Hansine Pouline Andræ née Schack (1817–1898) was an early Danish

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

who proposed changes to Denmark's marriage

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

for the benefit of women. Her diaries (1854–58), reflecting her opinions on politics and parliamentary debates, provide a precious historical account of the times. They were published by her son Poul Andræ in three volumes from 1914 to 1920.

Biography

Born on 5 April 1817 in Sengeløse to the west of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Hansine Pouline Schack was the daughter of Nicolai Clausen Schack (1781–1844), a

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

, and Tagea Dorothea Erasmi (1785–1841). She was educated at Miss Zeuthen's girls boarding school until her father was appointed parish priest of Copenhagen's Church of Our Saviour in 1833. In 1842, she married the mathematician and politician

Carl Christoffer Georg Andræ Carl Christopher Georg Andræ (14 October 1812 – 2 February 1893) was a Danish politician and mathematician. From 1842 until 1854, he was professor of mathematics and mechanics at the national military college. He was elected to the Royal ...

. In the evenings, before going to bed, she recorded her opinions and impressions of political life in what became the diaries which were later published as ''Geheimeraadinde Andræs politiske Dagbøger''. These reflected her husband's contacts and discussions with liberal politicians such as

Andreas Frederik Krieger Andreas Frederik Krieger (4 October 1817, Kolbjørnsvik – 27 September 1893) was a Danish politician, government minister, professor of law and supreme court judge. He was a member of the National Constitutional Assembly from 1848 to 184 ...

and

Carl Christian Hall Carl Christian Hall (25 February 1812 – 14 August 1888) was a Danish statesman. Hall served as the Council President of Denmark (Prime Minister), first from 1857 to 1859 and again from 1860 to 1863. Early life Hall was the son of the highly ...

. Her accounts also commented on the proceedings of the Danish parliament, which she frequently attended, and the comments her husband made on his political negotiations. In his book on ''Kirkegaard in Golden Age Denmark'', Bruce Kirmmse qualifies her as "very intelligent and politically shrewd". However, unlike her sister Marie Rovsing and her niece Tagea Johansen, she was not an open activist despite her firm feminist ideas. In 1879, she wrote to the women's rights activist Severine Casse (1805–98) in connection with a proposal from the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS () is Denmark's oldest women's rights organization. It was founded in 1871 by activist Matilde Bajer and her husband Fredrik Bajer; Fredrik was a Member of Parliament and the 1908 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The as ...

to change the

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church ( , or unofficially ; ), sometimes called the Church of Denmark, is the established, state-supported church in Denmark. The supreme secular authority of the church is composed of ...

's marriage ritual. Andræ called for a revision which would reduce the number of times a woman had to promise obedience to her husband to just one, writing: "What is the difference between having to say 'yes' once or ten times?... It seems to me that when women push for a change in the ritual, they should call for the removal of any reference to submissiveness." She did in fact live to see changes along these lines shortly before her death. Hansine Andræ suffered a stroke in 1892 and died on 17 March 1898 in Copenhagen. She is buried in

Assistens Cemetery An Assistens Cemetery () is a cemetery that functions as an expansion of another, older cemetery often in relation to a city church. Already by the end of the 17th century, Danish authorities deemed that the conditions for inner-city cemeteries we ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrae, Hansine 1817 births 1898 deaths Danish feminists Danish diarists People from Høje-Taastrup Municipality 19th-century Danish women writers Women diarists Burials at Assistens Cemetery (Copenhagen) 19th-century diarists