BJÖRNSON: NORWEGIAN NOVELIST AND PLAYWRIGHT
The prize of 1903 has been awarded:
Björnson, Björnstjerne, born 1832, died April 26, 1910: “as a tribute
acknowledging his noble, splendid and varied works of art which have
always been distinguished by freshness of inspiration, and, at the
same time, by unusual purity of soul.”[34]
One of the five members elected by the Norwegian Storthing, to select
the winners of the prize for the promotion of peace, under terms of
Nobel’s will, was Björnstjerne Björnson. It was a fitting choice for
he was a vigorous advocate of world peace, an ardent worker in all
causes for “the benefit of mankind.” When the award in literature for
1903 was given to him, he was already known as “Norway’s Father.” As
writer of novels and plays, he had been read more widely than almost
any other Scandinavian of his day, at that time surpassing Ibsen in
translated works. As publicist and orator, as manager of theatres and
civic legislator, he exerted national influence. In giving him the
Nobel prize the adjudicators had in memory, especially, his earlier
tales of peasant life which intermingled poetic idealism with sagas
and realistic pictures of Norwegian life. His plays of later years,
_Beyond Human Power_, _The Editor_, and _Sigurd Slembe_, were problem
plays that awakened discussion in many countries; they were more
universal and realistic in tone than the earlier fiction. Björnson had
a remarkable combination of virility and gentleness. He was a Viking
clansman, as he often averred, but he was also a poet, loving the
folk songs and pictorial delights of rugged Norway with deep, ardent
affection. The symbol of his strength, represented twice in the lingual
root of his name--Björn, a bear--was fitting for his large, fearless
mind and spiritual energy. He was a warrior when occasion demanded
resistance to evil; he was a skald when he wrote tales of peasantry.
[Illustration:
_By courtesy of The American-Scandinavian Foundation_
BJÖRNSTJERNE BJÖRNSON]
He was born in 1832 at Kvikne, in the valley of the Dovre Mountains.
He lived seven years after the Nobel prize was given to him, keeping
his mentality alert until almost the end of his seventy-eight years.
His father was pastor in this small place, without beauty of scenery
or fertility of soil. When the boy was six years old the family moved
to a region of marked contrasts, in Romsdale. His memories of this
picturesque scenery and his delights in the valleys, hills, and fjord,
were commemorated in his poem, “Over the Lofty Mountains.” His school
days at Molde were busy and happy; he read with insatiable appetite for
sagas and history, and became devoted to the Swedish poet, Wergeland.
At seventeen he went to Christiania to prepare for the University.
Here he was a schoolmate of Ibsen; with typical humor he wrote--and
treasured--this doggerel of these early days:
Overstrained and lean, of the colour of gypsum,
Behind a beard, huge and black, was seen Henrik Ibsen.
The two families cemented their friendship of many years by the
marriage of Björnson’s daughter, Bergliot, a singer of much talent, to
the son of Ibsen.
At Christiania, Björnson became much interested in Danish literature,
especially drama, and he began his play, _The Newly-married Couple_,
which was not finished until a decade later. He completed, however, a
one-act play, _Between the Battles_, which was staged in Christiania
with only moderate success. For a time he abandoned drama and devoted
himself to the peasant tales, to characters of types familiar to him,
against a background of Norwegian folklore. He was proud to recall
that his forefathers were peasants; he knew the common people and
sympathized with their customs and ambitions. He sought to blend sagas
and scenes from modern life, with mutual interpretation. Those early
stories of simple life, _Arne_, _The Fisher Maiden_, _A Happy Boy_,
and _Synnöve Solbakken_, were well received in Denmark and Germany, as
well as his own country. Soon they were translated into English and
commended for their simplicity, poetry, and national spirit. Sir Edmund
Gosse, writing in the late 1880’s, said of Björnson: “His spirit was as
masculine as a Viking’s and as pure and tender as a maiden’s. Through
these little romances there blows a wind as fragrant and refreshing as
the odour of the Trondhjem balsam willows, blown out to sea to welcome
the newcomer; and just as this rare scent is the first thing that tells
the traveller of Norway, so the purity of Björnson’s _novelettes_
is usually the first thing to attract a foreigner to Norwegian
literature.”[35]
Mr. Georg Brandes, in his excellent study of Björnson in _Creative
Spirits of the Nineteenth Century_, affirms that the popularity of
these peasant tales was not so great throughout Norway as one is
inclined to believe from later reports. “People loved the peasant
in the abstract” but they did not know him, nor were they deeply
interested in his welfare or his aspirations. Moreover, the critics
found them sentimental and failed to appreciate the legends and
parables which were often interspersed, like the beautiful symbolism
in the opening paragraphs of _Arne_ with the several trees--juniper,
oak, birch, and heather--seeking to clothe the mountain. In the two
tales, _Synnöve Solbakken_ and _Arne_, Björnson represented two heroes
of Norwegian life; Thorbjörn of the first story was the youth of
physical virility, developed by contact with gentler influences; Arne,
by contrast, was dreamy and poetic, in need of more robust experiences.
