Kristine Cathrine Ploug (née Altenburg) (1760–1837), known as Aunt Ploug (''Faster Ploug'' in Norwegian), was a relative of playwright

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

, cited as the influence of some of the characters in his plays, such as The Rat-Wife in ''

Little Eyolf Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

''. She was a sister of

Johan Andreas Altenburg Johan Andreas Altenburg (1763–1824) was a Norwegian merchant and shipowner. He belonged to the patriciate of the port town of Skien and was the maternal grandfather of playwright and theatre director Henrik Ibsen. Biography Altenburg was ...

, Ibsen's maternal grandfather, and as such the aunt of

Marichen Altenburg Marichen Cornelia Martine Altenburg (24 April 1799 – 3 June 1869) was the mother of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen and is known as the model for several characters in some of Ibsen's most famous plays, including Åse in ''Peer Gynt''.Rober ...

and great-aunt of Henrik Ibsen. She lived with her brother from around 1799, following the death of her husband, and after Johan Andreas Altenburg's death, she lived with the Ibsen family. She died at Venstøp in 1837. Ibsen scholar Oskar Mosfjeld describes her as an eccentric. The Ibsen children were said to be afraid of her due to her odd behaviour. Oskar Mosfjeld: ''Henrik Ibsen og Skien: En biografisk og litteratur-psykologisk studie'', Oslo,

Gyldendal Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag A/S, usually referred to simply as Gyldendal () is a Danish publishing house. Founded in 1770 by Søren Gyldendal, it is the oldest and largest publishing house in Denmark, offering a wide selection of bo ...

, 1949 Today, it is considered likely that she suffered from

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

due to advanced age. She was portrayed by Cecilie Graasvold in the play '' Rotte på loftet'', and by

Wenche Foss Eva Wenche Steenfeldt Stang (5 December 1917 – 28 March 2011), better known as Wenche Foss (), was a leading Norwegian actress of stage, screen and television. Personal life Wenche Foss was born to engineer Christian August Steenfeldt-Foss ( ...

in the

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

television miniseries ''

En udødelig mann ''An Immortal Man'' (''En udødelig mann'') is a miniseries on Henrik Ibsen's childhood and youth in three episodes, produced by the NRK in 2006 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Ibsen's death. It was directed by Berit Nesheim and written ...

''. Kristine Cathrine Altenburg was baptized on 17 September 1760 in Holla, and her parents were Diderik Altenburg (1719–1766) and Marichen Johansdatter Barth (1737–1769). Diderik Altenburg was the manager of a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

. Both her parents died early, and her mother was married for a second time in 1767 to (Fredrich) Engebreth Christopher Blom Bertelsen Bomhoff.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ploug, Kristine Catrine Ibsen family 1760 births 1837 deaths