Herman Joachim Bang (20 April 1857 – 29 January 1912) was a Danish journalist and author, one of the men of 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 ...

Biography

Bang was born in Asserballe, on the small Danish island of

Als Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

, the son of a South Jutlandic vicar (a relative of N. F. S. Grundtvig). His family history was marked by insanity and disease. Herman Bang as a youth

When he was twenty he published two volumes of critical essays on the realistic movement. In 1880 he published his novel ''Haabløse Slægter'' (''Families Without Hope''), which aroused immediate attention. The main character was a young man who had a relationship with an older woman. The book was considered obscene at the time and was banned. After some time spent in travel and a successful lecture tour of Norway and

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 countries, Nordic c ...

, he settled in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

and produced a series of novels and collections of short stories which placed him in the front rank of

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

n novelists. Among his more famous stories are "Fædra" (1883) and "Tine" ("Tina", 1889). The latter won for its author the friendship of

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 pla ...

and the enthusiastic admiration of Jonas Lie. Among his other works are ''Det hvide Hus'' (''The White House'', 1898), ''Excentriske Noveller'' (''Eccentric Stories'', 1885), ''Stille Eksistenser'' (''Quiet Existences'', 1886), ''Liv og Død'' (''Life and Death'', 1899), ''Englen Michael'' (''The Angel Michael'', 1902), a volume of poems (1889), and recollections, ''Ti Aar'' (''Ten Years'', 1891). Bang was homosexual, a fact which contributed to his isolation in the cultural life of Denmark and made him the victim of smear campaigns. He lived most of his life with his sister, but spent a few years living in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

in 1885–86, with the German actor Max Eisfeld (1863–1935). Uninterested in politics, he was distant from most of his colleagues in the naturalist movement. Failed as an actor, Bang earned fame as a theatre producer in Paris and in

. He was a very productive journalist, writing for Danish, Nordic and German newspapers, developing modern reporting. His article on the fire at

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Suprem ...

is a landmark in Danish journalism. Bang is primarily concerned with "quiet existences", the disregarded and ignored people living boring and apparently unimportant lives. He is especially interested in describing lonely or isolated women. '' Ved Vejen'' (''Katinka'', 1886) describes the secret and never fulfilled passion of a young wife of a stationmaster, living in a barren marriage. ''Tine'' (1889), which has the war with Prussia in 1864 (the

Second War of Schleswig The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. ...

) as background, tells the tragic love story of a young girl on the island of

. ''Stuk'' (''Stucco'', 1887) recounts a young man's love affair that is fading away without any real explanation, against the background of the "

Gründerzeit (; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...

" of Copenhagen and its superficial modernization and economic speculation. In ''Ludvigsbakke'' (1896) a young nurse squanders her love on a spineless childhood friend, who eventually deserts her, in order to save his estate by marrying a rich heiress. Some of his books, including ''Tina'' and ''Katinka'' (English titles), have been translated into many languages and filmed. Bang's 1902 novel ''Mikaël'', based on the life of

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

,Mark Nash, ''Dreyer'' BFI Publishing (October 1977). p. 7 proved especially popular for adaptations in the silent era, having been made into two films: 1916's '' The Wings'', directed by

Mauritz Stiller Mauritz Stiller (born Moshe Stiller, 17 July 1883 – 18 November 1928) was a Swedish film director of Finnish Jewish origin, best known for discovering Greta Garbo and bringing her to America. Stiller had been a pioneer of the Swedish film ...

, and 1924's ''

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

'', directed by

Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer (; 3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his movies are noted for their emotional aus ...

. Bang's works earned him renown as a leading European

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...

writer. Bang's last years were embittered by persecutions and declining health. He traveled widely in Europe, and during a lecture tour of the United States he was taken ill on the train and died in

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bang, Hermann Joachim 1857 births 1912 deaths 19th-century Danish novelists 20th-century Danish novelists LGBT journalists Gay writers LGBT writers from Denmark People from Sønderborg Municipality Burials at Vestre Cemetery, Copenhagen Danish male novelists 20th-century Danish male writers 19th-century Danish journalists 20th-century Danish journalists

Biography

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Further reading

External links