Maria Kirstine Dorothea Jensen (19 January 1876 – 14 May 1957) was a Danish

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

who wrote under the name Thit Jensen. She is known for her short stories, plays, and socially-critical articles. For her writing, Jensen was honored with the Drachmannlegatet in 1930, the

Tagea Brandt Rejselegat The Tagea Brandts ''Rejselegat'' (Travel Scholarship) is a Danish award to women who have made a significant contribution in science, literature or art. The grant, which is given without application, was created and endowed by Danish industrialist ...

in 1935, and with the

Holberg Medal The Holberg Medal ( Danish: ''Holberg-Medaljen'') is an award to a Danish author of fiction or writer on science. It is an appreciation of a literary or scientific work or of the award winner's authorship as a whole. The prize is often awarded on 3 ...

in 1940. She was awarded the

Royal Medal of Recompense The Royal Medal of Recompense ( da, Den Kongelige Belønningsmedalje) is a List of orders, decorations, and medals of the Kingdom of Denmark, Danish medal. Established by List of Danish monarchs, King Christian IX of Denmark, Christian IX the meda ...

in 1949 and was inducted as a member of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1954.

Life

Jensen was born January 19, 1876, in

Farsø Farsø is a town with a population of 3,349 (1 January 2022) in Region Nordjylland in Denmark in the Vesthimmerland Municipality. Farsø was the birthplace of Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1944. The village of ...

. Her parents, Hans Jensen, a veterinarian, and Marie Kirstine Jensen had eleven children. Her brother, Johannes V. Jensen, was also a well known author. In 1912, she married Gustav Jéhan Fenger (1887–1958), though the couple divorced in 1918. She wrote about erotic and social themes and fought for

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, ...

. In 1917, she founded Københavns Husmoderforening (Copenhagen Housewives Association) which preceded De Danske Husmoderforeninger and represented the local associations of the organization in Denmark. In 1924 she founded the ''Foreningen for Seksuel Oplysning'' (English: ''the Organization for Sexual Awareness'') which worked with Jonathan Leunbach to perform

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

s. She was personally against abortion, but felt that women needed to have a choice and was highly criticized for this belief. Jensen died on May 14, 1957, in

Bagsværd Bagsværd () is a middle-class suburb located approximately 12 km northwest of central Copenhagen, in the Gladsaxe Municipality. The town center is recognizable by the Bagsværd Towers, two high-rise apartment blocks. The suburb is connected to ...

and is buried af Farsø Cemetery.

Bibliography

*To Søstre (1903) *Martyrium (1905) *Prins Nilaus af Danmark (1907) *Højeste Ret (1913) *Stærkere end Tro (1915) *Jydske Historier (1916) *Gerd - det tyvende Aarhundredes Kvinde (1918) *Den erotiske Hamster (1919) *Frivilligt Moderskab (1924) *Aphrodite fra Fuur: den moderne kvindes udviklingshistorie (1925) *Børnebegrænsning. Hvorfor - hvordan? (1926) *Storken (1929) *Jørgen Lykke: rigens sidste ridder (1931) *Nial den Vise (1934) * Stygge Krumpen (1936) *Romanserien om Valdemar Atterdag, Drotten, Rigets arving og Atter det skilte (1940-1953) *Erindringerne Hvorfra? Hvorhen? (1950) *Den sidste Valkyrie (1954)

References

External links

Pictures and audio documents (in Danish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Thit 1876 births 1957 deaths People from Vesthimmerland Municipality Danish feminists Danish women novelists