Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun: biography, best works and film adaptations.

Hamsun Knut Hamsun Knut

(Hamsun), real name Pedersen (1859-1952), Norwegian writer. In the psychological novels “Hunger” (1890), “Mysteries” (1892), “Pan” (1894), “Victoria” (1898), he depicted the rebellion of the individual against the philistine environment, difficult life of the human heart, sang the beauty and power of love. City life was opposed by the patriarchal peasant way of life life, close to the natural cycle of nature; in the novel “The Juices of the Earth” (1917) he glorified the work of the farmer. In the dramatic trilogy “At the Gates of the Kingdom” (1895), “The Game of Life” (1896) and “Evening Dawn” (1898) there are Nietzschean motifs. In novels of the 20-30s. (“Women at the Well”, 1920, “The Ring Closes”, 1936) - motives of loneliness and helplessness of a person in the modern world. Hamsun's work contains a complex interweaving of realism, irrationalism and mysticism. Nobel Prize (1920).

HAMSUN (real name Pedersen, Pedersen) Knut (1859-1952), Norwegian writer. In the psychological novels “Hunger” (1890), “Mysteries” (1892), “Pan” (1894), “Victoria” (1898), he depicted the rebellion of the individual against the philistine environment, the complex life of the human heart, and sang the beauty and power of love. City life was contrasted by the patriarchal peasant way of life, close to the natural cycle of nature; in the novel “The Juices of the Earth” (1917), the work of the farmer is glorified. In the dramatic trilogy “At the Gates of the Kingdom” (1895), “The Game of Life” (1896) and “Evening Dawn” (1898) there are Nietzschean motifs. In novels of the 1920-30s. (“Women at the Well”, 1920; “The Ring Closes”, 1936) - motives of loneliness and helplessness of a person in the modern world. Nobel Prize (1920).
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HAMSUN (Hamsun; real name Pedersen, Pedersen) Knut (August 4, 1859, Lom - February 19, 1952, Norholm), Norwegian writer.
Childhood and years of wanderings
Born in a large family peasant family. He spent his childhood in the north of the country, on the island of Hamarey, and in 1862-1867 on the farm of Hamsund (hence his pseudonym as a writer). At the age of fourteen, Knut begins an independent life, working as a salesman in a store, a loader, school teacher, a mason, a policeman's assistant, but mainly a peddler, traveling with small goods throughout northern Norway.
Having published the first sentimental and romantic works in a provincial publishing house - the story “Mysterious. Love story from Nordland" (1877), the ballad "Rendezvous" (1878) and the story "Bjerger" (1878), inspired by success, the young man goes south and makes a short trip to Copenhagen, where he searches in vain for a publisher for the new story "Frida". He seeks a meeting with the influential Norwegian writer B. Bjornson (cm. BJÖRNSON Björnstjerne Martinius), but he, not discovering any talent in him, advises him: “You are so big and beautiful. You should become an actor."
Over the next two years, Hamsun unsuccessfully tries to establish himself in journalism and ekes out a half-starved existence on odd jobs. Having, as it seemed, exhausted all the possibilities in his homeland, Hamsun left for the USA, where from Professor R.V. Anderson, to whom Bjornson sent him with a letter of recommendation, he received advice: “In America, everyone settles down as best they can.” For some time he worked as a farm laborer, as a clerk in a store, and later as an assistant preacher in Minnesota. By the fall of 1884, Hamsun’s health had deteriorated so much that his friends, having collected money, sent him home, but in the early fall of 1886, having suffered another literary fiasco in Oslo, Hamsun returned to the USA. He worked as an omnibus conductor in Chicago and as a farm laborer on a large farm in the Red River Valley, after which he settled again in Minneapolis, where he gave lectures and articles on modern Scandinavian literature.
"Hunger"
In the summer of 1888, Hamsun went to his homeland, but without going to Oslo (due to painful memories associated with this city), he went on the same steamship flight to Copenhagen. There he writes and publishes the novel “Hunger” (1890), the release of which marks his real debut in literature. From now on, Hamsun’s work is accompanied by constant success.
“What I described in “Hunger” is something I actually experienced. God, how I had it! But I survived." Poverty, misery and hunger bring the hero who finds himself in the capital to an ecstatic state - alien to everyone, he perceives reality through the haze of feelings heightened to the extreme. But he is in complete control of himself, or rather, of his language, with the help of which he captures the subtlest, sometimes paradoxical movements of the soul - the only reality for him. In the novel the dotted line is outlined love affair: the hero does not want his beloved to share his despair, and leaves her.
Almost 30 years later, Hamsun will write that while completing the novel, he read “Demons” and “Crime and Punishment” by F. M. Dostoevsky (cm. DOSTOEVSKY Fyodor Mikhailovich), the influence of which can be read in his next book, “Mysteries” - primarily in a more objective manner of narration.
"Mysteries" (1892)
Mysteries, or sacraments, take place in the soul of Nagel, a man from nowhere, narcissistic and self-loathing, prone to inexplicable changes of mood, rebelling against generally accepted concepts such as “progress”, “free thinking”, “faith in science and democracy”. Nagel professes the Nietzschean “religion of life,” the laws of which are equally deep and incomprehensible in nature and in man. His ideal is an integral personality devoid of doubts; only in such people does great self-realization of life occur. However, Nagel cannot count himself among them. The embodiment of his weakness is Minutka, a man with a perverted conceit and a bad conscience; the hero sees his reflection in him and gets rid of him by committing suicide.
"Pan"
In 1894, Hamsun published his most famous book - the story “Pan”, a kind of prose poem. Its main image of nature, very faithful in detail, is animated by the contradictory impulses of the feelings of the hero, the loner and the poet, seeking a mystical merger with the universe. It is noteworthy that Lieutenant Glahn seeks to comprehend the secrets of life not through simplification or approaching the primitive - it requires high intelligence. And knowledge is not always joyful: the lieutenant’s mistress, the blacksmith’s daughter, Eva, dies absurdly; his love, more like a duel of pride, for Edward, the daughter of the merchant Mak, ends in defeat. Nature as depicted by Hamsun is not only an idyll, it also turns into a painful mystery.
Victoria
In May 1898, Hamsun, at the age of 46, married 25-year-old Bergljot Bek, and in the fall of the same year he finished his best love novel, Victoria. Its hero, the miller's son Johannes, persistently, like Hamsun, makes his way in life and becomes a writer. But he loses his beloved, because the main thing for him in love is a sense of pride. With the uncompromising obsession of Dostoevsky's characters, the romantic hero Hamsun is ready to give up happiness rather than lose the free will that appears under the mask of pride. Johannes finds Victoria only after she dies: his victory with a capital V is dead.
The end of the romantic period
Novels and stories of the 1890s: “Hunger”, “Mysteries”, “Pan” and “Victoria” are Hamsun’s most famous and significant works. But they are only part of his literary heritage, created over 72 years. At the turn of the century, the writer published a number of other artistic works significant works - dramatic trilogy about the struggle of the scientist Careno, a Nietzschean and anti-liberal, for his ideals (“At the Gates of the Kingdom”, 1895; “The Game of Life”, 1896; “Evening Dawn”, 1898), anti-church dramatic poem(“Munken Wendt”, 1902), a drama about love (“Queen Tamara”, 1903), interesting travel notes about a trip to Russia and the Caucasus (“In fairyland", 1903), a collection of poems "Wild Choir" (1904) and a novel written in a new realistic vein about a fishing village in his native Nordland ("The Dreamer", 1904).
Old age
In 1906, Hamsun’s marriage broke up, and in 1909 he married Maria Andersen, an intelligent and gifted woman, with whom he lived most life. One of the problems that worried the writer at this time was old age. In the novel “Under the Autumn Star” (1907) his fictional hero(although his name is Knud Pedersen) makes an attempt to return to the world of his youth: he wanders around the farmsteads, does odd jobs, falls in love, makes friends with other vagabonds - he compares his past and present. Alas, returning to youth is impossible. In the continuation of the novel “The Wanderer Plays Mutely” (1909), the hero comes to the conclusion that nature itself requires the withering of all living things, in comparison with which human ambitions are an unnecessary trifle. The play “Life in its Paws” (1910) is also devoted to the theme of aging.
"I can't stop the plague"
Since the late 1910s. the writer is increasingly working in the genre of journalism: he defends the patriarchal way of life, which is threatened by industrialization, or “Americanism,” which Hamsun spoke out against back in 1889 after returning from the USA. Rejection technical progress and the condemnation of liberal-bourgeois values ​​becomes the main tendency of all his subsequent work, in particular, in the novels “The Last Joy” (1912), “Children of the Century” (1913), “The Town of Segelfoss” (1915), it can also be traced in the novel “Juice” earth" (1917), biblically strongly glorifying the basis of human existence - patriarchal agriculture. In the era of revolutions and wars, this book ideally met the aspirations of Europeans tired of political upheavals - in 1920 Hamsun received for it Nobel Prize.
The next two novels, Women at the Well (1920) and The Last Chapter (1923), were apparently a consequence of the crisis - they affirmed a pessimistic view of human nature and the doom of society. However, the nihilistic pessimism that is not characteristic of Hamsun is soon refuted by his trilogy about August (“Vagabonds,” 1927; “August,” 1930; “And Life Goes On,” 1933) - a panoramic picture of Norway in the 50 years preceding the World War. The hero of the novels, a tramp and adventurer, embodies the spirit of enterprise, he experiences ups and downs, motivates people to technical and social innovations, he deceives, is deceived and does good, and his enterprises most often turn into ruin and disaster. At the same time, August is driven not by acquisitiveness, but by an irrepressible thirst for activity and a desire to change his life: perhaps that is why, while instructively condemning him, the writer cannot help but treat him with sympathetic humor, although in the end he makes him fall victim to his own undertaking - August is carried away by his own exemplary flock of sheep into the abyss.
“The Anglo-Saxons derailed life”
The dramatic events of World War II for Norway did not leave Hamsun indifferent. He publicly welcomed the Nazi occupation of the country. Being dissatisfied with the regime of V. Quisling (cm. QUISLING Vidkun) During his visit to Hitler, Hamsun tried to influence the removal of the Norwegian Prime Minister, but the Fuhrer cut short the audience. However, Hamsun published an obituary for Hitler in the press on May 7, 1945, in which he paid tribute to him as a fighter for the “rights of all peoples.”
Several factors could have swayed Hamsun to the side of Nazism: his long-standing dislike for Great Britain and the USA, sympathy for German culture and Germany, where he was published a lot (as, indeed, in Russia), his fundamental orientation towards the irrational “natural” principle and well-known anti-intellectualism (let us remember how difficult it was for him to enter literature), and finally, the main thing - a persistent habit always and in everyone goes against the flow.
On May 26, 1945, Hamsun was arrested for collaborating with the Nazis and placed under house arrest, then transferred to a hospital and later to a nursing home, after which he was subjected to a psychiatric examination, which stated that he had “only a slight age-related weakening of mental abilities.” In December 1947, Hamsun was convicted and sentenced to a fine and seizure of property. He spent his last years on his Norholm estate, bought for him by the publishing house.
"Along Overgrown Paths"
In 1949, Hamsun, at the age of ninety, published his last book, which did not at all indicate a weakening of mental abilities. It describes his experiences from the moment of his arrest until his conviction was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1948 and reflects feelings of bitterness and resentment. The author believes that he deserves, if not the sympathy of his compatriots, then at least more respect. But he does not fall into pathos and does not expose, most often resolving questions with irony and self-irony. Hamsun still has an excellent command of style and, describing a completely deaf person, demonstrates, as always, an absolute ear for style. In his last book, the reader meets not a convicted politician, but a uniquely talented writer who was given to the world by Norway.

