''Hertha'', fully ''New Sketches of Everyday Life: Hertha, or, A Soul's History: A Sketch from Real Life'' ( sv, Nya Teckningar ur Hvardagslifvet: Hertha, eller En själs historia: Teckning ur det verkliga livet) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Fredrika Bremer Fredrika Bremer (17 August 1801 – 31 December 1865) was a Finnish-born Swedish writer and feminist reformer. Her ''Sketches of Everyday Life'' were wildly popular in Britain and the United States during the 1840s and 1850s and she is re ...

, first published in 1856. __NOTOC__

History

The

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

published ''Hertha'' in 1856. Unlike her other works, she labeled this one a ''Sketch of from Real Life'': she concluded it with an appendix recounting actual Swedish court cases concerning her subject, an assault on the 2nd-class status of women under Sweden's 1734 Civil Code. By its terms, unmarried adult women (unless widowed or divorced) were considered incompetent wards of their male relatives. Bremer and her sister had themselves been required to petition King Charles XIV to emancipate themselves from their wastrel brother.

Legacy

Although Bremer herself soon left for a great journey through Europe and the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

, her work prompted the ''Hertha'' Discussion (') throughout Swedish society, reaching

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1858. There, the old system was reformed to allow women to petition their nearest courthouse (rather than the royal court) at the age of 25. Five years later, the legislation was revisited and all women were considered to automatically reach

legal majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the control ...

at 25. (The daughters of the

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility ( sv, Adeln eller Ridderskapet och Adeln) has historically been a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term ...

were, however, not able to marry without their father or brother's permission until 1880.) The novel also successfully raised the question of a "women's university". The

Royal Seminary The Royal Seminary, fully the Royal Advanced Female Teachers' Seminary ( sv, Kungliga Högre Lärarinneseminariet, abbreviated KHLS), was a normal school (teachers' college) in Stockholm, Sweden. It was active from 1861 until 1943. It was the ...

, a state school for the education of female teachers, was opened in 1861. Upon her return to Sweden, Bremer expressed her satisfaction with these changes and took a personal interest in the Seminary and its students. ''Hertha'' is regarded as the first feminist novel in Swedish literature. It was the inspiration for

Sophie Adlersparre Carin ''Sophie'' Adlersparre, known under the pen-name Esselde (born Leijonhufvud; 6 July 1823 – 27 June 1895) was one of the pioneers of the 19th-century women's rights movement in Sweden. She was the founder and editor of the first women' ...

and

Rosalie Olivecrona Rosalie Ulrika Olivecrona, née Roos (December 9, 1823 – June 4, 1898), was a Swedish people, Swedish feminist activist and writer. She is one of the three great pioneers of the organized women's rights movement in Sweden, alongside Fredri ...

's ''

Home Review The ''Home Review'' ( sv, Tidskrift för hemmet) was a Sweden, Swedish women's magazine, published from 1859 to 1885. It was the first women's magazine in the Nordic countries and its inception is sometimes regarded as the foundation of Sweden's w ...

'', the first

women's magazine This is a list of women's magazines from around the world. These are magazines that have been published primarily for a readership of women. Currently published *'' 10 Magazine'' (UK - distributed worldwide) *'' Al Jamila'' (Saudi Arabia) *''All ...

in Sweden; its continuation '' Hertha''; and Adlersparre's

Fredrika Bremer Association The Fredrika Bremer Association ( sv, Fredrika Bremer Förbundet, abbreviated FBF) is the oldest women's rights organisation in Sweden. The association stands for an inclusive, intersectional and progressive liberal feminism, and advocates for wome ...

, Sweden's first

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

organization.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . * . * . * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Hertha 1856 Swedish novels Fiction set in 1856 Novels set in Sweden Swedish-language novels