Gyllembourg, Thomasine

(1773-1856)

   ADanish short story writer, Gyllembourg was the mother of Johan Ludvig Heiberg, who published the stories she started writing at the age of 54. She kept writing anonymously, most likely because she saw a conflict between her role as a woman and her activity as a writer. Her portrayal of women is done with great psychological insight, and the middle-class environment of her stories is realistically portrayed.

   Gyllembourg's literary debut was Familien Polonius (1827; The Polonius Family), which was followed by En Hverdags-Historie (1828; An Everyday Story), in which the first-person narrator tells about his complicated love relationships. In Slægtskab og Djævelskab (1830; Kinship and Devilry) the female protagonist rebels against the wishes of her family and marries the man she wants. Drøm og Virkelighed (1833; Dream and Reality) has a significant component of social criticism as it describes how a man of the upper classes seduces a servant. Thematically, Gyllembourg's stories anticipate the debate about women's position in the family and in society that became common in Scandinavian literature in the 1870s. She is also very much alive to the question ofhow a woman should adjudicate between her role as a wife and mother and erotic desires that seek satisfaction outside the bonds of marriage. Gyllembourg's significance to Danish literature consists in her willingness to discuss such issues, however pseudonymously.