Page:The Journal of English and Germanic Philology Volume 18.djvu/612

 608 Sturtevant fjsellet?" (in the introduction to Arne), is sufficient to explain a seemingly incongruous attitude towards Fru Collett who was satisfied with a purely negative exposition of the truth. It was not in the slightest degree the cause which Fru Collett repre- sented but solely the manner in which she represented it, and her lack of constructive propaganda to which Bj^rnson was opposed. 4 Even in 1854, before the appearance of Amtmandens Dtftre, Bj^rnson had expressed his dislike of the morbid and depressing atmosphere characteristic of Welhaven's school* and had openly allied himself with Wergeland 6 whose successor he felt himself to be; a more wholesome and natural poetry was necessary for a true interpretation of life. In tone and feeling Fru Collett's Amtmandens Dfitre was, as it were, a sequel to Welhaven's Norges D&mring and as such was in Bj^rnson's eyes more or less a literary perversion. The injustice of this view, however, he later acknowledged 7 when maturity had restored the equipoise of his judgment. In Bj0rnson's earlier attitude towards Fru Collett we recognize, furthermore, the pedagog and moralist 8 as well as the poet. His educational and moral propaganda were as essential to his literary career as was the devotion to purely artistic ideals and went hand in hand with his efforts as politi- cian and statesman to regenerate the social organization of the Norwegian nation. 4 Cf. Lilly Heber, "Bj^rnstjerne BjjzJrnson og Camilla Collett," Bjtfrnson- studier, pp. 285-317, Kristiania, 1911. 6 Cf. Morgenbladet (1854) : "Welhavens evige Lamenteren over Verdens og Tidernes Pinagtighed," etc. 6 Ibid.: "Det tusindstemmige, glade ja, som Wergelands bjergfriske, glade Sange modtog, maatte dog overbevise om, at sygelig Sentimentalitet ikke bar Jbjemme her." 7 Cf. his article, "Den moderne norske literatur," in Kringsjaa the year after Fru Collett's death (1895) : "Hun har skrevet fortaellinger, der hun med ildfuldt $ie og veltalende appel, saetter fingeren paa et sygt punkt; virkningen har vaeret velgj^rende." 8 Ibid. : "Den norske literatur kjender i sine verker, at den vil tage sin del, den sfyfrste del av det faelles ansvar, at en bog, der ikke rydder eller ligger saale- des, at den derved 0ger vor evne, gj0r os modigere paa livsf^relsens svsere kunst, og derved letter livet for os, er en slet bog, hvor stor ogsaa dens tekniske kunst