There are wistful strains of melody in this story of _Arne_--this
yearning for the ideal. Sir Edmund Gosse has translated one of these
lyrics in rhymed couplets:
Through the forest the boy wends all day long,
For there he has heard such a wonderful song.
He carved him a flute of the willow tree,
And tried what the tune within it might be.
The tune came out of it sad and gay,
But while he listened it passed away.
He fell asleep, and once more it sung,
And over his forehead it lovingly hung.
He thought he would catch it and wildly woke,
And the tune in the frail night faded and broke.
“Oh God, my God, take me up to Thee,
For the tune Thou hast made is consuming me.”
And the Lord God said, “’Tis a friend divine,
Though never one hour shalt thou hold it thine.
Yet all other music is poor and thin
By the side of this which thou never shalt win.”[36]
The character of Arne, the poetic, restless boy who tries to break
away from the rock-ribbed confines of Norway, is an individual and a
national type; his mother, Marit, is one of the most real, appealing
women of Norwegian fiction. In these two peasant tales, and the
lighter, more joyful romance of _A Happy Boy_, is found some of the
best poetry by Björnson. Many of these verses are found in _Poems
and Songs_, translated by Arthur Hubbell Palmer from the Norwegian
in the original meters.[37] “Synnöve’s Song,” “The Day of Sunshine,”
and “Ballad of Tailor Nils,” from _Arne_, are typical examples of his
lyrics. Included in this anthology are patriotic poems. One of these,
entitled “Song of Norway,” from _Synnöve Solbakken_ (1859) is one of
the most familiar of National Songs, beginning,
Yes, we love this land that towers
Where the ocean foams;
Rugged, stormswept, it embowers
Many thousand homes.
Love it, love it, of you thinking,
Father, mother dear,
And that night of saga sinking
Dreamful to us here.[38]
Thirty years later, for the silver wedding anniversary of Herman Anker
and his wife, Björnson wrote another poem of patriotic and idealistic
strains, beginning,
Land That Shall Be!
Thither, when thwarted our longings, we sail,--
Sighs to the clouds, that we breathe when we fail,
Form a mirage of rich valley and mead
Over our need,--
Visions revealing the future until
Faith shall fulfill,--
The land that shall be![39]
Ever after a visit to Upsala University and a longer residence in
Copenhagen, Björnson had cravings to write and to direct plays. In the
latter position he served for a time, 1857-1859, at Bergen. His first
plays were of saga heroes and chieftains, like Halvard of _Between
the Battles_ and _Sigurd Slembe_ or _Sigurd the Bad_. They possess
militant virtues and moral integrity but they are driven to misdeeds
and despair by opposition to their good intentions. Thus Sigurd seeks
to make peace with his half-brother, Harold Gille, but is betrayed
into revenge and murder. Mr. Brandes suggests that in these plays the
spiritual sufferings of Björnson--who would elevate and harmonize the
Norwegian people but finds himself misunderstood and rejected in his
idealism--are revealed by analogy. He stresses the difference between
Björnson and Ibsen in this respect and others; the former seeks
comradeship and unity; the latter is “solitary by nature.” Björnson
portrays all aspects of nature; Ibsen seldom uses such descriptions.
