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Knut Hamsun

クヌート・ハムスン

Knut Hamsun

Aliases: Knud Pedersen / Knud Pedersen Hamsund
Pen Names: Knud Pedersen Hamsund（Pseudonym used in early publications）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1859-08-04 （Lom, Gudbrandsdalen, United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway (present-day Lom, Norway)）
Died
1952-02-19 （Nørholm, Grimstad, Norway） age 92
Nationality
Norwegian
Languages
Norwegian
Religion
Protestant (Lutheran) / pantheistic tendencies
Residence History
Lom (birthplace) → Hamsund (Hamarøy) → Larvik → Nørholm, Grimstad → United States (periods of travel and work)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Poet, Social critic
Active Years
1877-1949
Influenced By
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche (intellectual influence), Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (early literary influence)
Influenced
Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Charles Bukowski, Ernest Hemingway, Henry Miller

Awards

Nobel Prize in Literature
1920
Work: Growth of the Soil (Markens Grøde)
Organization: Swedish Academy
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Hunger (Sult)

1890 Novel (psychological literature) 176 pages

A semi-autobiographical novel depicting a young writer's descent into near madness due to hunger and poverty in Kristiania (Oslo); pioneering use of interior monologue and stream of consciousness.

hungerisolationurban povertypsychological interiority
Adaptations
  • [Film] Hunger (Sult) (1966) / Henning Carlsen (1966)
Translations
  • Hunger (English translation)

Growth of the Soil (Markens Grøde)

1917 Novel (rural epic) 320 pages

An epic novel portraying rural Norwegian life and people who cultivate the soil; emphasizes unity between man and nature and was cited in awarding the 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature.

natureagricultureland and communityprimitivism
Translations
  • Growth of the Soil (English translation)

Pan

1894 Novel (naturalistic / psychological novel) 206 pages

Set in northern Norway, it tells of a solitary hunter's relationship with a woman from the town; noted for lyrical nature descriptions and psychological depth.

nature and sensualitysolitudelove and ruin
Adaptations
  • [Film] Pan (several film adaptations) (1995)
Translations
  • Pan (English translation)

Mysteries (Mysterier)

1892 Novel (mystery / psychological drama) 224 pages

A stranger arrives in a small town and unsettles its inhabitants; focuses on enigmatic characters and psychological manipulation.

the outsiderfriction with societyidentity
Translations
  • Mysteries (English translation)

Victoria

1898 Novel (love story) 160 pages

A short love story about an impossible romance across social classes; noted for poetic narration and delicate psychological insight.

class differenceslost lovenostalgia
Translations
  • Victoria (English translation)

Bibliography

  • Den Gaadefulde (1877)
  • Hunger (1890)
  • Mysteries (1892)
  • Pan (1894)
  • Growth of the Soil (1917)
  • On Overgrown Paths (Paa gjengrodde Stier) (1949)

Adaptations

  • Hunger film adaptation (1966)
  • Biopic 'Hamsun' (1996, directed by Jan Troell, starring Max von Sydow)
  • Multiple film adaptations of 'Pan' (1922–1995)

Translations of Works

  • Hunger (English translation)
  • Growth of the Soil (English translation)
  • Pan (English translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Use of interior monologuePioneering stream-of-consciousness techniquesLyric, fragmentary narrationPoetic prose with rich natural description
Recurring Motifs
the wanderernature and the landsolitude and interiorityhunger and poverty

Health

  • Allegations of permanently impaired mental faculties (related to old age)
    1945-1948
    A psychiatric evaluation after WWII concluded impaired faculties; this affected criminal proceedings (no imprisonment) but led to a large civil fine in 1948.

Legacy

A pioneering and highly influential 20th-century writer whose literary innovations shaped modern fiction; his legacy is deeply controversial because of his support for Nazi Germany and racist statements. His major works remain widely read and adapted.

Museums

  • Knut Hamsun Centre Hamarøy Municipality Opened in 2009
  • Nørholm (Hamsun's home) Grimstad
  • Hamsund farm (Hamsund gård) Hamarøy
  • Hamsunstugu Garmo (Lom)

Archives

  • National Library of Norway (Hamsun collections)
  • Collected correspondence archived in various institutions (compiled by Harald Næss and others)

In Popular Culture

  • Numerous film and TV adaptations (since 1916; major works adapted multiple times)
  • The 1996 biopic 'Hamsun' starred Max von Sydow as Hamsun
  • Controversy over the whereabouts of his Nobel medal (gifted to Joseph Goebbels in 1943)

Quotes

  • The Germans are fighting for us, and now are crushing England's tyranny over us.
    Source: Newspaper article (1940) (1940)
  • No one knows God; man knows only gods.
    Source: Writings / speeches (various attributions) (1910)

Trivia

  • In 1943 he gave his Nobel Prize medal to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels; the medal's whereabouts remain unknown.
  • After WWII he was publicly vilified for his support of the Nazis; books were burned in some Norwegian cities.
  • His ashes are buried in the garden of his home at Nørholm.
  • Major works such as Hunger, Growth of the Soil and Pan had a major influence on 20th-century literature.