encyclopedic Dictionary . 2009 .

See what “Hamsun Knut” is in other dictionaries:

Hamsun, Knut- Knut Hamsun. HAMSUN (real name Pedersen) Knut (1859 1952), Norwegian writer. In the psychological novels “Hunger” (1890), “Mysteries” (1892), “Pan” (1894), “Victoria” (1898) he depicted the rebellion of the individual against the philistine environment,... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

HAMSUN Knut (1859 1952), Norse. writer. In the book. “In a fairyland” (“In eventyrland”, 1903), written after a trip to the Caucasus, G. speaks about L., classifying him as one of the “greatest giants of poetry, the great Russians known to the whole world... ... Lermontov Encyclopedia

Wikipedia has articles about other people named Knut. Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun ... Wikipedia

Hamsun (pseudonym; real surname Pedersen, Pedersen) Knut (4.8.1859, Lom, 19.2.1952, Norholm), Norwegian writer. The son of a village tailor, G. from the age of 14 led a wandering life, changing professions. Literary activity started in... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (Hamsun, Knut) (1859 1952), Norwegian writer. Knut Pedersen (real name) was born into the family of a village tailor on August 4, 1859 in the parish of Lom in Gudbrandsdalen. From the age of nine he worked in his uncle’s office, then years of wandering began (from... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

- (real name Pedersen; 1859–1952) – Norwegian. writer. Genus. in the family of a village tailor. As a child, he lived in the north of Norway (Norland), where his father was engaged in agriculture in the small estate of Hamsun (hence p.). Liter. activity began in 1877. In... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Pseudonyms

HAMSUN Whip- HAMSUN (real name Pedersen) Knut (1859-1952), Norwegian writer. Rum. “Hunger” (1890), “Mysteries” (1892), “Pan” (1894), “Victoria” (1898), “Under the Autumn Stars” (1906), “Benoni” (1908), “The Wanderer Plays Mutely” … … Literary encyclopedic dictionary

In the history of literature there are many great thinkers and artists whose works remain unrecognized. There are writers who simply are not read. The lot of others is to publish their books in hundreds of copies, but remain in oblivion. There are authors whose behavior or views are offensive to the reader, but he reads their works and returns to them again and again.