With fine distinctions between the two men, in nature and literature,
Mr. Brandes writes: “Henrik Ibsen is a judge, stern as one of the
judges of Israel of old; Björnson is a prophet, the delightful herald
of a better age. In the depths of his nature, Ibsen is a great
revolutionist.... Björnson’s is a conciliatory mind; he wages warfare
without bitterness. His poetry sparkles with the sunshine of April,
while that of Ibsen, with its deep earnestness, seems to lurk in dark
shadows.” Ibsen loved the idea; Björnson loved humanity.[40]
Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, in his study of Björnson, in _Adventures
in Criticism_[41] divides his writings into three periods which he
calls “simplicity, confusion and dire confusion.” The first group of
tales are those of idyllic type, already considered in _Arne_ and _A
Happy Boy_; the second represent a transition towards the realistic
and self-conscious, exampled in _The Fisher Maiden_ and _Magnhild_;
the third, showing more complications of thought and style, are like
_The Heritage of the Kurts_ (originally entitled _Flags Are Flying_)
and _In God’s Way_. The influence of German and French realists may be
traced in these later novels, especially the former with its portrayal
of polygamous conditions. Other critics consider _Magnhild_ an advance
in characterization over any previous fiction by Björnson, especially
in the musician Tande and the relationship between him and Magnhild. If
the author intends to show that a woman may be happy in other ways than
love, he does not “get the message over” until it is interpreted by
Mr. Brandes or other critics. Rationalism mingles with idealism in the
first scenes of _In God’s Way_.
As the years passed, Björnson traveled on the continent, in England
and to America for a visit in 1881. He sharpened his outlook upon life
but he never lost his “passion for truth,” his hatred of oppression
in any form, his belief that individuals and nations might be joined
by friendship rather than separated by antagonisms. He was deeply
impressed by certain forms of hypocrisy which he witnessed in Norway
and he attacked such abuses in the problem plays, _The King_, _The
Editor_, and _The Bankrupt_. Unlike the traditional patriot who says,
“My country--right or wrong--but my country!” Björnson adopted as his
slogan, “Norway must be right at all cost!” His plays, which revealed
innate evils, made him unpopular with politicians and brought about
threats of violence. He used to tell, with humor, of the visit of
some aggressive opponents among the young men who threw stones at his
windows but went away singing the refrain of his National Song,
Yes, we love this land that towers, etc.
As dramatist, Björnson attained a skill which is being recognized by
students of to-day. _The Newly-married Couple_, which was, probably,
the first play to be written in original draft but held for later
publication, has a psychological theme, well constructed--the
adjustment necessary between the love of a maiden for her parents and
the new, strange love for her husband. The characters are vital and
the lines effective. Another early play, _Lame Hulda_ (_Halta Hulda_),
was more emotionally intense; the heroine, lame for twenty-four years,
experiences a brief, tragic passion for a man whose love is pledged
elsewhere. There is lack of those elements of comedy that lighten
the lessons of _The Newly-married Couple_. To the earlier period of
play writing belongs, also, _Maria Stuart in Scotland_, a brilliant
retelling of the familiar romance but lacking dramatic situations at
the close; Björnson was always at his best in Scandinavian background;
nevertheless John Knox is a commanding personality in this play. In
this time of mental conflict between the ideal and the realities in
life as they affected his development, he wrote that vigorous novel,
_The Fisher Maiden_, with vivid characterization, and one of his most
pictorial poems, _The Young Viking_.
Truth is the demand of the dramatist, in every crisis in life, as
depicted in his problem plays, from _The Bankrupt_ to _A Gauntlet_.
