen: A playwright known for his realistic problem dramas such as A Doll's House and An Enemy of the People.-
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson: A versatile writer, Bjørnson was known as a novelist, dramatist, and lyric poet. He wrote the Norwegian national anthem and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1903.
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Jonas Lie: Lie aimed to portray Norwegian nature, folk life, and social spirit in his novels, such as The Family at Gilje.
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Alexander Lange Kielland: Known for his elegant and witty style, Kielland wrote novels with a strong social conscience, including Skipper Worse and Gift.
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Camilla Collett: Her novel The District Governor's Daughters (1855) is recognized as an early contribution to the discussion of women's roles in society.
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What kinds of stories or themes were popular in 19th-century Norwegian literature?
In 19th-century Norwegian literature, popular stories and themes often mirrored the country's aspirations following its separation from Denmark in 1814.
The mid-19th century saw a surge in national Romanticism, with writers exploring Norway's past through works like Norske folkeeventyr (Norwegian Folk Tales). Writers like Henrik Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson delved into Norway's heroic past and its peasantry.
Later in the century, authors like Camilla Collett examined women's roles in society, leading to the realistic "problem" literature of Ibsen and Bjørnson, which addressed social issues. Writers also critiqued Norwegian social institutions, with naturalism and explorations of sexual license emerging as themes.
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How did the Norwegian language used in literature change during the 19th century?
In 19th-century Norwegian literature, language underwent significant changes. After Norway's separation from Denmark in 1814, the desire for cultural independence led to a re-evaluation of the Norwegian language.
Ivar Aasen championed a new literary language rooted in rural dialects and Old Norse, known as Nynorsk, which gained official recognition in 1885. Simultaneously, Knud Knudsen advocated for gradual reforms to align the written language with spoken Norwegian, resulting in Riksmål (later Bokmål).
The literary scene saw figures like Henrik Wergeland promoting a break from Danish influences, while Johan Sebastien Cammermeyer Welhaven favored preserving them. This period, marked by national Romanticism, involved writers exploring Norway's past, as seen in Norske folkeeventyr. By the late 19th century, authors like Henrik Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson addressed social issues in their realistic "problem" literature.
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Why is Henrik Ibsen considered an important figure in 19th-century Norwegian literature?
Henrik Ibsen is a major figure in 19th-century Norwegian literature because he introduced a new form of moral analysis to the European stage, set against a realistic middle-class backdrop. His plays explored social issues and the psychology of ordinary people, often stripping away their disguises to reveal uncomfortable truths.
Ibsen's realistic contemporary plays aimed to expose social evils, and he achieved international recognition through works such as Brand and Peer Gynt. His plays often sparked controversy, challenging audiences to reexamine their moral foundations. Ibsen, along with Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Lange Kielland, were major figures in modern Norwegian literature, producing a large body of significant work.
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How did 19th-century Norwegian literature influence Norwegian culture and identity?
19th-century Norwegian literature significantly shaped Norwegian culture and identity following Norway's separation from Denmark in 1814. The period of national Romanticism saw writers delve into Norway's past, highlighted by the collection of Norske folkeeventyr (Norwegian Folk Tales) by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe, which sparked interest in the nation's heritage.
Figures like Henrik Wergeland promoted a distinct Norwegian identity, while Ivar Aasen developed Nynorsk, a literary language rooted in Old Norse and rural dialects, further solidifying cultural independence. Writers like Henrik Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson explored social issues, contributing to national self-awareness and debate. Bjørnson's works, designed to instill national pride, along with his poem "Yes, We Love This Land," which became the Norwegian national anthem, exemplify literature's role in fostering national unity and cultural identity.
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19th-century Norwegian literature, the body of written works produced in the Norwegian language between 1814, when Norway separated from Denmark, and about 1900.
For an overview of Norwegian literature from the 16th century to the present, see Norwegian literature.
The Age of Wergeland
After the signing of a new constitution in 1814, an exciting and difficult age began for Norway: an opportunity seemed to be offered to develop an independent Norwegian culture and way of life, but there were deep differences of opinion as to how this could best be achieved. Johan Sebastien Cammermeyer Welhaven was the chief representative of those who insisted that the existing Danish element in the culture should not be neglected. Henrik Wergeland was a spokesman for those whose nationalistic pride led them, on the other hand, to demand a complete break with Denmark. Welhaven stood for a coolly intellectual approach, for restraint and control, and for conscious artistry, as his own sonnet cycle Norges dæmring (1834; “The Dawn of Norway”) exemplifies. Wergeland was more passionate and revolutionary, and his enormous epic Skabelsen, mennesket og messias (1830; “Creation, Humanity and Messiah”) typified the spirit he admired.
