Kristine Cathrine Ploug (née Altenburg) (1760–1837), known as Aunt Ploug (''Faster Ploug'' in Norwegian), was a relative of playwright

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

, cited as the influence of some of the characters in his plays, such as The Rat-Wife in '' Little Eyolf''. She was a sister of Johan Andreas Altenburg, Ibsen's maternal grandfather, and as such the aunt of Marichen Altenburg and great-aunt of Henrik Ibsen. She lived with her brother from around 1799, following the death of her husband, and after Johan Andreas Altenburg's death, she lived with the Ibsen family. She died at Venstøp in 1837. Ibsen scholar Oskar Mosfjeld describes her as an eccentric. The Ibsen children were said to be afraid of her due to her odd behaviour. Oskar Mosfjeld: ''Henrik Ibsen og Skien: En biografisk og litteratur-psykologisk studie'', Oslo, Gyldendal, 1949 Today, it is considered likely that she suffered from

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

due to advanced age. She was portrayed by Cecilie Graasvold in the play '' Rotte på loftet'', and by

Wenche Foss Eva Wenche Steenfeldt Stang (5 December 1917 – 28 March 2011), better known as Wenche Foss (), was a leading Norwegian actress of stage, screen and television. Personal life Wenche Foss was born to engineer Christian August Steenfeldt-Foss ( ...

in the NRK television miniseries '' En udødelig mann''. Kristine Cathrine Altenburg was baptized on 17 September 1760 in Holla, and her parents were Diderik Altenburg (1719–1766) and Marichen Johansdatter Barth (1737–1769). Diderik Altenburg was the manager of a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

. Both her parents died early, and her mother was married for a second time in 1767 to (Fredrich) Engebreth Christopher Blom Bertelsen Bomhoff.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ploug, Kristine Catrine Ibsen family 1760 births 1837 deaths