Strindberg
ACHIEVEMENTS: Major Swedish writer
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: January 22, 1849, Stockholm, Sweden
DATE/PLACE OF DEATH/AGE AT DEATH: May 14, 1912, Stockholm, Sweden. Aged 63
DISCIPLINE: Playwright/novelist
FIELD: Theater/Literature
LANGUAGE: Swedish
PARENTS: Carl Oskar Strindberg; Eleonora Ulrika Norling
SIBLINGS: Carl Axel; Oscar Olle; Anna; Elisabeth; Nora
SPOUSE(S): 1) Siri von Essen; 2) Maria Friedrike Cornelia Uhl; 3) Harriet
Brosse
CHILDREN: By Siri von Essen: Hans; Karin; Greta. By Maria Uhl: Kerstin.
By Harriet Brosse: Anne-Marie
EDUCATION: Klara private school, Stockholm; Jakob public school,
Stockholm; Stockholm Lyceum
MAJOR WORK: "The Father"; "Miss Julie"; "The Dance of Death"
LIFE AND TIMES:
When he failed chemistry at Uppsala University, Strindberg decided to become an actor. At 20, he enrolled for a year in Stockholm's Royal Theater school. His acting was considered terrible, but he was allowed to finish his year as a prompter. He tried playwriting, and during the year at the school, wrote three plays, none of which was produced.
Strindberg returned to Uppsala, where he continued to write plays and in 1871 "The Outlaw", set in 12th century Iceland, got six performances and poor reviews. However, Swedish King Charles XV liked it.
The story of Olaus Petri, a 16-century follower of church reformer Martin Luther, intrigued Strindberg and he wrote the first draft of a play about him. Determined to make his living by writing, he took a job as a journalist in Stockholm. He read Danish critic Brandes*' "Main Currents of Nineteenth-Century Literature", which advised writers to concentrate on contemporary subjects. Despite the advice, Strindberg was sure audiences still wanted historical plays and he finished "Master Olof". The play is now seen as the first modern Swedish drama, but it was turned down by the Royal Theater because its dialogue and characterizations were too modern.
In 1875, Strindberg began an affair with Siri von Essen, a married woman, whom he married in 1877. Strindberg and Siri had little money and moved frequently. In January, 1879, he went bankrupt, but his novel, "The Red Room", was published in November, 1879 . Dealing with the hypocrisy of the middle class, the book has been described as the first modern Swedish novel. It was well received, particularly in Denmark, where Strindberg was talked of as a genius. Encouraged, Strindberg wrote more plays. "The Secret of the Guild" was performed in Stockholm in 1880. In 1882, he wrote two plays of minor interest and two collections of short stories and a volume of Swedish history.
In September, 1883, Strindberg and his family joined a colony of Scandinavian artists near Fontainbleu, France, but Strindberg was restless and they moved about Europe for the next six years. In 1884, while he was in Switzerland, his collection of short stories "Married," was published.
That same year, Strindberg's publisher was prosecuted for blasphemy, apparently instigated by upper class feminists who did not like Strindberg's book, "The New Kingdom", a satire on contemporary mores in Sweden. On his reluctant return to Stockholm to support his publisher, Strindberg was delighted to be met by a cheering crowd. Several other pro-Strindberg demonstrations followed within days. The verdict was "not guilty." In 1885, French author Zola* wrote Strindberg praising the book.
Strindberg's mental health, generally precarious, now began to deteriorate. He started to drink absinthe; he reacted in a paranoid way to any criticisms; his debts were growing. The second volume of "Married", published in 1886 is full of misogyny. In 1887, Strindberg's play "The Father" was staged in Denmark, and Strindberg moved there for 18 months to supervise. His mental state was worsening. He refused to acknowledge his wife or children in public. He reported to a therapist that Siri was planning to have him certified insane (a scene matched in "The Father"). In "Miss Julie", produced in 1888, the dialogue was sharper-edged than in "The Father," and his portrayal of sexual relations more explicit. The play got a hostile reception, but German philosopher Nietzsche* wrote to praise it.
Strindberg's plays "Playing with Fire" and "The Bond", though now considered among his best works, went unremarked. On a trip to Berlin, he met Austrian journalist, Maria Friedrike Cornelia Uhl, whom he married in 1893. After living for a short time in London, they settled in Berlin, then moved to Paris, where the marriage ended, in 1895.
In Paris, Strindberg resumed heavy drinking and bouts of persecution mania, and dabbled in the occult. But on his return to Sweden in 1896, Strindberg underwent an amazing transformation. He decided to reread the philosopher Swedenborg* and experienced what he called "an atonement with the Powers." His feelings of persecution vanished, he renounced occultism and cut down on his drinking.
His new moralistic outlook was reflected in his work. He wrote "Inferno", a book about his suffering and "To Damascus", a play about looking for spiritual enlightenment. He also began to write historical plays, novels and short stories.
In 1899, he completed "Gustav Vasa", the best of his historical plays, and a great success. He also published "Collected Novels and Stories". In 1900, he met a young Norwegian actress, Harriet Brosse, whom he married in 1901. They divorced in 1904.
Despite Strindberg's series of successes, his "The Dance of Death," now considered one of his finest, though most pessimistic plays, got terrible reviews in Stockholm.
In 1906, "Miss Julie" was put on for the first time at Stockholm and was a triumph. With the collaboration of young producer, August Falck, Strindberg established a small experimental theater. It opened with Strindberg's "The Pelican", which was not a success, followed by "The Burned Site" and "Storm", only marginally more popular. He was visited by English dramatist Shaw*, who admired Strindberg's writing, but did not like the impromptu performance of "Miss Julie" that Strindberg arranged for him.
In January, 1909, on his 60th birthday, Strindberg was honored as a national hero. Many theaters in Sweden gave special performances of his plays. On his 63rd birthday, the Social Democrats held a torchlight procession in which 15,000 people cheered Strindberg as he stood on his balcony. The Swedish Academy, however, tended to ignore him and his work. He was diagnosed with cancer of the stomach and died in May, 1912, in Stockholm.
ASSESSMENT: Strindberg was ahead of his time, taking naturalism to an extreme point with realistic portrayals of how modern men and women deal with the most private aspects of their lives.
EXTRA CONNECTIONS: Knew painters Mucha* and Gauguin*, and writer Salome*
He was a friend of Delius*
Cousin perished on Arctic balloon expedition with Andree.
ONELINER: JA Strindberg, major Swedish writer
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Meyer, Michael, Strindberg, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985.