Hamsun is considered one of the most controversial authors of the 20th century. Stepping from one era to another, he experienced glory, the collapse of ideals and oblivion. But in every period of his creative life, Knut Hamsun was sure of his own righteousness. Hamsun's career began during the life of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Subsequently, he came to believe in the Third Reich. And he passed away only a few years before the launch of the first spacecraft.
From the biography of Knut Hamsun
The future writer was born on August 4, 1859 in a simple peasant family. From an early age, the boy had to work helping his mother. His school education remained incomplete: in total, he spent about 250 days within the walls of the school.
Hamsun gained his invaluable life experience while wandering around Norway and America, where he was engaged in hard physical labor. On American soil, the future writer did not disdain any work. Often he worked himself to the point of complete exhaustion.
Returning to his homeland, Hamsun published a number of articles that did not improve his financial situation. He again goes overseas, works in America as a tram driver, while giving lectures on literature.
In 1877, Hamsun's first book, The Mysterious Man, was published. A little later, the story "Bjerger" and the ballad "Date" were published. In 1888, the writer settled in Copenhagen. Here he publishes in the magazine individual chapters of the novel "Hunger",
Misadventures shaped the personality of the future writer and influenced his work. He became one of those writers who managed to rise to the heights of fame from the very bottom, from the bottom of society.
Success came to Knut Hamsun relatively late, after thirty years, when his famous novel The Hunger was published. From that moment on, he became one of the most famous authors of his time. The success of the essay was determined by its theme: he described his miserable existence in Norway, showing a picture of the state of mind of a man who was vegetating on the verge of starvation.
Portrait of a Norwegian writer
Hamsun is considered to be one of the most shocking figures of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. For a long time, he traveled around Norway, gave lectures in which he talked about the differences between modern literature and its outdated samples. Sitting in the forefront of the classics of Norwegian literature - Bjernson and Ibsen - Knut Hamsun openly declared: "It's time for you to leave!"
In 1920, Hamsun was awarded the Nobel Prize for the work "Fruit of Life", which tells about the life of Norwegian peasants, about their attachment to the land and loyalty to centuries-old traditions. Over the course of his long life, Hamsun created three dozen novels, many stories, essays and articles. And the critics had nothing to reproach the author for - he did not survive a single failure.
Hamsun categorically rejected the idea of progress. He believed that the new world should be cleansed of everything superficial that the vaunted Western civilization brought to life. Hamsun believed that only the cruel truth would bring salvation to the world, he did not try to embellish the facade of reality.
Knut Hamsun was not shy in expressions addressed to America, England and the entire Old World. The conviction grew in him that Germany would bring a stream of new life into the world.
He was sensitive to the leaders of the Third Reich, met with Hitler. Upon learning of the suicide of the leader of the German Nazis, Hamsun compiled an obituary, where he called Hitler "a fighter for the rights of peoples." The writer later explained his act to his son by the fact that he allegedly did it out of "knightly motives."
Knut Hamsun's personal life
In 1898, Hamsun entered into his first marriage. Bergliot Bech became his chosen one. Before that, she had been in another marriage for several years, her daughter was growing up. Hamsun managed to convince Bergliot to leave his first husband. The writer and his first wife lived together for only eight years.
The second wife of the Norwegian writer was Mary Andersen. After getting married in 1909, she abandoned her acting career and remained with Hamsun until the last days of his life.
Hamsun passed away on February 19, 1952.
