Synnöve Solbakken
Synnöve Solbakken.
by
Björnstjerne Björnson.
Translated from the Norse
by
Rasmus B. Anderson,
Author of “Norse Mythology,” “Viking Tales of the North,”
“America Not Discovered by Columbus,” and other works.
Author’s Edition.
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Boston:
Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
The Riverside Press, Cambridge.
1881.
Copyright, 1881,
By Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
All rights reserved.
The Riverside Press, Cambridge:
Stereotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Co.
Publishers’ Note.
The present edition of Björnstjerne Björnson's works is published by special arrangement with the author. Mr. Björnson has designated Prof. Rasmus B. Anderson as his American translator, coöperates with him, and revises each work before it is translated, thus giving his personal attention to this edition.
Biographical Sketch
of
Björnstjerne Björnson.
Only a very condensed sketch can here be given of the great Norse poet, novelist, dramatist, orator, and political leader, whose works are now offered to the American public.
Björnstjerne Björnson was born December 8, 1832, in Kvikne, a rural district in the central part of Norway, at the foot of the beautiful Dovre Mountains, where his father was a Lutheran priest. The scenery is grand and majestic, though rather austere; and life is of a somewhat solitary character, for the farm-houses here, as elsewhere in Norway, are widely separated from each other.
While the poet was yet a mere boy, his father was transferred to the celebrated Romsdal, one of the finest valleys in Western Norway. Here the sombre hues of the mountain-masses are mingled with the variegated splendor of the valley. Dark fjords stretch their long arms into the country. The mountains, whose summits are crowned with ice and snow, rise almost perpendicularly from the water's edge in some places, while in others golden fields, green meadows, and fine forests lie between the fjord and the mountain. The ravines on the mountain-tops are filled with mighty glaciers, that clasp their frosty arms around the valley, and send down, like streams of tears along the weather-beaten cheeks of the mountains, countless waterfalls and cascades, overarched by beautiful rainbows, and falling in endless variety into the valley and fjord below.
The environments are of no slight importance in the development of genius, and we find the impressions inspired by the weird scenes amid which Björnson spent the days of his childhood, constantly unfolding blossoms in his poems, novels, and dramas. Nor is it alone the impressions that these scenes made upon him that are to be taken into account. The Norse folk have been looking upon these same silver-crested mountains, from which the summer sun never departs, upon the same ocean, islands, lakes, fjords, and flower-clad valleys, and have listened to the same melodious brooks, babbling streams, thundering rivers, roaring waterfalls, and soughing groves, for generations. These surroundings have more or less colored the Norse myths, epics, folk-lore tales, ballads, melodies, proverbs, eddas, sagas, customs, manners; in short, all the products of the Norse mind and heart, the whole life of the Norsemen. In estimating Björnson’s genius, therefore, the influence of the environments and of Norse traditions upon countless generations of his forefathers must not be overlooked. We hope to be understood when we say, briefly, that the external, physical nature of Norway largely modified and moulded the ancient Norsemen’s character; that nature and the Norse character thus formed gave color to the Norsemen’s religion, tales, traditions, and other intellectual products; that the climate and scenery of Norway, together with the accumulative influence of the national character and the popular traditions and literature upon the people from generation to generation, produced a full-blown flower in the genius of Björnstjerne Björnson; and, finally, that this principle may be applied to any great national writer or artist in any country. Nor do we by this statement mean to exclude the influence exercised by foreign nations and foreign literatures upon Björnson himself, and upon his ancestors.
At the age of twelve Björnson was sent to the Molde grammar school. Molde is a small coast town in Romsdal, which is celebrated on account of the grand and beautiful scenery with which it is surrounded. But he was a dull scholar. When he was admonished to apply himself, in order that he might learn enough to enter the university, he answered, “They want me to study and read so much, while I would prefer to write.” He had already begun to think of becoming a poet, and of course the greatest of all poets, though he was constantly reminded that he was thought stupid. People called the boy an agitator. When he was only fifteen years old, he organized a society of boys and founded a paper written by hand. Its name was, as might be expected, “Liberty.” In the society political matters were discussed, and Björnson was the leader of the republican party. This was in the year 1848, when revolutionary ideas found their way even to the remotest valleys of Norway. Björnson's society had a debate on the election of president of the French republic, and he voted for Lamartine, while the majority voted for Louis Napoleon.