With skill he shows The King, thwarted in his high ideals and his
love, trying to “serve the freedom of the spirit,” to be a true
“citizen-king” but ending his life in despair because of the deceit
of others. _The Bankrupt_ has a strong character in Berent, the
lawyer; the “problem” centers about the merchant’s temptation to use
the money of others. _The Editor_ aroused much controversy, because
it was claimed that Björnson had here satirized a Swedish editor but
the charge was unfounded; rather the editor and his victims, Halvadan
and Harald, typify journalistic conditions in every land. Mr. Brandes
suggests that the dramatist may have been modeling these two brothers
from the older poet, Wergeland and himself, in their struggles to
create love for truth and freedom. In _Leonarda_, with lyrical as well
as dramatic qualities, Björnson spoke a message of more tolerance and
historical significance through three generations of Norwegian society.
Two excellent translators of his plays have been Edwin Björkman and R.
Farquharson Sharp (_see_ bibliography).
By translation and inclusion in selected plays of merit from many
languages, _Beyond Human Control_ has become one of the most familiar
of Björnson’s social dramas. It is one of the chosen plays in _Chief
Contemporary Dramatists_, Series I, by Thomas H. Dickinson. There
are two parts to this drama, with differing _motifs_--the first in
chronology and most widely read and staged is _Beyond Human Power_
(or _Beyond Our Power: Over Ævne_ I, 1883) dealing with problems of
religious faith and fanaticism; the second part (_Over Ævne_ II,
1895) treats of differences of opinion between labor and capital. The
first part, a complete play, has been given throughout Europe and
was performed in New York in 1902, with Mrs. Patrick Campbell in the
leading rôle. The characters are strongly balanced in interest; the
wife of the self-sacrificing, impractical pastor, Clara Sang, is a
masterly delineation of wifely loyalty and maternal responsibility.
The Bishop is well drawn in antithesis to Pastor Sang. _A Gauntlet_
created discussion in Norway because of its daring theme--the advocacy
of the same standards of social purity for men and women. It is less
effective dramatically but morally it is vigorous.
Björnson’s later work in drama includes such good reading-plays as
_Laboremus_, _Daglannet_, and _When the New Wine Blooms_.[42] As
examples of literary work after the age of seventy, to which may
be added the story, _Mary_,[43] with emotional power, they stand
as testimonials to the vigor, mental and spiritual, of this worthy
“Viking” of our day. After he received the Nobel prize, in accord with
the proviso of the Code of Statutes, he made a noteworthy address upon
the theme, “Poetry As a Manifestation of the Sense of Vital Surplus.”
His own vitality and zest in life never lapsed. He declared that the
possession of a new pair of trousers in his old age gave him a sense
of delight like that of a child and he would get up an hour earlier
“to get full enjoyment of these clothes.” Edwin Björkman, one of the
most intuitive of his many translators, tells, in his _Voices of
Tomorrow_[44] incidents in the later life of Björnson that verify his
childlike nature, combined with serious, passionate efforts for human
betterment. His wife, an actress by training, was his amanuensis and
critic; between husband and wife existed a rare bond of sympathy: at
formal dinners, and on social occasions of varied kinds, Björnson
insisted that his wife should sit at his right hand, in spite of other
conventions. As writer, speaker, “lay preacher,” and civic adviser,
Björnson has an assured rank among “The Creative Spirits of the
Nineteenth Century.”
FOOTNOTES:
[34] Inscription with the Nobel Prize Award in Literature, 1903.
[35] _Northern Studies_ by Edmund Gosse, Walter Scott, London, 1890. By
permission of Sir Edmund Gosse.
[36] _Ibid._, p. 32. By permission of Sir Edmund Gosse.
[37] American-Scandinavian Foundation, 1915. By permission of
translator and publisher.
[38] This has been adapted to song by Nordraak; another, “Forward,” has
been set to music by Grieg.
[39] _Poems and Songs_ by Björnstjerne Björnson, translated by Arthur
Hubbell Palmer, from the Norwegian in the original meters, London 1915.
By permission of the American-Scandinavian Foundation.
[40] _Creative Spirits of the Nineteenth Century_ by Georg Brandes,
translated by Rasmus B. Anderson, New York, 1923, p. 345. By permission
of Thomas Y. Crowell Co.
[41] London and New York, 1925. New edition.
[42] Translated by Lee M. Hollander, _Poet Lore_, 1911.
[43] Translated by Mary Morison, 1910.
[44] New York, 1913.