Denmark is a land of rich culture and vibrant kindness. Did you know that in a 2016 study, Denmark ranked 4th for having the highest empathy compared to the other European countries? This is tossed aside in Denmark’s literature in favor of depicting the harsh reality in their country. The most famous Danish author may be Hans Christian Anderson and his bleak fairytales. The authors on this list may be lesser known, but their tales and personal struggles are to be accounted for as important literary Danish works.
An Illustrated Treasury of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson
Hans Christian Anderson was born in Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen, on April 2, 1805. Born from a poor family, Anderson’s hope for riches was to make it big as an actor for the Royal Theater. Of course, we know that’s not how his life turned out. Releasing his first literary work in 1829 called Fodreise fra Holmens Canal til Østpynten af Amager i Aarene 1828 og 1829 (A Walk from Holmen’s Canal to the East Point of the Island of Amager in the Years 1828 and 1829), the writer was guaranteed instant success that transferred to his future writing. Known for his contribution to writing fairytales such as The Ice Queen and The Little Mermaid, Anderson has cemented himself as the most famous author coming from Denmark.
In this collection of fairytales, Anderson’s writing introduces ideas that might be out of touch for a child. In the life lessons he constructs through his fairy tales, Anderson also keeps in touch with children’s perspectives when reading. This version of Anderson’s work – besides The Ice Queen and The Little Mermaid – also presents Thumbelina, The Princess and the Pea, and many others you may not have known he has written. Some don’t have a happy ending, while others are the amount of optimism kids look for in a bedtime story.
Begrebet Angest by Søren Kierkegaard
Born in Copenhagen on May 5, 1813, Søren Kierkegaard was a philosopher who believed in existentialism. The term in philosophy means that existing is particular and individual or that every person’s reason for existing is unique to that person. This sort of mindset influenced Kierkegaard’s work; seeking to challenge the perfection of being religious — Christianity in particular — was an impossible feat. Publishing Sygdommen til døden (Sickness unto Death) in 1845, he explains that being a Christian was an ongoing struggle. Despite his statement, “I dare not call myself a Christian,” Kierkegaard spent his life defending the religion even when he struggled to be a Christian.
In Begrebet Angest (The Concept of Anxiety), instead of teaching how to suppress your anxiety with pills and medication, Kierkegaard writes on how to embrace it. Tying anxiety as a human condition that’s a struggle with our spiritual identities, the author mixes Christian dogma into his psychology. Reading this will make you feel like reading a college-required paper with existentialism and philosophical ideas that typically come from Kierkegaard’s works.
Den kroniske Uskyld by Klaus Rifbjerg
Klaus Rifbjerg was a poet and novelist born in Copenhagen on December 15, 1931. His first publication in 1956, Under vejr med mig selv (Findings About Myself), attracted attention from his prose poetry about his life. He would go on to write based on his life experiences with his first novel, Den kroniske Uskyld (Chronic Innocence). He would later go on to write satirical revues for the Student Association in Copenhagen with cowriter Jasper Jensen.
Chronic Innocence (or Terminal Innocence) is based on the teenage life of Klaus Rifbjerg. Centered around two best friends Janus and Tore, Janus is the narrator looking into Tore’s life with worshipping eyes. Tore is a grade-A student praised by teachers. As he falls in love with an equally smart student, Helle, her mother, fru Junkersen, becomes an obstacle as she gets between the star-crossed lovers. Janus can only stare in sadness as his best friend doesn’t get his happy ending with Helle but questions his childlike thinking from mythical fantasy to reality.
Kongens Fald by Johannes V. Jensen
Johannes V. Jensen wrote many myths in his life. One is a story of a man’s evolution slightly before the Darwinian theory. Born in Copenhagen on Jan. 20, 1873, and the son of a veterinarian, he traveled to the capitol to study medicine. Ultimately choosing writing, Jensen was fond of writing fictional autobiographies. He wrote one called Madame d’Ora in 1904. In 1944, Jensen received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Kongens Fald (The Fall of the King) is a fictional biography based on King Christian II of Denmark. Following Mikkel Thøgersen, a slacker student caught in the middle of many entanglements that somehow led him to become a mercenary for King Christian II. If you aren’t familiar with Danish history, don’t worry, Jensen covers everything. From the Swedish nobility’s execution and imprisonment of the king and Mikkel, this book has been voted twice as the most important Danish novel of the twentieth century. Also considered a psychological novel, the prose poem mixed with pure narration brings realism to Denmark’s history.
Barndom by Tove Ditlevsen
As one of the most prevalent voices of twentieth-century Denmark, Tove Ditlevsen brought her masterpiece with her literary trilogy. Before we get her trilogy, let’s recognize her other accomplishments. Born in Copenhagen on 14 December 1917, Ditlevsen, was part of the working-class neighborhood of the city. Living there shaped Ditlevsen’s writing, delving into themes such as female identity, memory, and loss of childhood innocence. Beginning to write poetry at the age of ten, she wouldn’t get famous until she collected poems, Blinkende Lygter (Flickering Lights). With their success in her publication, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) requested her to write a novel. With Vi Har Kun Hinanden (We Only Have Each Other), her work was released as radio installments. Ditlevsen was awarded the “Tagea Brandt Rejselegat” (Travel Scholarship) in 1953.
Barndom (Childhood) is the first installment of Ditlevsen’s Copenhagen trilogy series. Following her life as a kid in the first book, readers learn how much of a misfit she used to be. Even as a child, she knew she had something to do that had to be released to the world. But to do so, she must one day leave her hometown behind. Filled with intense focus from Ditlevsen’s words, readers read from her adult perspective, looking back to her childhood playing with her friend Ruth, a girl even Ditlevsen didn’t want to show her real self.
It seems like all the authors of Denmark grew up in Copenhagen. I hope you learned more than just Denmark’s capital. Now you can show off your knowledge of a European country when the rare chance occurs!
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