Bjørnstjerne Martinus Bjørnson, Nye Fortellinger: Absalons Haar [New Tales: Absalom’s Hair]

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Bjørnson’s novella uses the geographical setting and family history of

The Heritage of the Kurts

(1884) and introduces into it the figure of Kirsten Ravn. The Ravn family first appeared in Bjørnson’s work in the play

The New System

(1879), and, in both works, it is represented as a family that holds religiously together, uniting against all newcomers. As with

The Heritage of the Kurts,

Bjørnson explores ideas of heredity, and the conscious attempts by mothers to expunge paternal traits in their sons. There are many parallels between the mother-son relationship in

The Heritage of the Kurts

and

Absolom’s Hair

: both widows strive to control their sons’ lives by self-sacrificial acts, which at times are experienced by the youths as maddening interference.

Bjørnson was clearly

1174 words

Citation: Rees, Kathy. "Nye Fortellinger: Absalons Haar". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 October 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35837, accessed 29 March 2024.]

35837 Nye Fortellinger: Absalons Haar 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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