One of these, perhaps, can be attributed to Knut Hamsun, a Norwegian writer. One of the most controversial writers of the last century, he openly supported the Nazis and, at the same time, was considered one of the greatest novelists.

about the author

The real name of the writer is Knud Pedersen, he is the son of a tailor from Norway. Born in 1859 in the countryside, in Gudbrandsdalen. Three years later the family moved to Hamarøy to work on a relative's farm in Hamsund.

Hamsun did not attend school until he was nine years old. His uncle, in whose house they lived, was a domineering, and also “mean and hot-tempered” man, as Hamsun himself wrote; could insult and beat up for any reason. But he was also in charge of the local library, where Knut independently taught himself to read and write.

Despite their humble origins and lack of formal education, two clumsy stories from the pen of a young farmer writer were published in little-known publications. And Hamsun Knut asked the wealthy Norwegian merchant E. Zahl for financial support.

Life in America

Hamsun went to Copenhagen and struggled to survive. At the age of 18 he moved to America. In New York, he was shocked by the overhead railway, which went “through the air, over the houses,” but he lived future writer mainly in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Eight months in Chicago, where he worked on a cable car, then on a farm in Dakota. He admired the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence by Mark Twain, whose lectures he attended in New York.

Hamsun took on any job, went hungry, brought himself to nervous exhaustion, but was forced to return to his homeland. The few articles he managed to publish did not improve him financial situation. And he goes to America for the second time - he works as a tram conductor, works as a farm laborer, and gives lectures on literature. In 1877, the first book was published - “ Mysterious person" A year later - the ballad “Date” and the story “Bjerger”. In 1888 he returned to Europe and settled in Copenhagen. Soon, several chapters of the novel “Hunger” are published in one of the magazines.

Return to Norway

Hamsun is considered the most shocking figure in the literature of that time. The biography of Knut Hamsun contains many actions that shocked his contemporaries. For example, while traveling around the country giving lectures, he openly provoked Norwegian classics with his statements. Once he invited Ibsen to his lecture in Oslo and accused him in front of everyone that he did not write, but “scratched with trembling hands” and carried his “crude and false” psychological understanding to the masses. His most shocking outburst is considered to be the statement addressed to Ibsen: “It’s time for you to leave!”

Frankly speaking, his behavior shocked me before. When he lived in America, his roommate recalled that one night he returned home, Hamsun was already asleep, the lamp on the table was still burning, and on the table lay a cigar, a knife and a note: “Smoke a cigar and stick the knife in my heart. P.S. this note will be your justification in court.” And the angel of death was painted on the ceiling.

Knut Hamsun more than once set his landlord's curtains on fire and split ceramic tiles with his bare hands. When his father died, Hamsun refused to go to the funeral, and instead wrote an article arguing that the fourth commandment was “outdated” and parents should honor their children.

Personal life

Hamsun’s behavior differed from what was generally accepted in society; he did not try to hide his shortcomings. And some offenses that honest man I simply couldn’t afford it; they seemed small compared to what Hamsun could “throw away.” The story of his first marriage to Bergliot Bech in 1898 has been the subject of long discussion. Bergliot was married for many years and had a daughter. But Hamsun persuaded her to leave her husband.

They lived together for eight years, and then their acquaintances began to receive slanderous letters in which women were warned against any connection with Hamsun. He blamed his wife for this and said that he wanted nothing to do with her. But at the same time he took all her money and left her in Belgium. He did not hide this and admitted that he did not act like “the most decent person,” and later blamed God for everything: “He made me who I am and is responsible.”

Hamsun married the beautiful Mary Andersen for the second time in 1909. Mary left her acting career and remained with him until the end of her life. Be that as it may, the whole world admired Hamsun Knut’s books, and his complex character did not prevent him from creating great works.

Writer's worldview

Before getting acquainted with the works of Hamsun, we need to say a little about his worldview. This topic cannot be avoided because his attitude towards Hitler was criticized then and is condemned now. It would be wrong to say that the writer was recklessly devoted to the ideas of Nazism. There was always a certain natural cynicism in Hamsun’s character. He was sure that everyone was obliged to help him for his works, both financially and by patronizing his works. Which, in fact, is what representatives of both Norwegian and world culture did, realizing how important Hamsun was for them.

In his articles and lectures, Hamsun Knut repeatedly warned readers and listeners against pacifism, arguing that war is not something unnatural. War for needs is part of life. He gave an example of peasants who kill animals out of necessity, and only a city dweller who has not lived in the village can call this cruelty. Hamsun was sure that the world would be cleansed of all this husk that came from the West. He recklessly slandered America and England, and believed that a new time would come to this musty world, thanks to young Germany.

Hamsun was sincere in his statements and believed that Norway would flourish only under German leadership. He considered the occupation a misunderstanding, but was an unwavering supporter of the Third Reich. He gave his Nobel medal, which he received for the novel “Fruits of the Earth,” to Joseph Goebbels in 1943. Hamsun met with Hitler, and when the Fuhrer committed suicide, he wrote an obituary where he called the Nazi leader “a fighter for the rights of peoples.”

Trial

After the war, at the trial, Hamsun Knut said that he knew nothing about the crimes of fascism, but was only a recluse in the study of his house. In fact, he hasn't written a line since 1938. Norwegian ministers demanded that war criminals be tried to the fullest extent of the law. But Molotov (the Hamsun case was decided in Moscow) said that the life of the author of “Pan” and “Victoria”, the creator of the best works, Knut Hamsun, must be saved, and he should not be judged like the others.

At the trial, Hamsun told how passionately he loved Norway and did everything for its good. He said that he had heard nothing about the war and did not deserve to be punished. And at the same time, he did not make any apologies and did not renounce his views. The court found him guilty of collaborating with the Nazis and sentenced him to a heavy fine of 425,000 Norwegian crowns. Hamsun lost his fortune, but remained free.

last years of life

He described the trial in his last book, “On Overgrown Paths,” which he began working on in a psychiatric hospital and continued in a nursing home. It was difficult to find a publisher who would decide to publish it. Hamsun's name on the cover would not bring anything good. Many were sure that his support for the Nazis was an insult to the entire people.

Someone claimed that his behavior in war time one cannot judge so harshly, because this is the behavior of an old man and a madman, a person deaf to reality. Hamsun put all his fortune left after the trial on the line and won. The book was published during the writer’s lifetime in 1950, big success, and it became clear to everyone that there could be no talk of any dementia of the writer.

The personality of this person does not fit into the usual framework. Surprisingly, people dying of hunger, who were in an even worse situation than the hero of the book “Hunger,” did not stop reading it. Hamsun's books were published in the USSR and in many other countries. Of course, there are directors who refuse his plays, readers who do not buy Hamsun’s books.

Someone is trying to divide his personality into a writer and a politician. Reconcile the villain with the artist. But those who are not indifferent to the history of the European novel and the history of literature agree that Hamsun is a writer without whom it is difficult to imagine modernism in literature. Knut Hamsun invented a new type of writing - the “psychological” novel. Interest in his work does not dry up even after the death of the writer. Hamsun died in February 1952.

