Hans Henrik Jæger (2September 18548February 1910) was a Norwegian

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

who was part of the

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

group known as the Kristiania Bohemians.

Biography

Hans Henrik Jæger was born on 2 September 1854 in the Norwegian city of

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

. Soon after his birth, his family moved to

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, where his father worked as a police officer. Jæger's father died when he was only 10 years old and his mother died when he was 14, forcing Jæger to move in with his uncle, , in

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

. The following year, Jæger began a career as a sailor, which took him to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. By the time he left the shipping business in 1874, he had rose through the ranks to become

second mate A second mate (2nd mate) or second officer (2/O) is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship holding a Second Mates Certificate of Competence, by an authorised governing state of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). ...

on a

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

. Planning to become a

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, he enrolled in the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

and began studying

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. To pay for his studies, he found a job as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

Storting The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The Unicameralism, unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list propo ...

. In 1878, Jæger anonymously published a treatise in which he attempted to refute the

existence of God The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and theology. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God (with the same or similar arguments also generally being used when talking about the exis ...

and the

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

, drawing from the

rationalist philosophy In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to other possible s ...

of Emmanuel Kant and the

dialectical logic Dialectical logic is the system of laws of thought, developed within the Hegelian and Marxist traditions, which seeks to supplement or replace the laws of formal logic. The precise nature of the relation between dialectical and formal logic was ...

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political philosophy and t ...

. During this time, he also came under the influence of

Johann Gottlieb Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (; ; 19 May 1762 – 29 January 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Ka ...

, whose ideas on

natural law Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...

and

individual liberty Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

inspired him. Jæger became famous in the Norwegian capital in 1881, after he gave a series of speeches arguing for the extension of

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is ...

s, for the abolition of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

and

social injustice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has ofte ...

, and for the practice of

free love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the State (polity), state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues we ...

and

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. At the

Norwegian Students' Society Norwegian Students' Society () is Norway's oldest student society. The Norwegian Students' Society was established during 1813 in Oslo, Norway. Two years after the Royal Frederick University (today named the University of Oslo) was founded, 18 of ...

, he gave lectures on the subject of

determinism Determinism is the Metaphysics, metaphysical view that all events within the universe (or multiverse) can occur only in one possible way. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes ov ...

and

free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

. In 1883 and 1884, he wrote the realist plays ''Olga'' and ''En intellektuel forførelse''; he hoped to undermine the existing social system by using his art to expose social realities. In December 1885, he published his first major work, '' Fra Kristiania-bohêmen''. He explicitly conceived the book as an attack against traditional morality,

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and

retributive justice Retributive justice is a legal concept whereby the criminal offender receives punishment proportional or similar to the crime. As opposed to revenge, retribution—and thus retributive justice—is not personal, is directed only at wrongdoing, ...

, which he hoped would be overthrown in a

social revolution Social revolutions are sudden changes in the structure and nature of society. These revolutions are usually recognized as having transformed society, economy, culture, philosophy, and technology along with but more than just the political system ...

. The Norwegian authorities immediately prohibited publication of the book and arrested Jæger, who they sentenced to 60 days in prison, ostensibly on charges of publishing "

pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

". This led to a debate in Norwegian civil society over

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

, with many liberal students criticising the liberal government of

Johan Sverdrup Johan Sverdrup (30 July 1816 – 17 February 1892) was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party. He was the first prime minister of Norway after the introduction of parliamentarism. Sverdrup was prime minister from 1884 to 1889. Early year ...

for the suppression of the book. When Jæger was sentenced again for attempting to reprint the book the following year, he initially fled the country to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, but ultimately returned to Norway to serve his sentence. After his release from prison, in 1890, he returned to Paris and got a job in

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

. During this time, Jæger had an affair with Oda Krohg, which formed the basis for a trilogy of novels (''Syk kjærlihet'', ''Bekjendelser'', and ''Fængsel og fortvilelse'') which were banned in Norway for their sexually explicit content. From Paris, he worked as a foreign policy correspondent for the Swedish newspaper ''

Social-Demokraten ''Social-Demokraten'' () was a Swedish daily Social Democratic newspaper, belonging to the Swedish Social Democratic Party. The paper was founded in 1885 by Axel Danielsson and August Palm. Palm also edited the paper from 1885 to 1886. Another ...

'', and upon his return to Norway in 1898, he was appointed as the newspaper's foreign editor. Around this time, Jæger became an

and grew increasingly critical of his more

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which entails centrist views on a liberal-conservative spectrum. It may also designate a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. Political position Canad ...

contemporaries. In 1902, he returned to Paris. In 1906, he published ''Anarkiets bibel'', in which he outlined the contradictions of capitalism and his view of how to establish an anarchist society, without

private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

. In 1907, he moved to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, where he published the magazine '' Korsaren'', which aligned itself against

social democracy Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

and parliamentary politics. After the magazine ceased publication and a short-lived anarchist organisation he founded collapsed, he returned to Oslo, where he died from cancer on 8 February 1910.

Selected works

*
Kants fornuftskritik
' (''Kant's critique of pure reason'') 1878 * ''Olga'' (play) 1883 * ''En intellektuel Forførelse'' (play) (''An Intellectual Seduction'') 1884 * '' Fra Kristiania-bohêmen'' (''From the Christiania Bohemians'') 1885 * ''Julefortællinger av Hans Jæger'' (''Christmas Stories by Hans Jæger'', in reality the second volume of ''From the Christiania Bohemians'') 1886 * ''Albertine'' (with

Christian Krohg Christian Krohg (13 August 1852 – 16 October 1925) was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist. Krohg was inspired by the realism art movement and often chose motifs from everyday life. He was the director and s ...

) 1886 *
Min forsvarstale i høyesterett
' (''My Defence Speech in the Supreme Court'') 1886 * ''Kristianiabilleder'' (''Images of Christiania'') 1888 * ''Novelletter'' (''Short Stories'') 1889 * ''Bohemens erotiske bekjennelser'' (''The Erotic Confessions of the Bohemians'') **
Syk kjærlihet
' (part 1 of 3) 1893 (''Twisted Love''

** ''Bekjendelser'' (part 2 of 3) 1902 (''Confessions'') ** ''Fængsel og fortvilelse'' (part 3 of 3) 1903 (''Prison and Despair'') *
Anarkiets bibel
' (''Anarchists' Bible'') 1906 (via:

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

* ''Socialismens ABC'' (written between 1906 and 1910, never finished) (''The ABC of Socialism'')

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
Hans Jæger Page
at the Anarchist Encyclopedia
Digitized books by Jæger
in the

National Library of Norway The National Library of Norway () was established in 1989. Its principal task is "to preserve the past for the future". The library is located both in Oslo and in Mo i Rana. The building in Oslo was restored and reopened in 2005. Prior to the e ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaeger, Hans 1854 births 1910 deaths Anarchist writers Censorship in Norway Edvard Munch Norwegian anarchists Norwegian male writers Norwegian prisoners and detainees People convicted of blasphemy Prisoners and detainees of Norway

Biography

Selected works

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links