Nor did Björnson distinguish himself at the university in Christiania, whither he was sent in 1852. He continued to neglect his regular studies, and devoted himself to poetry and journalism. Caring but little for books, he studied all the more earnestly the volumes of nature and human society, both of which he has interpreted with remarkable force and beauty. It is related that a Swede, who visited Christiania in 1853, and was struck by the fine appearance of a young man in a gathering of students, turned to one near him and inquired who that young man was. The answer was, "Björnstjerne Björnson, a young man who wants to become a genius." One of the by-standers, who had listened to the conversation, added, “I would rather call him a young genius who wants to become a man.” While pursuing his university course, which he never completed, he produced his first literary work of any considerable length. It was a drama, entitled “Valborg.” It was accepted by the managers of the theatre, but, before it was played, he took it back and destroyed it. He had already outgrown it, and decided that it would not do him credit. For some time afterward (1854–56) he devoted his time mainly to dramatic criticism and to reviewing books for “Aftenbladet,” later also for “Morgenbladet,” and to corresponding for provincial newspapers.
Norway, since her separation from Denmark in 1814, had been striving to create a national literature, and when Björnson entered the university in 1852, the first literary epoch of the young and free nation (the Wergeland–Welhaven epoch) was about being completed. It had produced Maurits Christoffer Hansen, the founder of the Norwegian novel; Johan Welhaven, the leader of the conservative party, which aimed to build up a Norwegian literature on the foundation of foreign, particularly Danish culture; and his great opponent, Henrik Wergeland, under whose banner gathered all the liberal spirits, all who had faith in the ability of Norway to develop an entirely independent national literature, art, and life. Their object was to root out every trace of foreign influence. This first epoch had also produced Asbjörnson and Moe, the collectors of the popular tales of Norway; the great poet, Andreas Munch; the historians, P. A. Munch and Rudolf Keyser; and a considerable number of eminent scholars, among whom may be noted Sars the naturalist, Hansten the astronomer, Abel the mathematician, Aasen the linguist and creator of a new language for Norway, based on the dialects. The famous violinist, Ole Bull, also belongs to this epoch, and around him cluster a magnificent group of musical composers, painters, and other artists.
With the beginning of the second half of this century we enter upon the second epoch of modern Norwegian literature—the so-called Björnson–Ibsen epoch. The poets of this period are Björnstjerne Björnson, Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Kristofer Janson. Of these Björnson is decidedly the most conspicuous, and may be said to be the legitimate successor to Henrik Wergeland, with whom he has much in common both as poet and political leader. He is in fact carrying forward the work left unfinished by Wergeland; while Welhaven, the great antagonist of Wergeland, has found no eminent successor in the ranks of living Norse writers.
Björnson's literary career really begins with the year 1857, when he published his first novel. Since then his life has been singularly varied and active, and in the midst of his many conflicting occupations he has been an exceedingly prolific writer.
Twice he has been director of a theatre: the first time in 1858, when Ole Bull put the theatre which he had founded in Bergen into his hands; and the second time in 1865, when the management of the Christiania royal theatre was intrusted to him. He held both positions, however, only for a brief space of time. Three times he has entered the field of journalism; the first in 1856, as editor of his own paper, the “Illustreret Folkeblad;” the second in 1859, as co-editor of “Aftenbladet;” and the third in 1866, as editor and publisher of “Norsk Folkeblad.” Since 1856 he has been a constant and diligent contributor to the public press on all questions of national interest. His articles and addresses would alone, if collected, fill many large volumes. His winters he has frequently spent abroad, in Denmark, Germany, France, and Italy, and he is at this writing visiting the United States, whose citizens everywhere give an enthusiastic welcome to the tall, erect, broad-shouldered, and silver-tongued son of the frozen North.