Film adaptations by Knut Hamsun

• The first films based on Hamsun’s books were made in Russia by actors from the Moscow Art Theater. They looked closely at a completely new art for a long time and in 1916, led by B. Sushkevich, began creating the film “Slaves of Love”; in 1917, the film “Victoria” was shot under the direction of O. Preobrazhenskaya. These productions did not have much influence on Russian cinema. The films were silent, and none of them survive.
• In 1921, a film based on the novel “The Juices of the Earth” was released in Norway; it became not only the first based on Hamsun’s works, but also one of the first silent films in Norway. The film was directed by Dane G. Sommerfeldt. The premiere took place during the Christmas holidays and became an important event in Norwegian culture. This film was long considered partially lost, but in honor of the writer’s 150th anniversary in 2009, it was restored.
• A new film adaptation of Hamsun’s novel “Pan” was released in Norway in 1922. The epilogue of the film was filmed in Algeria, which further fueled the public's interest. In the same year, the film “The Last Joy” was released in Czechoslovakia.
• In 1923, the film “Strong of Will” based on the novel “Telegraph Operator” (“The Dreamer”) was shot in Sweden. A professional director worked on the creation of the film, and the premiere was a huge success.
• The first sound film, Victoria, was released in Germany in 1935, directed by the famous cameraman K. Hoffman.
• In 1937, in Germany, director O. Fjord made a film based on the novel “Pan”.
• The next film, “The Last Chapter,” based on Hamsun’s novel, was released only in 1961 in Germany. The film was directed by V. Leibner. Filming took place in the writer’s homeland.
• In 1962, in Sweden, under the direction of director B. Henning, the film “ Short summer"Based on the novel "Pan".
• In 1966, the film “Hunger” was released, directed by H. Carlsen, in leading role with P. Oscarsson, for which he received a prize in the same year at the Cannes Film Festival, and the film received the Palme d'Or.
• The next film adaptation is “ glacial period" - published in 1973 in Germany. The film was based on T. Dorst's play "Toller", which was based on the last book - "On Overgrown Paths".
• In 1989, a film adaptation of “The Tramp” directed by O. Solum was released.
• In 1989, the film “Victoria” by the Latvian director O. Dunkers was released.
• In 1994, “Telegraph Operator” by E. Gustavson, based on the script by L. Christensen.
• In 1995, H. Carlsen's film “Pan” was shot.
• In 1999, three short films based on Hamsun's stories were shot.
• And in 2007, the cartoon “The Fly” by S. Elvestad appeared, based on the writer’s story “An Ordinary Fly.”

Hamsun's creativity

The writer easily plays with the reader, causing a storm of a wide variety of emotions and thoughts, influencing his feelings and consciousness. At the same time, he writes quite simply, does not try to embellish the language, and sometimes deliberately adds “uncouth”, rude phrases. This is, in fact, what he reproached those writers who cared about the pretentiousness of their writings. He criticized them for their passion for stylistic refinements and for the lack of personal portraits.

Early works

Hamsun's work can be conveniently divided into periods. Works related to early creativity, - “Bjerger”, “Date”, “Mysterious Man”, written by him back in adolescence, attract attention rather from the point of view of the evolution of the writer. Here the theme of wanderings, love of nature, peasant life.

Creativity rich in love stories, human relationships and psychologism includes the works “Victoria”, “Pan”, “Mysteries”, “Hunger”. They brought the author world fame and were literally “disassembled” into quotes.

Knut Hamsun will no longer touch upon the topics raised in these novels; they will never attract him. Critics will say that this was influenced by his beliefs and the personality changes that happened to him: he disliked city ​​life, the technocratic processes taking place at that time, and more and more clearly felt hostility towards English civilization.

• The Mysteries, published in 1892, marked new round in his work. The plot underlying the work was marked by originality and novelty. If the Norwegian classics Ibsen and Bjornson sought to clearly reveal the essence of a person’s character, then in Hamsun’s “Mystery” one feels some kind of understatement and reticence.
• In the work “Pan” (1894), it is clearly noticeable in which direction the writer will move in the future. In this novel, Hamsun approached man as an integral part of nature. Lieutenant Glan, the main character, lives in the forest and feels freedom and happiness only alone in the northern summer, listening to the breath of nature. He feels uncomfortable and awkward in the civilized world.
• “Victoria” (1898) is one of the significant works of world literature devoted to the theme of love. The simple and dramatic plot of the work tells about two people, about their deep and unfulfilled love, divided by false morality, property interests and class barriers.
• The novel "Hunger" is largely autobiographical. It tells the story of the life of a young intellectual who is trying to make a living by publishing his articles. Hamsun so vividly conveyed the complex moods of his hero, his despair, anger and state of euphoria that the reader involuntarily suffers with him from malnutrition, worries, hopes and rushes about in search.

IN last novel there are similarities with the works of Dostoevsky. The author himself spoke a lot about Russian literature.

Late novels

After many years of work on himself, a desperate struggle against hunger and poverty, a self-taught man who studied at school less than a year, Hamsun becomes a professional writer. His later works amaze the author with his broad outlook and testify to his excellent knowledge of history, philosophy, culture, religion, etc.

• In the works “Under the Autumn Star” (1906) and “The Wanderer Playing Mutely” (1909), something new appeared: the writer himself became the hero of his novels. He speaks in the first person, wanders around Norway: he goes into the forests, then returns to society, where a variety of human relationships awaits him.
• In 1908, in the novels “Rose” and “Benoni”, Hamsun returned to the heroes of the work “Pan”, as if unable to part with his youth.
• “Children of the Century” and the sequel to the novel “The Small Town of Segelfoss” (1915) reveal the peculiarity of human relations. Hamsun always seemed important topic closedness, inability loving friend friend of people to break through the wall of misunderstanding.
• The novel "The Juices of the Earth", for which the writer was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1920, is an anthem peasant labor. The hero of the work, Isaac, turns a wild forest region into fertile land.
• “The Woman at the Well,” a work published in 1920, is imbued with bitterness and sadness. Oliver Andersen, the hero of the novel, is a reflection of city life. Formerly a spirited sailor, he returns home crippled. So he goes through life, crippled not only physically, but also spiritually.
• The novel “The Last Chapter” (1923) reflected Hamsun’s skeptical attitude towards Western civilization. The action of the work takes place in a sanatorium, a reduced semblance of society. The building cracked, like the whole world, over which the hurricane of revolution and war swept through. The novel ends with an apocalyptic picture: a fire in a sanatorium claims the lives of all its inhabitants.
• Time does not stand still, and everything changes: human psychology and relationships, cities, villages. Everything becomes different. The author tries to capture what changes history, and appears before the reader in the guise of the enterprising Augustus, the main character of the “Wanderers” trilogy (1927-1933).
• “Vicious Circle” (1936) is the book that ended the writer’s creative activity. The main character suffers not from hunger and poverty, but from a prosperous life. He cannot live in luxury, spends money senselessly, lives in debt, he does not like settled life, his element is wandering and vagrancy.
• Hamsun's last book, On Overgrown Paths, was published in 1949. He wrote it at the age of 90, but it was, according to critics, “still alive and bright.”

