Laura Kieler (born 9 January 1849 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 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

– died 23 April 1932 in

Ålsgårde Ålsgårde is a former fishing village on the north coast of Zealand, Denmark, located six kilometer northwest of Helsingør. Formerly Ålsgårde was a separate town, but today it has merged with the neighbouring town of Hellebæk into an urban ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

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novelist. Events from her life and marriage served as the inspiration for the character Nora Helmer in

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 ...

's play ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having bee ...

''.

Biography

She was born Laura Anna Sophie Müller to a Norwegian father, Morten Smith Petersen von Führen, and Danish mother, Anna Hansine Kjerulf Müller. When Kieler was nineteen years old, she wrote a response to

's play ''

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

,'' Brand's Døtre, that endeared her to Ibsen and his wife. They became friends and nurtured her literary ambitions. In 1873, she married Victor Kieler, a schoolteacher. The events of her marriage served as the inspiration for the character Nora Helmer in

's play ''

''. Kieler's husband contracted tuberculosis soon after their wedding, and like the character Nora, Laura Kieler borrowed money under false pretenses in order to finance a trip to Italy for a cure. Some years later, in a desperate attempt to repay the loan, Kieler forged a check. When Kieler's husband learned of the fraud, he demanded a divorce and sought to bar his wife from their children. Kieler had a nervous breakdown and entered a mental asylum for a month. They were later reconciled, but Kieler never forgave Ibsen for using her life as fodder for his controversial drama. Her later works occasionally continued to reference Ibsen, including her 1890 play Mænd af Ære which first played at the Casino Theater in Copenhagen. The play featured the plight of a woman who, in a fraught relationship, was exploited by her husband for writing material in a manner reminiscent of her own prior struggle. The intro to her book, Silhouetter, also features a personal account of her conflicted relationship with Ibsen. Later still, she withdrew from more personally-informed novels, and made a living writing historical and religious books.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kieler, Laura 1849 births 1932 deaths Danish women novelists 19th-century Danish novelists 20th-century Danish novelists Danish people of Norwegian descent 19th-century Danish women writers 19th-century Danish writers 20th-century Danish women writers 20th-century Danish writers People from Tromsø