Olsson, Hagar

(1893-1978)

   A Finland-Swedish critic, novelist, short story writer, essayist, and dramatist, Olsson grew up in the Aland Islands and Karelia, after which she went to Helsinki to attend the university. She quickly embarked on a career in journalism and became a literary critic in Helsinki's Swedish-language press, in which capacity she became very helpful to the young poet Edith Soädergran.

   Olsson s earliest novels are apprentice pieces. However, important themes emerge as early as in her literary debut, Lars Thorman och doden (1916; Lars Thorman and Death), in which both fear of death and an interest in mysticism are evident. The second theme is strongly present in her third novel, Kvinnan och naåden (1919; The Woman and Grace), in which the story of the biblical Hannah and her son, the prophet Samuel, is retold. Other novels, such as Mr. Jeremias soker en illusion (1926; Mr. Jeremiah Seeks an Illusion), Pa Kanaanexpressen (1929; On the Canaan Express), and Det blaåser upp till storm (1930; A Storm Is Brewing), show that Olsson had not yet found herself as a novelist.

   The partly autobiographical novel Chitambo (1933), on the other hand, which depicts the development of a young woman, introduced a figure that from then on was to be a strong presence in Olsson's fiction. Träsnidaren och doden (1940; tr. The Woodcarver and Death, 1965) pays homage to Karelia, much of which had just been taken by Russia. Her shorter prose work Kinesisk utflykt (1950; Chinese Excursion), as well as the tales in Hemkomst: Tre beraättelser (1961; Homecoming: Three Tales), Droämmar (1966; Dreams), and Ridturen och andra beraättelser (1968; On Horseback and Other Stories), feature young women as protagonists.

   Olsson also wrote drama. Hjaärtats pantomim (1927; The Pantomime of the Heart) shows influence from German expressionism.In S.O.S. (1928) the inventor of a superpowerful poison gas is accused of being unpatriotic when he destroys the gas s chemical formula, while Det blaå underet (1931; The Blue Wonder) dramatizes the conflict between different political positions—liberalism, communism, and fascism—within a single family. In Roävaren och jungfrun (1944; The Robber and the Maiden) there is yet another young woman who embodies the hope for the future, while Kaärlekens doäd (1952; Love s Death) shows that the malaise of the time was caused by human selfishness.