His first novel, produced in 1857, was “Synnöve Solbakken,” the volume now presented to our readers in an English dress. It at once made a profound impression, and established his reputation both at home and abroad, not only on account of the simple and charming plot, but also for the short, direct, pithy, saga style in which it was written; and here we may add that the author has been growing increasingly terse and concise in his style from that day to this. It became the corner-stone of a new school of literature, and when we take into consideration that the Wergeland–Welhaven epoch continued to be more or less deeply imbued with Danish culture, modern Norwegian literature may fairly be said to begin with “Synnöve Solbakken.” It was the first great national work unimpressed with the old Danish stamp. As is the case in the old Norse sagas, portraits of the characters are not drawn, nor are his works marred by lengthy dissertations from a moral stand-point. Instead of long, fine-spun declamations of this sort, he lets his characters speak for themselves, and leaves it to the reader to judge whether they are good or bad. He does not stop to describe separately the details of features and dress, but he watches his opportunity to give glimpses of them as the story progresses. He portrays his men and women while he tells what they do and say, and thus the reader knows, when he has finished the book, how Synnöve, or Thorbjörn, or Aslak must have appeared to the author. As before stated, there has been no interruption in Björnson's literary activity, and he has given the world a series of novels and dramas, which have found their way into all lands and been translated into many tongues. They all reveal a startling psychological insight and acquaintance with the deepest laws of human life. His novels are, besides “Synnöve Solbakken;” “Arne;” “A Happy Boy;” “The Fisher Maiden;” “The Bridal March;” “Magnhild;” “Guiseppe Mansana;” and several short stories. His dramas are: “Halte Hulda;” “Mellem Slagene” (Between the Battles); “Kong Sværre;” “Sigurd Slembe;” “Maria Stuart;” “De Nygifte” (The Honeymoon); “Sigurd Jorsalfar” (Sigurd the Crusader); “En Fallit” (A Bankrupt); “Redaktören” (The Editor); “Kongen” (The King); “Leonarda;” and “Det Ny System” (The New System). His lyric and national songs are published in one volume, and he is also the author of an epic poem, published in a separate volume, entitled “Arnljot Gelline.” When we add to this a small volume, “Vis Knut” (Wise Knut), and his little volume “Republiken” (The Republic), issued late in 1880, we have completed the list of his published works.
Mr. Björnson is without a peer in the north of Europe as novelist, national and lyric poet, orator, and contributor to the daily press; and as dramatist he knows but one competitor for the first rank, Henrik Ibsen, whose “Love's Comedy,” “Brand,” and “Peer Gynt” Edm. W. Gosse, in his “Studies in the Literature of Northern Europe” (London, 1879), characterizes as “a trilogy, perhaps, for sustained vigor of expression, for affluence of execution, and for brilliance of dialogue, the greatest of modern times.” On the other hand, it is interesting to notice that Robert Buchanan, an equally high authority in literature, pronounces Audhild, one of the female characters in “Sigurd Slembe,” Björnson’s great dramatic trilogy, “a creation worthy of Goethe at his best,”—worthy, in his opinion, “to rank with ‘Clärchen,’ ‘Marguerite,’ and ‘Mignon’ as a masterpiece of delicate characterization.” Björnson has never been surpassed in his delineation of delicate female types, both in his novels and dramas, and this furnishes one of the best proofs of his claim to rank among the master poets of any age. Björnson’s dramas have had a boundless influence upon modern thought in Scandinavia, and we might include Germany, and when properly translated they will not fail to secure him the homage of England and America.
