Bjørnstjerne Martinus Bjørnson, "Fortællinger: Jærnbanen og Kirkegaarden" ["The Railroad and the Churchyard"]

Kathy Rees (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.5: Norwegian Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London), Anja Tröger (University of Edinburgh)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1872

Places

Norway (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Story

Resources

The short story is a study of politics in peasant life, as told through the fortunes and friendship of two men, Canute Aakre and Lars Hogstad. Canute became prominent in the local town, setting up educational initiatives for the parish: “Among the many he had helped to an education, his neighbour Lars Hogstad stood foremost.” Canute became the chairman of the board of parish commissioners, and he would often discuss issues with Lars who was a good listener. They rode together in Canute’s wagon and “were looked upon as inseparable”.

The quiet Lars never spoke in parish council meetings, until one particular day when he surprised everybody by opposing Canute’s opinion: the matter was therefore …

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672 words

Citation: Rees, Kathy. ""Fortællinger: Jærnbanen og Kirkegaarden"". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 July 2017 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38759, accessed 31 October 2024.]

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