Almqvist, Carl Jonas Love

(1793-1866)

   A Swedish poet, playwright, novelist, short story writer, and essayist, Almqvist is a child of the romantic era who may also be thought of as an early realist. Accused of attempted murder, he left Sweden for America in 1851, at which time his literary career was effectively over and interest in his writings largely came to an end. Almqvist returned to Europe from the United States in 1866 but died in a hospital in Bremen, Germany. Rescued from oblivion by the writer Ellen Key in an essay written in 1894, Almqvist is now considered one of Sweden's most gifted and interesting men of letters.

   Almqvist's romantic works include Amorina (written in 1822, but not published until 1839), which is characterized by such gothic motifs as incest, madness, and murder. The title character represents natural goodness in contrast with controlling religiosity of her stepfather. The story Jaktslottet (1832; The Hunting Lodge) was used as a frame story in the multivolume Tornrosens bok (1833-1840; The Book of the Briar Rose), which in successive editions included a large number of Almqvist's writings. The owner of the hunting lodge, Hugo Lowenstjerna, acts as the host of a gathering in which various stories are told. Poetry written by Almqvist is also acted out as tableaux vivants; these poems are referred to as "Songes" (Dreams).

   One of the stories included in Tornrosens bok bears the title "Ormus och Ariman" (Ormazd and Ahriman) and is inspired by the Persian Zend-Avesta, a Zoroastrian sacred text. Ormus is an organizer and controller, while the seemingly evil Ariman is similar to the romantic artist. Also included in Tornrosens bok is a fascinating historical novel, Drottningens juvelsmycke eller Azouras Lazuli Tintomara (1834; tr. The Queen's Diadem, 1992), which mixes prose, drama, and poetry in its creation of the beautiful Tintomara, who appears as both male and female. With the murder of King Gustav III in 1792 at its center, Drottningens juvelsmycke, too, is a hybrid text of great complexity and endless fascination for its devotees.

   Almqvist's ties to the thematic concerns of realism are best observed in his short novel Det garan (1839; tr. Sara Videbeck, 1919; Why Not?, 1994). Sara is a young woman who has inherited the right to work as a glazier from her father but, according to the law at the time, only as long as her mother is alive. During a boat trip she meets

   Albert, with whom she falls in love and agrees to have an ongoing sexual relationship without the benefit of marriage. Sara insists that they must have separate living quarters, however, so that they will both preserve their independence. The Swedish authorities were shocked by this display of independence, and Almqvist lost his job as a school principal.