It may be said that Björnson’s great work, or rather the red thread running through all of Björnson’s works, is a struggle for the independence of Norway; an effort to secure an emancipation and development of all those intellectual energies that Norway may properly call her own. We discover this tendency alike in his novels, poems, dramas, and in his miscellaneous writings. He loves his country, and therefore takes a profound interest in every question that concerns its welfare; and it is safe to say that his name is intimately connected with every important issue that has been raised in Norway during the past twenty years. In every question his words and his songs have been heard either pro or con. In many movements he has been the first who has spoken. His literary works are thoroughly imbued with the progressive spirit of the age. In his novel “Magnhild” and in his drama “Leonarda” he has championed the rights of women and exposed the wrongs in private and domestic life in a manner that would delight the heart of Julia Ward Howe or T. W. Higginson. He saw the corruption of the press and wrote his drama “The Editor.” He saw the corruption in the world of trade and commerce, and wrote his drama “The Bankrupt;” a play, by the way, which it seems might be made very successful on the American stage. Presented by an actor like our Barrett, it could not fail to make a powerful impression. In his drama “The King,” Björnson has given the fullest and freest expression to his republican tenets. He there represents monarchism as a lie, and lets the king himself advocate the republic as the ideal form of government. To those who suggest excuses for and favor the monarchy as a temporary evil, as a necessary school, in which the nation is to be educated and ripened for self-government, he makes the king, who has come to look at his royal position as false and abnormal, address this striking question: “Is it, then, necessary that a people, on their eternal progress toward the truth, should march with a lie as their leader?” That a drama enunciating such principles could not be played at the royal theatre, needs not to be stated; but those who have embraced the doctrine that all men are created equal and endowed with an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, hail in Björnson the promise of a Norwegian republic. With a keen eye to discover corruption and hypocrisy in the church as well as elsewhere, he has broken many a lance with the priests, and has dealt many a blow to the orthodox bigots of his time.
Björnson’s political speeches are landmarks in the national development of Norway; and his lectures are models of eloquence, both as regards style and delivery. One of the most splendid efforts of his life as an orator was his address at Ole Bull’s grave, on August 24, 1880, to an audience of more than twenty thousand people. Ole Bull’s funeral was more magnificent and solemn than if he had been a king; but the greatest honor of the day was embodied in Björnson’s remarks, of which every word was a diamond in the crown of the violinist's immortal fame.
When Björnson writes a national song it is at once taken up and sung by the whole nation, from Lindesnes to North Cape. The national hymn of Norway to-day is his song written in 1859, of which we will attempt to translate two or three stanzas:—
Another very popular song by Björnson is his “Over de höie Fjælde” (Over the Lofty Mountains), which is very characteristic of the author’s style, and expresses in sublime verses the longings and aspiration of the young Norsemen. It is, in fact, an expression of the yearning of the young Norway, and is not inapplicable to the ambitious struggles of the young Björnson himself. Mr. Björnson told us, when we visited him in 1873, that he considered it his best poem. We are happy to be able to give a spirited and faithful metrical version of it from the pen of Auber Forestier, the author of “Echoes from Mistland,” and translator of Kristofer Janson’s “The Spell-Bound Fiddler,” and various other works.
The stirring music written for both of these poems will be found in the “Norway Music Album,” recently published by Oliver Ditson & Co., Boston.
We cannot close this brief sketch of Mr. Björnson without giving an account of an interesting incident which occurred in Madison, Wisconsin, during his visit here in the beginning of January, 1881.
While Mr. Björnson was stopping at the hotel in this city, an elderly man came to see him. At the sight of Björnson the man was very much moved,—sobbed like a child, the tears choking his voice, while he attempted to greet the great skald of the North. Mr. Björnson also appeared to be deeply touched by the sudden appearance of his guest, and, grasping his hand, he exclaimed, “Why, are you here, my dear Arne?” The scene of their meeting was intensely affecting, and the reason for it will be evident from the following explanation:[1] Arne is not the “Arne” of Björnson’s novel of that name, but Arne Kulterstad, a Norwegian, whose life he had saved twenty years ago. He is a man about fifty years old, has a large frame, and in his younger days must have been the very picture of strength and beauty.
Some twenty-five years ago, Arne, a fine-looking, vigorous young man, who had been a sergeant in the Norwegian army, and as such had become noted for his athletic strength, as well as for his kindly disposition and honest character, had a serious feud with one of his neighbors in his mountain home in Valders, a valley in the central part of Norway. His enemy was a dissipated, mean, cringing, and base villain, who at a party succeeded in getting Arne Page:Synnöve Solbakken.pdf/31 Page:Synnöve Solbakken.pdf/32 Page:Synnöve Solbakken.pdf/33 Page:Synnöve Solbakken.pdf/34
- ↑ Mr. Björnson told the story in detail, in my presence, to a reporter of the Madison State Journal, from which I have, in part, transcribed it for these pages.
Chapters (not listed in original)
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This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in 1881, before the cutoff of January 1, 1930. The longest-living author of this work died in 1936, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 88 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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