| Henrik Pontoppidan |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT HENRIK PONTOPPIDAN | |
| danish writers | |
| pontoppidan, henrik | |
| danish novelists | |
| nobel laureates in literature | |
| 1857 births | |
| 1943 deaths | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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EARLY LIFE AND CAREER The son of a Jutland ic vicar and belonging to an old family of vicars and writers, Pontoppidan grew up in close contact to peasants and land-labourers. He gave up an education as an engineer, worked as a folk school teacher and finally became a freelance journalist and full-time writer, making his debut in 1880. The first phase of his work constitutes rebellious social criticism. In matter-of-fact short stories he mercilessly describes the life of the country proletarians, haunted by poverty and exploited by the farmers; as such, he was perhaps the first Danish progressive writer to break with an idealised portrayal of farmers. The tales from this era are collected in ''Fra Hytterne'' ("From the Huts") and ''Landsbybilleder'' ("Village Pictures"). An important part is his 1890 political collection of short stories ''Skyer'' ("Clouds"), a biting description of Denmark under the authoritarian semi-dictatorship of the Conservatives both condemning the oppressors and scorning the Danes’ lack of disaffection. After this period he increasingly concentrated on psychological and naturalist problems without giving up his social engagement. MAIN WORKS The three novels which are normally considered to be Pontoppidan’s main works were written from about 1890 to 1920. In these works he established on his own terms a Danish version of the "broad description of society" novel in the tradition of Balzac and Zola . Centred around a hero he paints a picture of Denmark in the era of the Constitutional Struggle between Conservative and Liberals, rising industrialisation, cultural conflicts and awakening revolutionary movements.
OTHER WORKS Pontoppidan's last large novel ''Mands Himmerig'' (1927, "Man’s Heaven") is an almost desperate description of the crisis of a Danish intellectual at the time of the outbreak of World War I . Pontoppidan also wrote many short novels and long tales in which he discussed political, psychological and sexual themes. ''Isbjørnen'' (1887, "The Ice Bear") describes the confrontation between an outspoken vicar from Greenland and his narrow-minded Danish provincial clergymen. ''Mimoser'' (1886, Engl. transl. ''The Apothecary’s Daughters'', 1890) is an ironic-tragic tale about the exaggerated intolerance of unfaithfulness. ''Nattevagt'' (1894, "The Night Watch") deals with a courageous and revolutionary artist who is nevertheless a frustrated failure as a husband. ''Den gamle Adam'' (1894, "The Old Adam") deals with both men’s fear of women and of sexuality as a whole. "Borgmester Hoeck og Hustru" (1905, Engl. transl. ''Burgomaster Hoeck and His Wife'', 1999) portrays a tragic marriage dominated by the husband's jealousy and dislike of his wife's ''joie de vivre''. A central theme in most of these tales is the difficulties of handling the new tolerance, open-mindedness and democratisation which are introduced by both the transition of society and by literature. Another theme is the conflict between the introverted and closed male nature and the vitality of the woman. Behind all this lies the classic naturalist theme of heritage and milieu against which man has to rebel without quite denying their existence. In his later works he sometimes seems to become a mixture of a castigator of society and a prophet of doom. Between 1933 and 1943 Pontoppidan wrote two different versions of his ''Memoirs'', in which he tried to define his own view of his personal development. Though handicapped by blindness and deafness in later life, he continued to take an interest in politics and cultural life until his final years. LITERARY AND CULTURAL INFLUENCE As a stylist Pontoppidan has been described a born Naturalist . {Link without Title} His language looks plain, simple and easy but is often loaded with symbols and secret hints, hidden irony and “objective” descriptions. He often revised previous works, rendering them still more simple but also changing their plot or sharpening their attitude. In spite of being well-known as a man of positions and attitudes Pontoppidan remains one of the most discussed modern Danish writers. This is partly because of his personal character. Pontoppidan was a man of many paradoxes: a clear liberal-radical but a stern patriot, an anti-clerical puritan, a disillusioned fighting nature, collaborating with socialists and communists but always from an independent and individualist position. But it is also partly due to his style which has often been regarded as being ambiguous and impenetrable; his mixture of partiality and objectivity has often confused both readers and critics and in fact liberals, radicals, conservatives, right wingers and socialists have all tried to reflect their own ideals in his works. He has been regarded both as the absolute antagonist of Georg Brandes and as his most congenial pupil. Among all the authors of the Modern Break-Through Pontoppidan is probably the most influential and longest living. His social critical writings mark him as a pioneer of 20th Century Danish socialist literature. Cultural conservatives have been inspired by his critique of modernism after World War I. Finally, he set a standard of "novels about society" which remains relevant. TRIVIA Pontoppidan's brother's daughter-in-law was the famous Danish actress Clara Pontoppidan . LITERATURE P. M. Mitchell: ''Henrik Pontoppidan''. Boston, 1979.
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