For a long time The writer's talent remained unrecognized in his homeland - Norway. The Knut Hamsun Museum, the first in the world, opened only in 2009 in the town of Hamaroy, on the 150th anniversary of his birth. Despite the controversial elements of this author's biography, his works are worth reading. It is enough to read at least one of them to answer the question that has worried many for several decades - “Who is Hamsun?”

Biography

Hamsun wrote about his work as follows: "How modern psychologist, I must illuminate and search the soul. I must explore it far and wide, from all points of view, to penetrate into the most secret depths.".

After the war, Hamsun lived for some time in a nursing home, and in 1950 he returned to Nørholm.

Film incarnations

• Max von Sydow ("Hamsun (film) ( English)", Denmark-Sweden-Norway-Germany, ).

Bibliography

• Knut Hamsun. Complete collection works in five volumes .. - “Edition of A. F. Marx”, 1910.
• Knut Hamsun. Juices of the earth.. - “Red Nov”, 1923.
• Knut Hamsun. Selected works in two volumes.. - Moscow.: “Fiction”, 1970.
• Knut Hamsun. Favorites.. - Leningrad: “Lenizdat”, 1991. - 608 p. - ISBN 5-289-00946-9.
• Knut Hamsun. Collected works in six volumes.. - Moscow.: “Fiction”, 1991-2000..
• Knut Hamsun. On overgrown paths.. - “Start”, 1993. - ISBN 5-85215-023-1.
• Knut Hamsun. Wanderers.. - “AST, Astrel”, 2011.

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Notes

Literature

• Erkhov, B. Fiordy: Scandinavian novel XIX- beginning of the 20th century : [Translations / Afterword: B. Erkhov]. - M.: Moscow worker, 1988. - 528 p. : color ill. - (Single-volume books classical literature: OKL) Contents: Nils Lyne / J. P. Jacobsen; Tine/G.Bang; Pan; Death of Glan; Victoria / K. Hamsun; Dr. Glass / J. Söderberg.
• Hamsun, T. After an Eternity. - M.: B.S.G.-Press, 2006.
• Budur N. Hamsun. - M.: Young Guard, 2008.

Links

• Vengerova Z. A.// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

Excerpt characterizing Hamsun, Knut

Pierre could not fall asleep for a long time that day; He walked back and forth around the room, now frowning, pondering something difficult, suddenly shrugging his shoulders and shuddering, now smiling happily.
He thought about Prince Andrei, about Natasha, about their love, and was either jealous of her past, then reproached her, then forgave himself for it. It was already six o'clock in the morning, and he was still walking around the room.
“Well, what can we do? If you can’t do without it! What to do! So, this is how it should be,” he said to himself and, hastily undressed, went to bed, happy and excited, but without doubts and indecisions.
“We must, strange as it may be, no matter how impossible this happiness is, we must do everything in order to be husband and wife with her,” he said to himself.
Pierre, a few days before, had set Friday as the day of his departure for St. Petersburg. When he woke up on Thursday, Savelich came to him for orders about packing his things for the road.
“How about St. Petersburg? What is St. Petersburg? Who's in St. Petersburg? – he asked involuntarily, although to himself. “Yes, something like that a long, long time ago, even before this happened, I was planning to go to St. Petersburg for some reason,” he remembered. - From what? I'll go, maybe. How kind and attentive he is, how he remembers everything! - he thought, looking at Savelich’s old face. “And what a pleasant smile!” - he thought.
- Well, don’t you want to go free, Savelich? asked Pierre.
- Why do I need freedom, Your Excellency? We lived under the late count, the kingdom of heaven, and we see no resentment under you.
- Well, what about the children?
“And the children will live, your Excellency: you can live with such gentlemen.”
- Well, what about my heirs? - said Pierre. “What if I get married... It could happen,” he added with an involuntary smile.
“And I dare to report: a good deed, your Excellency.”
“How easy he thinks it is,” thought Pierre. “He doesn’t know how scary it is, how dangerous it is.” Too early or too late... Scary!
- How would you like to order? Would you like to go tomorrow? – Savelich asked.
- No; I'll put it off a little. I'll tell you then. “Excuse me for the trouble,” said Pierre and, looking at Savelich’s smile, he thought: “How strange, however, that he does not know that now there is no Petersburg and that first of all it is necessary for this to be decided. However, he probably knows, but he’s only pretending. Talk to him? What does he think? - thought Pierre. “No, someday later.”
At breakfast, Pierre told the princess that he had been to Princess Marya yesterday and found there - can you imagine who? - Natalie Rostov.
The princess pretended that she did not see anything more extraordinary in this news than in the fact that Pierre had seen Anna Semyonovna.
- Do you know her? asked Pierre.
“I saw the princess,” she answered. “I heard that they were marrying her to young Rostov.” This would be very good for the Rostovs; They say they are completely ruined.
- No, do you know Rostov?
“I only heard about this story then.” Very sorry.
“No, she doesn’t understand or is pretending,” thought Pierre. “It’s better not to tell her either.”
The princess also prepared provisions for Pierre's journey.
“How kind they all are,” thought Pierre, “that now, when they probably couldn’t be more interested in this, they are doing all this. And everything for me; That’s what’s amazing.”
On the same day, the police chief came to Pierre with a proposal to send a trustee to the Faceted Chamber to receive the things that were now being distributed to the owners.
“This one too,” thought Pierre, looking into the police chief’s face, “what a nice, handsome officer and how kind!” Now he deals with such trifles. They also say that he is not honest and takes advantage of him. What nonsense! But why shouldn’t he use it? That's how he was raised. And everyone does it. And such a pleasant, kind face, and smiles, looking at me.”
Pierre went to dinner with Princess Marya.
Driving through the streets between the burned-out houses, he was amazed at the beauty of these ruins. The chimneys of houses and fallen walls, picturesquely reminiscent of the Rhine and the Colosseum, stretched, hiding each other, along the burnt blocks. The cab drivers and riders we met, the carpenters who cut the log houses, the traders and shopkeepers, all with cheerful, beaming faces, looked at Pierre and said as if: “Ah, here he is! Let's see what comes out of this."
Upon entering the house of Princess Marya, Pierre was filled with doubt as to the justice of the fact that he was here yesterday, saw Natasha and spoke with her. “Maybe I made it up. Maybe I’ll walk in and not see anyone.” But before he had time to enter the room, in his entire being, after the instant deprivation of his freedom, he felt her presence. She was wearing the same black dress with soft folds and the same hairstyle as yesterday, but she was completely different. If she had been like this yesterday when he entered the room, he could not have failed to recognize her for a moment.
She was the same as he had known her almost as a child and then as the bride of Prince Andrei. A cheerful, questioning gleam shone in her eyes; there was a gentle and strangely playful expression on her face.
Pierre had dinner and would have sat there all evening; but Princess Marya was going to the all-night vigil, and Pierre left with them.
The next day Pierre arrived early, had dinner and sat there all evening. Despite the fact that Princess Marya and Natasha were obviously pleased with the guest; despite the fact that the whole interest of Pierre’s life was now concentrated in this house, by the evening they had talked everything over, and the conversation constantly moved from one insignificant subject to another and was often interrupted. Pierre stayed up so late that evening that Princess Marya and Natasha looked at each other, obviously waiting to see if he would leave soon. Pierre saw this and could not leave. He felt heavy and awkward, but he kept sitting because he couldn’t get up and leave.
Princess Marya, not foreseeing an end to this, was the first to get up and, complaining of a migraine, began to say goodbye.
– So you’re going to St. Petersburg tomorrow? – said oka.
“No, I’m not going,” Pierre said hastily, with surprise and as if offended. - No, to St. Petersburg? Tomorrow; I just don't say goodbye. “I’ll come for the commissions,” he said, standing in front of Princess Marya, blushing and not leaving.
Natasha gave him her hand and left. Princess Marya, on the contrary, instead of leaving, sank into a chair and looked sternly and carefully at Pierre with her radiant, deep gaze. The fatigue she had obviously shown before was now completely gone. She took a deep, long breath, as if preparing for a long conversation.
All of Pierre's embarrassment and awkwardness, when Natasha was removed, instantly disappeared and was replaced by excited animation. He quickly moved the chair very close to Princess Marya.
“Yes, that’s what I wanted to tell you,” he said, answering her glance as if in words. - Princess, help me. What should I do? Can I hope? Princess, my friend, listen to me. I know everything. I know I'm not worthy of her; I know it's impossible to talk about it now. But I want to be her brother. No, I don't want to... I can't...
He stopped and rubbed his face and eyes with his hands.
“Well, here,” he continued, apparently making an effort on himself to speak coherently. “I don’t know since when I love her.” But I have loved only her, only one, all my life and love her so much that I cannot imagine life without her. Now I don’t dare ask her hand; but the thought that maybe she could be mine and that I would miss this opportunity... opportunity... is terrible. Tell me, can I have hope? Tell me what should I do? “Dear princess,” he said, after being silent for a while and touching her hand, since she did not answer.
“I’m thinking about what you told me,” answered Princess Marya. - I'll tell you what. You’re right, what should I tell her about love now... - The princess stopped. She wanted to say: it is now impossible to talk to her about love; but she stopped because for the third day she saw from Natasha’s sudden change that not only would Natasha not be offended if Pierre expressed his love to her, but that this was all she wanted.
“It’s impossible to tell her now...,” Princess Marya still said.
- But what should I do?
“Entrust this to me,” said Princess Marya. - I know…
Pierre looked into Princess Marya's eyes.
“Well, well...” he said.
“I know that she loves... will love you,” Princess Marya corrected herself.
Before she had time to say these words, Pierre jumped up and, with a frightened face, grabbed Princess Marya by the hand.
- Why do you think so? Do you think I can hope? You think?!
“Yes, I think so,” said Princess Marya, smiling. - Write to your parents. And instruct me. I'll tell her when it's possible. I wish this. And my heart feels that this will happen.
- No, this cannot be! How happy I am! But this cannot be... How happy I am! No, it can not be! - Pierre said, kissing the hands of Princess Marya.
– You go to St. Petersburg; it is better. “And I’ll write to you,” she said.
- To St. Petersburg? Drive? Okay, yes, let's go. But can I come to you tomorrow?
The next day Pierre came to say goodbye. Natasha was less animated than in previous days; but on this day, sometimes looking into her eyes, Pierre felt that he was disappearing, that neither he nor she was any more, but there was only a feeling of happiness. “Really? No, it can’t be,” he said to himself with every look, gesture, and word that filled his soul with joy.
When, saying goodbye to her, he took her thin, thin hand, he involuntarily held it in his a little longer.
“Is this hand, this face, these eyes, all this alien treasure of feminine charm, will it all be forever mine, familiar, the same as I am for myself? No, It is Immpossible!.."
“Goodbye, Count,” she said to him loudly. “I’ll be waiting for you,” she added in a whisper.
And these simple words, the look and facial expression that accompanied them, for two months formed the subject of Pierre's inexhaustible memories, explanations and happy dreams. “I will be waiting for you very much... Yes, yes, as she said? Yes, I will be waiting for you very much. Oh, how happy I am! What is this, how happy I am!” - Pierre said to himself.

