Jens Peter Jacobsen (1847–1885)

J. P. Jacobsen's Niels Lyhne was a very positive surprise. His nature descriptions are unique, perhaps matched only by those of Turgenev, by whom he was influenced. To a degree Jacobsen even surpasses Turgenev in the way his delineations of nature are so masterly integrated into the book’s thematic. I was glad to be able to read this in the original Danish, as many of those outstanding passages must be really hard to translate (and even to my native Norwegian.) I read in the very useful afterword in this edition that the particular work by Turgenev that Jacobsen was influenced by for this book was Fathers and Sons, but of course, by combining both of the main characters of that book into one, the result is something entirely different.
A scientist by education, Jacobsen translated Darwin's The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man to Danish in the early 1870's and also introduced Darwin to the larger public through magazine articles before publishing his first novel in 1876. Writing about "bad" freethinkers ("daarlige Fritænkere") in Niels Lyhne (1880), Jacobsen was in a way being a "bad" naturalist, and the leading Danish critic Georg Brandes didn’t really like the book all that much, perhaps mainly because it might throw a bad light on the contemporary intellectual movement. Though he did (rightly) admire Jacobsen's style of writing and his mastery of the Danish language, and as for 'provoking debate' ("sætte Problemer under Debat") which was Brandes' main slogan, Niels Lyhne surely qualified eminently. The novel starts out in an almost classic naturalistic vein, but soon develops into something quite other than that, which can perhaps be described as impressionistic realism/naturalism. By focusing on particular stages in the life and development of the protagonist, Jacobsen sticks tightly to his theme of dreams versus reality, religion versus reason, and a young man’s struggles to get a firm grasp on his life and find his place within it. So, this is a Bildungsroman of sorts, but being a naturalist Bildungsroman, the protagonist doesn't reach the big moment of clarity or find his bourgeois vocation, he is rather slowly grinded down by life as he sheds illusion after illusion and as he is moved along by unconscious drives and urges, both his own and those of others. Sigmund Freud wrote to a friend that he was "profoundly moved" by the novel, and Henrik Ibsen thought it among the very finest contemporary contributions in its field. Jacobsen has also been lauded by great writers like Sigbjørn Obstfelder, Rainer Maria Rilke, Thomas Mann, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Hermann Hesse and James Joyce. They weren’t wrong.




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Roman d'apprentissage, roman d'amour ou roman social, Niels Lyhne navigue en différentes eaux sans jamais réellement s'y engager pleinement. Les expériences malheureuses de Niels n'amènent que trop peu d'introspection ; les déceptions amoureuses s'enchaînent, sans remise en question profonde ou changement notable ; le talent poétique et littéraire de Niels n'est que mentionné ; les idées nouvelles du Copenhague du XIXe sont à peine effleurées, sans qu'on n'en comprenne la nature ou les enjeux. Même les passages les plus captivants que sont les prises de parole sur le féminisme et la défense de l'athéisme ne font qu'un effet de cheveu sur la soupe. Sans fil conducteur, le lecteur est ballotté à travers les pages, comme Niels lui-même dans son existence.

Le roman est malheureusement très inégal, que ce soit en matière de rythme qu’en matière d’écriture. Autant certains passages, fort ampoulés, dénonçant le botaniste en l’auteur, s’étirent à n’en plus finir à coups de phrases démesurées, de champ lexical des plantes omniprésent et d’envolées lyriques sans fin, autant d’autres contiennent des tournures poétiques prégnantes et subtiles. Cette dissonance se renforce d’autant plus que de longues descriptions détaillées côtoient des ellipses imprévues et nombreuses tout au long du récit. En résulte une étrange sensation, à mi-chemin entre l’envie irrépressible de refermer le livre et le besoin de vérifier si d’autres perles se trouvent dans le reste des pages.

Première pérégrination dans la littérature danoise, ce roman n'a pas eu sur moi l'impression favorable et marquante que j'attendais, très probablement formée à la suite des nombreux avis et critiques positifs. Je recommande cependant la lecture, le roman étant court, de ce classique de la littérature danoise.… (mehr)

I'd been hoping to read this in English translation ever since I read Joyce was a fan. To 21st century eyes the style comes across as a little florid but it does present a very poetic work which is quite beautiful and works best when describing emotional states by use of metaphor. It can get a little emotionally effusive for me but that's not unusual with 19th century literature. The story itself offers snapshots of formative experiences in Niels' life which chart his progress from childhood faith to breaks with convention and finding his own voice as a poet. The New Idea of atheism is in the air and Niels strives to express himself under its banner. Along the way there are several love interests too. The book could be called 'Lost Illusions' or 'Born under an unlucky star' such is the doleful nature of the events which unfold. Throughout there are meditations on death by several characters and this was the most impressive aspect of the novel for me. There are many descriptive passages too where Jacobsen the botanist comes to the fore. All in all it's probably worth rereading again at some later stage… (mehr)