Gustav Johannes Wied (6 March 1858 – 24 October 1914) was a Danish writer. He was generally known as a satirical critic of society in his time and he deliberately used his writing talents to expose the establishment, bourgeoisie and ruling class. The government had him imprisoned for 14 days in 1882 for a short story published in a newspaper. Wied wrote novels, short stories, poems and plays (including several

satyr play The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is str ...

s).

Biography

Gustav Wied was born in Branderslev near

Nakskov Nakskov is a town in south Denmark. It is situated in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland on the western coast of the island of Lolland. The town has a population of 12,495 (1 January 2022). To the west is Nakskov Fjord, an inlet from the L ...

as the fifth of eleven children by Carl August Wied and Catha Wied. His best-known work is the novel ''Livsens Ondskab'' (1899), depicting life in a small provincial Danish town. The story revolves around customs official Knagsted, a red-bearded satyrical

Diogenes Diogenes ( ; grc, Διογένης, Diogénēs ), also known as Diogenes the Cynic (, ) or Diogenes of Sinope, was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism (philosophy). He was born in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea ...

, who openly ridicules the hypocrisy of the snobbish bourgeois inhabitants, and Emanual Thomsen, a tragic struggler, trying to obtain the funds needed to regain his ancestral farm. In the sequel ''Knagsted'' (1902), Wied let Knagsted comment on the contemporary fashionable society in the Bohemian spa resort of Karlsbad in Karlovy Vary. Wied eventually lost popularity and fell ill, suffering from severe stomach aches. Badly affected by his condition and despondent, he committed suicide with an overdose of potassium cyanide in 1914. The Gustav Wied Society was established in 1938 with the purpose of publicizing knowledge about Gustav Wied and his literary legacy.

Bibliography

Gustav Wied was very productive. Among his most notable works are: * ''En Hjemkomst'' (play), 1889 * ''Silhuetter'' (short stories), 1891 * ''En Bryllupsnat'' (play), 1892 * ''Barnlige Sjæle'' (short stories), 1893 * ''Ungdomshistorier'' , 1895 * ''

Slægten ''The Heritage'' ( da, Slægten) is a 1978 Danish drama film directed by Anders Refn and starring Jens Okking. Cast * Jens Okking - Helmuth * Helle Hertz - Alvilda * Bodil Udsen - Juliane * Stefan Ekman - Grev Scheele * Poul Reichhardt - Adolf ...

'', 1898 (made into a '' film'' in 1978) * '' Livsens ondskab'', 1899 (made into a television series in 1971, first broadcast in 1972) * ''Thummelumsen'' (play), 1901 * '' Skærmydsler'', 1901 * ''Den gamle Pavillon'' (play), 1902 * '' Knagsted'', 1902 * ''Dansemus ''(play), 1905 * '' Fædrene æde druer'', 1908 (made into the film ''

Sort høst ''Black Harvest'' ( da, Sort høst) is a 1993 Danish drama film directed by Anders Refn. The film was selected as the Danish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick ...

'' in 1993) * ''Circus Mundi'' (stories), 1909 * ''Kærlighed, Fire Idyller'' (play), 1909 * ''Ærtehalm'' (play), 1909 * '' Pastor Sørensen og Co.'', 1913 * ''Imellem Slagene'' (stories and a play), 1914 * ''Digt og virkelighed'' (recollections), 1914 English translations: * ''Two Satyrical Dramas'', (1999)

Films

Many of Wieds stories and plays have been filmed, two in his own lifetime, both black and white silent movies. The first was ''"Kærlighed og Selvmord"'' (Love and Suicide), released in 1911. It is a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

, following his own manuscript but with unknown director. The second film ''"Das Feuer"'' (The Fire) was produced in Germany and released on 4 May 1914, the same year Wied committed suicide. It is an adapted screenplay written by Karl Freund after one of Wied's novels. After his death, the first Wied-related film ''"Thummelumsen "'' was released in 1941, an adapted screenplay of his 1901 play by the same name. Most of the posthumous films has been Danish TV productions, but a few of them was produced in Sweden and Finland. The latest Wied-film was ''"

"'' (Black harvest), a cinema film released in 1993. It is an adapted screenplay drama of Wied's ''"Fædrene Æde Druer"'' from 1908, produced by film director

Anders Refn Anders Refn (born 8 April 1944) is a Danish film editor and director. Biography Refn graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 1969. He has credits for 72 features and TV series, as well as a 10 shorts and 26 documentaries. Refn ...

References

Literature

External links