Ruth A. Symes

Dr Peter Fjagesund and Dr Ruth A. Symes.

(Rodopi, Amsterdam, 2003)

ISBN: 9042008466

 

In the nineteenth century, the ancient ‘filial¹ tie’ between Britain and Norway² was rediscovered by a booming tourist industry which took thousands across the North Sea to see the wonders of the fjords, the fjelds, and the beauties of the North Cape.

This illustrated volume, for the first time, collects together vivid – and predominantly first-hand – impressions of the country recorded by nearly two hundred British travellers and other commentators, including Thomas Malthus, Charlotte Brontë, Lord Tennyson, and William Gladstone.

In a rich selection of travel writing, fiction, poetry, journalism, political speeches, and art, Norway emerges as a refreshingly natural utopia³, happily free from her imperial neighbour’s increasing problems with the side-effects of industrialisation.

This is a fascinating examination of the people, institutions, customs, language and environment of Norway seen through the eyes of the British. Using the tools of literary and historical scholarship, FjÃ¥gesund and Symes set these perceptions in their nineteenth-century context, throwing light on such issues as progress, art and aesthetics⁴, democracy, religion, nationhood, race, class, and gender, all of which occupied Europe at the time.

The Northern Utopia will be of particular interest to students of British and Scandinavian cultural history, literature and travel writing. It will also enthral all those who love Norway.

Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. ‘More the Rage Every Year’: The Influx of British Tourists and Travellers
2. ‘Back to His Forefathers’ House’: A Common Past Rekindled
3. ‘Nature’s Noblemen’: People and Society: The Primitive Norwegian
4. ‘A Peculiar Savage Grandeur’: Nature Worship and Escape from Civilisation
Biographical Information
References
Index

Brief History of the Book’s Composition
The project began during the academic⁵ year 1996–1997 when the two authors were working at the Norwegian Study Centre at the University of York, England Peter FjÃ¥gesund as the Resident Norwegian Director and Ruth A. Symes as a Lecturer in British Culture and Director of Studies.

The Centre – a satellite of the Department of English and Related Literature – provides the opportunity for Norwegian students to undertake short courses in English whilst immersing themselves in British culture. For staff and students alike, this allows for the exploration of the many similarities and differences between the two cultures within their contemporary context.

In the summer of 1997, the authors, both of whom had interests in literary and cultural history, made the fortuitous discovery of a passage from the mid nineteenth-century travel volume Through Norway with a Knapsack (1859), in which William Mattieu Williams described the ‘national filial tie’ between Britain and Norway. They were inspired to wonder whether other commentators had expressed similar views and before long had discovered the work which would be seminal to the project: Eiler H. Schiötz’s Itineraria Norvegica: A Bibliography⁶ on Foreigners’ Travels in Norway until 1900 (1970–1986).

This invaluable source proved that there was a huge interest in Norway in the nineteenth century and indeed, about one third of all foreign travelogues⁷ from the period were published in Britain. The search for texts and pictures then began in earnest, research questions were generated, and writing began.

In many senses, the book has been a joint project carried out via electronic correspondence across the North Sea. Both authors have been involved in all aspects of the process from searching archives and organising material, to writing and editing. Nevertheless, each author has been primarily responsible for distinct sections of the book Peter Fjågesund is the author of chapters 1, 2 and 4 Ruth A. Symes is the author of chapter 3 and has contributed sections to chapter 2.

Throughout the project, the authors have been helped by many professional organisations and individuals on both sides of the North Sea including (and in particular) the Norwegian Study Centre, Telemark University College and the Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers’ and Translators’ Association (for granting funding for study leave) and Telemark University College, the Norwegian Research Council and the Norwegian Tourist Board for financial support towards the publication of the book.

In addition the project has involved many hours of hands-on examination of primary and secondary texts in British and Norwegian archives. Thanks are due to the many staff of these organisations who have helped in numerous ways.

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~~Dictionary~~
1 filial
Definitions

1. of, relating to, or befitting a son or daughter <filial obedience>
2. having or assuming the relation of a child or offspring

Pronounciation: ˈfi-lē-əl, ˈfil-yəl
Function: adjective
Date: 14th century
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin filialis, from Latin filius son — more at feminine

2 Norway
Definitions

Pronounciation: ˈnȯr-ˌwā
Function: geographical name
3 utopia
Definitions

1. an imaginary and indefinitely remote place
2. a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions
3. an impractical scheme for social improvement

Pronounciation: yu̇-ˈtō-pē-ə
Function: noun
Date: 1597
Etymology: Utopia, imaginary and ideal country in Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More, from Greek ou not, no + topos place

4 aesthetics
Definitions

1. a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste and with the creation and appreciation of beauty
2. a particular theory or conception of beauty or art : a particular taste for or approach to what is pleasing to the senses and especially sight <modernist aesthetics>
3. a pleasing appearance or effect : beauty <appreciated the aesthetics of the gemstones>

Function: noun
Date: 1822
5 academic
Definitions

1. a member of an institution of learning
2. a person who is academic in background, outlook, or methods

Pronounciation: ˌa-kə-ˈde-mik
Function: noun
Date: 1587
6 Bibliography
Definitions

1. the history, identification, or description of writings or publications
2. a list often with descriptive or critical notes of writings relating to a particular subject, period, or author
3. a list of works written by an author or printed by a publishing house
4. the works or a list of the works referred to in a text or consulted by the author in its production

Pronounciation: ˌbi-blē-ˈä-grə-fē
Function: noun
Date: 1802
Etymology: probably from New Latin bibliographia, from Greek, the copying of books, from bibli- + -graphia -graphy

7 travelogues
Definitions

1. a talk or lecture on travel usually accompanied by a film or slides
2. a narrated motion picture about travel
3. a piece of writing about travel

Function: noun
Date: 1903
Etymology: travel + -logue