Hamsun Knut is a famous Norwegian impressionist writer, playwright, poet, essayist and literary critic. In 1920 he won the Nobel Prize for his book “The Juices of the Earth”.

Childhood

Hamsun Knut was born in Lom (a region of Central Norway). His parents (Peder Pedersen and Thora Oldsdatter) settled on a small farm in Garmutret. Hamsun had two younger sisters and three older brothers.

When the boy was 3 years old, the whole family moved to Hamaroy. There they rented a farm from Hans Olsen (Hamsun's maternal uncle). The next six years of the future writer’s life passed in an idyllic atmosphere: he grazed cows and constantly admired the beauty of the snow-capped mountains and Norwegian fiords.

The farm's lease ended in debt bondage for the family, and 9-year-old Knut began working for his uncle. He was a pious man, did not let him eat and often beat him. In 1873, tired of the bullying, the boy ran away to a neighboring town, but a year later he returned and got a job in a local store.

First work

In 1875, the young man became a traveling merchant. When he got tired of this occupation, Hamsun Knut stopped in the city of Buda and got a job as an assistant shoemaker. It was then that he wrote his first story, “The Mysterious Man.” It was published in 1877, when the young man turned 18 years old.

A year later, Hamsun teaches at school, and then decides to become an assistant sheriff. In his library he gets acquainted with the works of such Scandinavian writers as Bjornstern Bjornson, etc. In 1878, Knut published the novel Berger, in which the main character writes poetry about his difficult life. However, this does not bring him fame and, having borrowed money from a Nurlan merchant, he leaves for Oslo. In subsequent years, the young man wastes all his funds, since he cannot earn money by writing. As a result, Hamsun Knut becomes a road worker.

Moving to the USA and illness

First success

Disillusioned with life and literary endeavors, the author returns to Europe (Copenhagen) and shows one of the works he has begun to Edward Brandes, the editor of a daily newspaper. Both the haggard writer and the excerpt from the story impressed Edward strong impression. In 1890, a book was published in Copenhagen with the inscription “Knut Hamsun “Hunger”” on the cover. This story created a sensation and gave the author a reputation as a serious writer.

The story "Hunger"

In this work, Knuth abandoned not only the tradition of accusatory realism characteristic of Scandinavian prose, but also the dominant idea at that time that literature should improve the human condition. Essentially, the essay has no plot and talks about young man, who lives in Oslo and dreams of becoming a writer. Well, it’s clear that the story is autobiographical and the prototype of the main character is Knut Hamsun. "Hunger" received rave reviews from critics. For example, Alrik Gustafson wrote: “It’s like Dostoevsky’s hero, who is sick in body and soul, experiences pangs of hunger and makes his inner life a complete hallucination.”