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Wergeland dominated the age as a poet, orator, and social reformer, and the clash between him and Welhaven and between the two factions associated with them—the “patriots” and the “intelligentsia”—began an ideological conflict that persisted throughout the century.
National Romanticism
The literature of the mid-19th century, known as Norway’s “national Romanticism,” continued to reflect the country’s larger aspirations. The compilation and publication, between 1841 and 1844, of the landmark Norske folkeeventyr (Norwegian Folk Tales) by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe—preceded by Anders Faye’s Norske sagn (1833; “Norwegian Folk Legends”) and followed by Magnus Brostrup Landstad’s Norske folkeviser (1852–53; “Norwegian Folk Ballads”)—indicated a lively interest in the past, as did Peter Andreas Munch’s eight-volume history of the Norwegian people (1857–63). Ivar Aasen was the creative spirit behind the Landsmål movement to establish a literary language based on rural dialects linked with Old Norse. This new written standard came to be known as Nynorsk. Many publications of these years, including earlier works of Henrik Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, turned consciously to Norway’s heroic past and its peasants. To these years belonged also the lyric poetry of Aasmund Olafson Vinje, founder of the periodical Dølen (“The Dalesman”), who adopted Nynorsk as his literary language.
Toward the modern breakthrough
In 1855 Camilla Collett, Wergeland’s sister, published Amtmandens døttre (The District Governor’s Daughters), which, by considering the place of women in society, marked a beginning of a trend that, encouraged by the immensely influential Danish critic Georg Brandes, culminated in the 1870s and ’80s in the realistic “problem” literature of Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, and their contemporaries. Samfundets støtter (1877; The Pillars of Society) was the first of a succession of problem dramas by Ibsen to win him worldwide fame. By then he had already written two verse dramas, Brand (1866) and Peer Gynt (1867), and his long “double drama” Kejser og galilæer (1873; The Emperor and the Galilean). The first substantial problem drama by Bjørnson was En fallit (1875; The Bankrupt). Although never the world figure that Ibsen became, Bjørnson was a leading personality of his age in Norway as a novelist, dramatist, and lyric poet and in public affairs.
The novelists Jonas Lie and Alexander Lange Kielland, together with Ibsen and Bjørnson, were the major figures of modern Norwegian literature and were responsible for a remarkably large body of important work between 1870 and 1884, as the following titles illustrate: Ibsen’s works Et dukkehjem (A Doll’s House), Gengangere (Ghosts), En folkefiende (An Enemy of the People), and Vildanden (The Wild Duck); Bjørnson’s dramas Det ny system (The New System), En handske (A Gauntlet), and Over ævne (Beyond Human Power I) and his novel Det flager i byen og på havnen (The Heritage of the Kurts); Lie’s novels Gaa paa! (“Go Ahead!”), Livsslaven (“The Life Convict”; Eng. trans. One of Life’s Slaves), and Familjen paa Gilje (The Family at Gilje); and Kielland’s Skipper Worse), Gift (“Poison”), and Fortuna (“Fortune”; Eng. trans. Professor Lovdahl). The foremost stylist of his age, Kielland was an elegant, witty novelist with a strong social conscience and an active reforming zeal stemming from an admiration for English philosopher John Stuart Mill.
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The literature of the 1870s emphasized individual development and expression in keeping with the optimistic attitude of the times to social change and improvement. In the following decade, growing skepticism and disillusionment made writers more bitter in their attacks on “established” social institutions. The publication of Fra Kristiania-Bohêmen (“From the Christiania Bohemia”) in 1885 by Hans Henrik Jæger created, by its seeming advocacy of sexual license, a public scandal. The most extreme exponent of naturalism was Amalie Skram, especially in her four-volume novel Hellemyrsfolket (1887–98; “The People of Hellemyr”). Arne Evensen Garborg—a poet, novelist, dramatist, and critic—was a superb writer whose work reflected successive movements of Romanticism, realism, naturalism, and Neoromanticism. His wider reputation was first established with a novel, Bondestudentar (1883; “Peasant Students”), but perhaps his greatest achievement was the poem cycle Haugtussa (1895).