Henriette Jakobine Martine Gislesen, née Vibe (9 April 1809 – 20 May 1859) was a Norwegian writer.

Biography

Gislesen was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Norway. She was the sixth of eight children born to

Niels Andreas Vibe Niels Andreas Vibe (12 July 1759 – 9 September 1814) was a Norwegian military officer and civil and royal servant. He served as County Governor of ''Nordre Bergenhus Amt'' from 1802 to 1811, as General War Commissioner of Norway from 1811 to 181 ...

(1759–1814) and Margery Kierulff (1775–1852). Her father served as County Governor of ''Nordre Bergenhus Amt''. Gislesen was a sister of

Ludvig Vibe Frederik Ludvig Vibe (26 September 1803 – 21 June 1881) was a Norwegian classical philologist and educator. He was Professor of Greek language at the Royal Frederick University from 1838. Vibe was born in Bergen as a son of County Governor, Gen ...

, sister-in-law of

Heinrich Arnold Thaulow Heinrich Arnold Thaulow (10 June 1808 – 19 August 1894) was a physician known for the introduction of balneotherapy in Norway. Thaulow founded Sandefjord Spa in Sandefjord in 1837. He was Sandefjord's first physician. He also made the first ...

and second cousin of Ludvig Cæsar Martin Aubert. When she was two years old, her family moved to Christiania in 1811 when her father was made

General War Commissioner General War Commissioner (from German ''Generalkriegskommissarius'') was a military office in various German states as well as in Denmark-Norway. It was the military officer in charge of national conscription, collection of war contributions, equip ...

of Norway. Gislesen's father died when Henriette was five years old and her family established residence with

Benoni Aubert Benoni Aubert ( 4 August 1768 – 21 April 1832) was a Norwegian military officer born in Denmark. Biography He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. His parents were Major General Jacques Xavier Aubert (1727-1793) and Julane Cathrine Bang (1748-1834 ...

(1768–1832) who was married to a cousin of her mother. Gislesen settled in

Eiker Eiker is a traditional district in the county of Buskerud, Norway. History Eiker consists of the municipalities of Nedre Eiker and Øvre Eiker. The area is located in the southern part of Buskerud county. Eiker is an agricultural area with a lo ...

near Drammen where she lived from 1844 to 1853. In 1851, she came into contact with

Andreas Hauge Andreas Hauge (12 December 1815 – 13 January 1892) was a Norwegian priest, educator, editor and hymn writer. He also served as a representative in the Norwegian Parliament. Biography He was born in Aker in Akershus, Norway. He was the sole surv ...

, son of Hans Nielsen Hauge and founder of the

Norwegian Missionary Society The Norwegian Missionary Society or the Norwegian Mission Society ( no, Det Norske Misjonsselskap, NMS) is the first and oldest missionary organization in Norway. It was started by a group of approximately 180 Stavanger residents in August 1842, ...

. Subsequently, she became involved in missionary work. Together with Gustava Kielland, Gislesen was one of the most important spreaders of missionary interest among women. After some years she also debuted as a moralistic writer. In 1843 she released the book ''En Moders veiledende Ord til sin Datter'' ("A Mother's Guiding Words to her Daughter"). Gislesen also wrote poems and stories that were published in newspapers and magazines. Like most female writers in her contemporary, she wrote anonymously. In time, Gislesen used her real name and published several books including textbooks for missionaries. Her memoirs were published posthumously in 1861, and a collection of her letters was published in 1885.

Personal life

Gislesen was married twice. In April 1829, she married her second cousin, Christian Frederik Glückstad (1803-1838). He died after nine years of marriage in 1838. In 1854, she married clergyman

Knud Gislesen Knud Gislesen ( 29 December 1801—20 May 1860) was a Norwegian teacher, clergyman and author. He served as Bishop of the Tromsø from 1856 until his death in 1860. Biography Gislesen was born at Løxlie in the parish of Hjartdal in Telemark, ...

(1801-1860). He would later become Bishop of the

Diocese of Tromsø In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. From 1856, they lived in

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...

where Gislesen died in May 1859.

Publications

* ''En moders veiledende ord til sin datter'', 1843 * ''Erindringer fra det betydningsfuldeste Aar i mit Liv'', 1861 * ''Meine Bekehrung'', 1862 * ''Ein Bild aus der norwegischen Kirche'', 1890

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gislesen, Henriette 1809 births 1859 deaths Writers from Bergen Norwegian Lutheran missionaries Norwegian memoirists Women memoirists 19th-century Norwegian writers 19th-century Norwegian women writers Female Christian missionaries Protestant missionaries in Norway 19th-century memoirists 19th-century Lutherans Henriette Vibe