The main character of the work suffers not only from lack of food, but also from a lack of social contacts, the inability to express himself and sexual dissatisfaction. Confident in his genius, he prefers to beg than to give up his dreams and ambitions. Many critics wrote that, with his aloofness, this hero anticipated the antihero of 20th century literature. By the way, the story is still very popular. This is evidenced by the high search volume when people search for Hunger (the book). Knut Hamsun is also known in the 21st century.

Development of your own concept

It is equally important that in his first successful work the writer developed a specific style. “Hunger” was written in short and succinct phrases. And clear and precise descriptions deliberately alternated with meaningful and subjective ones. The creation of "Hunger" coincided with a time when Strindberg, Nietzsche, Hartmann and Schopenhauer called for attention to the subconscious forces that control the human personality.

Knut Hamsun, whose collected works can be bought in almost any bookstore, formulated his own subjective concept of prose in an essay entitled “From the Subconscious Life of the Soul.” This work appeared in the same year as “Hunger”. In it, the author abandoned the peculiarities of objective prose and proposed studying “the movements of the soul in the remote corners of the subconscious and analyzing the chaos of impressions.”

Second and third novels

The second successful work that Knut Hamsun wrote is “Mysteries”. The novel tells the story of a charlatan who appears in a seaside village and surprises the inhabitants. strange behavior. Just like in Hunger, the writer again used a subjective method, and it worked great, ensuring the book's popularity.

"Pan", published in 1894, became the author's third successful novel. Knut Hamsun, whose biography was eventful, wrote it in the form of memoirs of a certain Thomas Glahn. Civilized existence is alien to the main character, and he lives outside the city in Nurlan, engaged in fishing and hunting. By analogy with Rousseau, the author wanted to show the cult of nature and the hypersensitivity of the soul. Knut expressed the euphoria of the main character with the help of sublime descriptions of nature and tried to identify his personality with the Nurlan village. Thomas's fiery passion for Edward, the willful, spoiled daughter of a merchant, creates real emotional chaos in his soul and ultimately leads to suicide.

Fourth novel

The fourth monumental work written by Knut Hamsun is “The Juices of the Earth” (published in 1917). The novel reflected the atmosphere of 1911, when the writer moved to live on a farm and found himself alienated from society. Author with great love tells about the life of two Norwegian peasants Inger and Isak, who, despite all the problems, were able to remain faithful to patriarchal traditions and devotion to their land. In 1920 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for this work.

Many believe that there is another novel written by Knut Hamsun - “Fruits of the Earth”. Actually they are wrong. This is simply another translation of the original Norwegian title for "The Juices of the Earth".

Support for Nazism

With age, Knut becomes more and more reactionary. Since 1934 he has openly supported the Nazis. Hamsun did not join the fascist party, but went to Germany to meet with Hitler. When the Germans occupied Norway, many pro-fascist articles were published, signed “Hamsun Knut”. The writer's books were returned to him by thousands of readers as a sign of protest.

Arrest and trial

At the end of the war, he was arrested along with his wife. In the fall of 1945, Hamsun was placed in a psychiatric clinic. After four months of treatment, he was transferred to a nursing home in Landvik. Two years later, the writer was tried and found guilty of aiding the enemy. He was also ordered to pay 425,000. Knut managed to avoid a prison sentence due to “intellectual degradation.”

Last piece

Essays “On Overgrown Paths” became last work writer. The tragedy of the book accumulated over several decades. Knut Hamsun (quotes from his works can be read below) dreamed of restoring the former greatness of the Scandinavians. Hitler's speeches about the rise (in particular of Norway) strongly “hooked” the writer. That is why Hamsun became imbued with the ideology of fascism and only years later realized that he was wrong. In the book “On Overgrown Paths” Knut talks about his tragic mistakes, but does not ask the people for forgiveness for them. The writer never admitted that he was wrong.

Death

Knut Hamsun, whose biography was presented in this article, died at his Nornholm estate. Post-war publications of the playwright began to appear in Norway only in 1962: he was forgiven as a writer, but could not be forgiven as a public figure. In conclusion, we present the author’s most famous quotes from his works.

Quotes

“Don't be angry at life. There is no need to be cruel, strict and fair to life. Be merciful and take her under your protection. You can’t even imagine what kind of players she has to deal with.”

“To compose means to pass judgment on oneself.”

“I’m a stranger to everyone, so I often talk to myself.”

“The greatest is the one who gives meaning to human existence and leaves behind a legacy.”

“More often than not, good things pass without a trace, but bad things have consequences.”

“From the bench I see the stars, and my thoughts are carried upward in a whirlwind of light.”

“Life is a daily battle with the demons in your brain and heart.”

Even the dates of birth and death are surprising Hamsuna(1859-1952): he began writing career when they were still alive Dostoevsky And Tolstoy, Ibsen And Bjornson, crossed the turn of the 20th century, firmly believed in the Third Reich and survived its fall, went hungry, swam in money, received the Nobel Prize, was forgotten by everyone and did not live only 5 years before the launch of the first Earth satellite. AiF.ru recalls the life story of the great Norwegian writer.

Brilliant upstart

Knut Hamsun was born into a poor peasant family. Very early, the boy had to work, helping his mother, and therefore he could not finish school. The entire education he received during his life consisted of 252 school days(about the same class).

Life experience that gave him material for the whole later life and formed a writer's personality, he received during his hungry wanderings in America and Norway, where he was engaged in manual labor. Along with Gorky, Hamsun becomes one of the first writers of a new formation who “rose from the bottom” of society. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, such a biography for an artist was ideal. Late success (Hamsun was already about thirty) came to him after the publication of the novel “Hunger,” which immediately made him one of the main writers of his time. The success of the book was largely due to the theme: in the novel, Hamsun described his miserable life in the capital of Norway, the mental state of a person who is on the verge of starvation.

Hamsun was one of the most shocking figures in literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For a long time he traveled around Norway giving lectures in which he explained how different modern literature from outdated literature. He preached deep penetration into the soul of heroes, psychologism and extreme realism. “It’s time for you to leave!” - he said straight to his face Norwegian classics Ibsen and Bjornson, who were sitting in the front rows. Surprisingly, no one broke his head for this (although some critics called for it). No matter how difficult Hamsun’s relationships with his senior comrades in the writing workshop were, he always believed that they were obliged to help him, both financially and by patronizing his works. And they did this knowing how important Hamsun was to Norwegian and world culture.

In 1920, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature with the following wording from the committee: “For his monumental work, The Fruits of the Earth, about the life of Norwegian peasants who retained their age-old attachment to the land and loyalty to patriarchal traditions.” During his life, he wrote more than 30 novels, countless stories, articles, essays, and during all this time - not a single failure, not a single passing book.

Peasant fascism

Hamsunov's heroes are passionate, but this passion also has a dark side. There is a certain naive, natural cynicism in their characters. In his publications, he repeatedly warned readers against pacifism, believing that war is not something unnatural. According to Hamsun, war for the sake of vital needs is part of life itself. This position reflects the peasant roots that he loved to boast about. Killing livestock is a necessity for the peasant. Only a city dweller who has never lived in a village can call such relationships with living beings cruel. Hamsun rejected progress, believing that new world will be cleared of all the alluvial husks that it brought into it western civilization. He believed that salvation could only be brought by the cruel truth, but not by a comfortable lie.

