Karl Adolph Gjellerup (2 June 1857 – 11 October 1919) was a
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
poet and novelist who together with his compatriot
Henrik Pontoppidan
Henrik Pontoppidan (24 July 1857 – 21 August 1943) was a Danish realist writer who shared with Karl Gjellerup the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1917 for "his authentic descriptions of present-day life in Denmark." Pontoppidan's novels and short ...
won the
Nobel Prize in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
in 1917. He is associated with the
Modern Breakthrough
The Modern Breakthrough ( no, Det moderne gjennombrudd, da, Det moderne gennembrud, sv, Det moderna genombrottet) is the common name of the strong movement of naturalism and debating literature of Scandinavia which replaced romanticism near the ...
period of
Scandinavian literature
Scandinavian literature or Nordic literature is the literature in the languages of the Nordic countries of Northern Europe. The Nordic countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway (including Svalbard), Sweden, and Scandinavia's associate ...
. He occasionally used the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
Epigonos.
Biography
Youth and debut
Gjellerup was the son of a vicar in
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
who died when his son was three years. Karl Gjellerup was raised then by the uncle of
Johannes Fibiger
Johannes Andreas Grib Fibiger (23 April 1867 – 30 January 1928) was a Danish physician and professor of anatomical pathology at the University of Copenhagen. He was the recipient of the 1926 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his disco ...
, he grew up in a national and romantic idealistic atmosphere. In the 1870s he broke with his background and at first he became an enthusiastic supporter of the
naturalist movement and
Georg Brandes
Georg Morris Cohen Brandes (4 February 1842 – 19 February 1927) was a Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind ...
, writing audacious novels about
free love
Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern ...
and
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
. Strongly influenced by his origin he gradually left the Brandes line and 1885 he broke totally with the naturalists, becoming a new
romanticist
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
. A central trace of his life was his
Germanophile
A Germanophile, Teutonophile, or Teutophile is a person who is fond of German culture, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German citizen. The love of the ''Ge ...
attitude, he felt himself strongly attracted to German culture (his wife was a German) and 1892 he finally settled in Germany, which made him unpopular in Denmark on both the right and left wing. As years passed he totally identified with the German Empire, including its war aims 1914–18.
Among the early works of Gjellerup must be mentioned his most important novel (1882, i.e. ''The Germans' Apprentice''), a partly autobiographic tale of the development of a young man from being a
conformist
Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms, politics or being like-minded. Norms are implicit, specific rules, shared by a group of individuals, that guide their interactions with others. People often cho ...
theologian to a pro-German atheist and intellectual, and (1889), on the surface, a love story but more of a study in woman's
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
. Some Wagnerian dramas show his growing romanticist interests. An important work is the novel (1896, i. e. ''The Mill''), a sinister
melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
of love and jealousy.
Later years
In his last years he was clearly influenced by
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
and Oriental culture. His critically acclaimed work / (1906, i.e. ''The Pilgrim Kamanita'') has been called 'one of the oddest novels written in Danish'. It features the journey of Kamanita, an Indian merchant's son, from earthly prosperity and carnal romance, through the ups and downs of the world's way, a chance meeting with a stranger monk (who, unbeknownst to Kamanita, was actually
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
), death, and reincarnation towards
nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
. In
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, which is a
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
country, the Thai translation of ''The Pilgrim Kamanita'' co-translated by
Phraya Anuman Rajadhon
Phya Anuman Rajadhon ( th, พระยาอนุมานราชธน; , also spelled ''Phaya Anuman Rajadhon'' or ''Phrayā Anuman Rajadhon''; December 14, 1888 – July 12, 1969), was one of modern Thailand's most remarkable scholars. He ...
was formerly used as part of the school textbooks.
(1907, i.e. ''The wife of the perfect'') is a versified drama, inspired by
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
's ''
Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...
'', about
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
's earthly life as
Siddharta, being inhibited in his spiritual efforts by his wife,
Yasodhara. The giant novel (1910, i.e. ''The world roamers'') takes its contemporary starting point in a German female academic on a study tour in India, but evolves across chronological levels, in which characters re-experience what has happened in former eons, thus featuring souls roaming from one incarnation to another.
(1913, i.e. ''The country practice of
hysicianRudolph Sten'') is set in the rural Zealand of Gjellerup's youth. The main character develops from a liberal, superficial outlook on life, including youthful romantical conflicts, through years of reflection and ascetic devotion to duty towards a more mature standpoint, hinting at the author's own course of life.
(1919, i.e. ''The holiest animal'') was Gjellerup's last work. Having elements of self-parody, it is regarded as his only attempt at humour. It is a peculiar mythological satire in which animals arrive at their own Elysium after death. These include the snake that killed
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
,
Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
' dog Argos,
Wisvamitra (the holy cow of India), the donkey of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and the horses of various historical commanders in field. The assembly select, after discussion, Buddha's horse
Kantaka
According to Buddhist legend, Kanthaka (in Pali and Sanskrit) (6th century BC, in Kapilvastu and Tilaurakot, Nepal) was a favourite white horse of length eighteen cubits that was a royal servant of Prince Siddhartha, who later became Gautam ...
as the holiest of animals, but it has left without a trace to follow its master to nirvana.
Aftermath
In Denmark, Gjellerup's Nobel award was received with little enthusiasm. He had long been regarded as a German writer. During various stages of his career, he had made himself unpopular with both the naturalist left surrounding
Georg Brandes
Georg Morris Cohen Brandes (4 February 1842 – 19 February 1927) was a Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind ...
and the conservative right. His nomination for the Nobel award was, however, supported from Danish side for several times. Because
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
was neutral during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the divided prize did not arouse political speculations about partial decision, but showed on the other hand allegiance between the Nordic neighbors.
Today Gjellerup is almost forgotten in Denmark. In spite of this, however, literary historians normally regard him as an honest seeker after truth.
Gjellerup's works have been translated into several languages, including German (often translated by himself), Swedish, English, Dutch, Polish, Thai and others. ''The Pilgrim Kamanita'' is his most widely translated book, having been published in several European countries and the United States. In Thailand, a Buddhist country, the first half of the Thai translation of ''Kamanita'' have been used in
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
textbooks.
Biographies
*Georg Nørregård: , 1988 (in Danish)
*Olaf C. Nybo: , 2002 (in German)
* Article in
Vilhelm Andersen
Vilhelm Rasmus Andreas Andersen (16 October 1864 – 3 April 1953) was a Danish author, literary historian and intellectual, who primarily focused on the study of Danish literature. He was one of the first to use the term " Golden Age of Culture" ...
: , 1924–34 (in Danish)
*Article in Hakon Stangerup: , 1964–66 (in Danish)
External links
Knud B. Gjesing: ''Karl Gjellerup'', portrait of the author Archive for Danish Literature,
Danish Royal Library
The Royal Library ( da, Det Kongelige Bibliotek) in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the university library of the University of Copenhagen. It is among the largest libraries in the world and the largest in the Nordic countries ...
(in Danish) (pdf)
*
List of Works*
*
*
*
*
illustrations from Karl Adolph Gjellerup’s work
Den Ældre Eddas Gudesange. Clicking on the thumbnail will give you the full image and information concerning it.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjellerup, Karl Adolp
1857 births
1919 deaths
People from Faxe Municipality
20th-century Danish novelists
20th-century Danish poets
Danish male poets
Danish atheists
Danish Nobel laureates
Nobel laureates in Literature
Danish male novelists