Gustav Johannes Wied (6 March 1858 – 24 October 1914) was a Danish writer. He was generally known as a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

critic of society in his time and he deliberately used his writing talents to expose the establishment,

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

and ruling class. The government had him imprisoned for 14 days in 1882 for a short story published in a newspaper. Wied wrote novels, short stories, poems and plays (including several

satyr play The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is st ...

s).

Biography

Gustav Wied was born in Branderslev near Nakskov as the fifth of eleven children by Carl August Wied and Catha Wied. His best-known work is the novel ''Livsens Ondskab'' (1899), depicting life in a small provincial Danish town. The story revolves around customs official Knagsted, a red-bearded satyrical

Diogenes Diogenes the Cynic, also known as Diogenes of Sinope (c. 413/403–c. 324/321 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism (philosophy), Cynicism. Renowned for his ascetic lifestyle, biting wit, and radical critique ...

, who openly ridicules the hypocrisy of the snobbish bourgeois inhabitants, and Emanual Thomsen, a tragic struggler, trying to obtain the funds needed to regain his ancestral farm. In the sequel ''Knagsted'' (1902), Wied let Knagsted comment on the contemporary fashionable society in the Bohemian spa resort of Karlsbad in

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

. Wied eventually lost popularity and fell ill, suffering from severe stomach aches. Badly affected by his condition and despondent, he committed suicide with an overdose of

potassium cyanide Potassium cyanide is a compound with the formula KCN. It is a colorless salt, similar in appearance to sugar, that is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include ...

in 1914. The Gustav Wied Society was established in 1938 with the purpose of publicizing knowledge about Gustav Wied and his literary legacy.

Bibliography

Gustav Wied was very productive. Among his most notable works are: * ''En Hjemkomst'' (play), 1889 * ''Silhuetter'' (short stories), 1891 * ''En Bryllupsnat'' (play), 1892 * ''Barnlige Sjæle'' (short stories), 1893 * ''Ungdomshistorier'' , 1895 * '' Slægten'', 1898 (made into a ''

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

'' in 1978) * '' Livsens ondskab'', 1899 (made into a television series in 1971, first broadcast in 1972) * ''Thummelumsen'' (play), 1901 * '' Skærmydsler'', 1901 * ''Den gamle Pavillon'' (play), 1902 * '' Knagsted'', 1902 * ''Dansemus ''(play), 1905 * '' Fædrene æde druer'', 1908 (made into the film '' Sort høst'' in 1993) * ''Circus Mundi'' (stories), 1909 * ''Kærlighed, Fire Idyller'' (play), 1909 * ''Ærtehalm'' (play), 1909 * '' Pastor Sørensen og Co.'', 1913 * ''Imellem Slagene'' (stories and a play), 1914 * ''Digt og virkelighed'' (recollections), 1914 English translations: * ''Two Satyrical Dramas'', (1999)

Films

Many of Wieds stories and plays have been

ed, two in his own lifetime, both black and white silent movies. The first was ''"Kærlighed og Selvmord"'' (Love and Suicide), released in 1911. It is a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

, following his own manuscript but with unknown director. The second film ''"Das Feuer"'' (The Fire) was produced in Germany and released on 4 May 1914, the same year Wied committed suicide. It is an adapted screenplay written by Karl Freund after one of Wied's novels. After his death, the first Wied-related film ''"Thummelumsen "'' was released in 1941, an adapted screenplay of his 1901 play by the same name. Most of the posthumous films has been Danish TV productions, but a few of them was produced in Sweden and Finland. The latest Wied-film was ''" Sort høst"'' (Black harvest), a cinema film released in 1993. It is an adapted screenplay drama of Wied's ''"Fædrene Æde Druer"'' from 1908, produced by film director Anders Refn.

References

Literature

External links