Photo: Wikipedia

Hamsun recklessly reviled England, America and the entire Old World, believing that a new time should soon come, and young Germany would bring it to this musty world. Hamsun’s desire for the “new” at the beginning of the 20th century can be understood. The era of humanism passed away with the 19th century, and writers such as Tolstoy, Chekhov and Dostoevsky were definitely lucky not to live to see the revolution and world wars. In order to feel the ground under one’s feet, a new philosophy was required, capable of justifying everything that was happening in the world in the first half of the 20th century, and Nietzsche’s idea of ​​the superman came up perfectly. It turned out that this idea can be applied to any totalitarian regimes, even if they are essentially opposite. Thus, Gorky believed that a new person was being created in the USSR, and Hamsun, in turn, believed that new people were being created by Hitler and Goebbels.

However, it would be too simple to look for the roots of Hamsun’s attachment to Germany in Nietzscheanism, because Hamsun’s Nietzschean ideas were as far from the ideas of National Socialism as the ideas of National Socialism were far from the Jewish views on the role of their people in history. To say with complete confidence why Hamsun chose Germany would be the height of arrogance. The more answers you give related to the relationship between Hamsun and Germany, the more questions arise.

Hamsun was sincere in his convictions and seriously believed in the bright future of Norway under the leadership of Germany, and considered the bloody occupation led by Quinsling to be a misunderstanding. It was this topic that was the main one at Hamsun’s only meeting with Hitler, and it was the writer’s insistence on this issue that aroused the Fuhrer’s ire. It is quite difficult to understand whether his faith in the Reich was shaken after this. However, it is worth noting one more, seemingly insignificant, but important fact in his biography. At first he drew inspiration from the ideas of fascism, but from 1938 until the end of the war he could not write a single line of prose.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Many associated his attitude to Hitler with the “harmfulness” of the writer: he always went against society. When at the end of the war it became known that Hitler had committed suicide, Hamsun wrote an obituary for him, in which he called the Fuhrer a “fighter for the rights of peoples,” although all his close people begged him not to do this: it was clear that the Queensling regime in Norway would fall in a few days. Later, he explained the motives for his action to his son: “... out of pure chivalry, son, out of pure chivalry.”

You are so gentle, Mr. Molotov!

At the trial after the war, Hamsun lied, saying that he knew nothing about the crimes of the Nazis, but was a recluse in his office on the second floor of his house. He did not renounce his convictions and pleaded not guilty, despite the fact that he was shown footage from the German “death camps.” He wanted this trial, unlike the authorities, who tried to slow down the case and staged a psychiatric examination, which resulted in a diagnosis of “senile dementia.”

Ironically, the outcome of the Hamsun case was decided in Moscow. The day before the verdict was announced, a new coalition government Norway, and everyone in that government knew what was said in Moscow in November 1944. Then the Norwegian ministers in exile, Trygve Lie and Terje Wold, met with Molotov, which demanded that all war criminals who supported the fascist regime be tried to the fullest extent of the law. But when the conversation turned to Knut Hamsun, the stern Molotov’s face changed. Lee later recalled this meeting: “When Wold informed Molotov that Hamsun in Norway was being considered as a Nazi and was going to be tried, Molotov paused for a long time. He was clearly excited. He stated that Hamsun’s life must be saved. The writer who created Victoria and Pan is a great artist and should not be judged like ordinary Nazis. great artist must live out his life in peace,” Molotov added. Here the Minister of Justice intervened in the conversation and made his famous phrase: « You are too soft, mr. Molotov!

Hamsun's speech, which he delivered at the trial, was intended, first of all, to completely confuse everyone who was not indifferent to his work. This speech was his last and brilliantly played role. Hamsun in Once again slipped out of the fisherman’s hands like a slippery fish and disappeared into the muddy current. He talked for a long time about the fact that he loved Norway, that all his actions were aimed only at its benefit, admitted that he had not heard anything about the war, and assumed that he did not deserve punishment. On the other hand, he did not renounce his views and did not apologize to his compatriots who suffered from fascism.

One of the Norwegian newspapers responded this way about the writer’s speech: “This is the impression Hamsun’s trial leaves: an old and blind giant makes his way through the forest, walking along him alone known path, while his heavy tread is hampered by small bushes tangling under his feet. Perhaps this is how he made his way during the war, when he inflicted this incredible damage on us? My answer is a resounding yes. His own impressive defense seems to argue against him, but I believe it confirms my opinion. All his phrases, his pauses have the same dramatic power as his newspaper articles and maxims, which the Nazis so cleverly used in their propaganda. What, strictly speaking, is my conclusion from all this: Hamsun, this blind giant, also made his way through the forest during the war, and we cannot consider him incompetent and morally condemn him. For Hamsun himself, the current situation is a tragedy, but for the history of literature it is a drama that ended much better than we expected.” The court found Hamsun guilty of aiding the enemy, but the punishment turned out to be surprisingly mild: the writer was obliged to pay a fine of 425 thousand Norwegian kroner (about 80 thousand dollars at the then exchange rate). Thus, he remained free, but at the same time lost his fortune.

On overgrown paths

IN last years conscious life, all Hamsun’s efforts were aimed at publishing his last book, which he began writing in a psychiatric hospital and finished in a nursing home, where he was sent after discharge. Everyone who visited him said that Hamsun, sitting in a poor room filled with bedbugs and the smell of old age, was happy. He could write again. He used every opportunity available to him to publish this book before his death, although the publisher insisted that this should happen only after the writer had passed on to the next world: Hamsun’s name on the cover did not bode well for the image of the publishing house. Having put all his remaining property and influence on the line, Hamsun won this last battle in his life. The book “On Overgrown Paths” was published during his lifetime and was a success. After its publication, it became clear to everyone that there was no talk of any dementia in relation to Hamsun.

Hamsun’s personality does not fit into the usual framework, and especially complicated attitude to him in Russia, a country that defeated fascism. In the “Siege Book,” among the diaries of people dying of hunger, there are notes from the director of the archive of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Georgy Alekseevich Knyazev. In November 1941, he writes: “... terrible news flashed in the newspapers. Knut Hamsun, a wonderful Norwegian writer, came to the conclusion that it was impossible for Norway to be an independent country and leaned towards the Queensling side, that is, towards full cooperation with the National Socialists.”

That's it, not a shadow of hatred. Only the “terrible news” that the “wonderful writer” had joined the fascists. People who were in an even more terrible situation than the hero of the book “Hunger” did not curse the writer. Hamsun continued to publish in the Soviet Union after the war. It is interesting that in Norway the attitude towards Hamsun remains cooler than in Russia.

Until now, many directors refuse to stage his plays, and readers refuse to buy his books. Others try to divide Hamsun’s personality into a creator and a politician, but this does not always work. But interest in the “writer from the far north,” as he liked to call himself, has not waned for more than half a century after his death.