Marta Steinsvik (23 March 1877 – 27 July 1950) was a Norwegian author and translator. She was a champion of women's rights, a proponent of

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

and

anti-Catholicism Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

, and promoter of the use of

Nynorsk Nynorsk (; ) is one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language (''Landsmål''), parallel to the Da ...

. She was the first female to graduate from the Norwegian School of Theology.

Biography

Steinsvik was born in

Flekkefjord Flekkefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the ...

. She studied medicine in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

, but never finished her studies because she was against

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for Animal test ...

. She studied several other subjects including

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Ancient Greek, Greek , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, history, Egyptian language, language, Ancient Egypt ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 1902, Marta Steinsvik studied oriental languages including

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n and ancient

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

. She also became interested in

Esotericism Esotericism may refer to: * Eastern esotericism, a broad range of religious beliefs and practices originating from the Eastern world, characterized by esoteric, secretive, or occult elements * Western esotericism, a wide range of loosely related id ...

. She was influenced by the thinking of both English

Theosophist Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...

Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...

and Austrian

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (; 27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century ...

. She was the first woman to graduate from the Norwegian School of Theology, but was not allowed to practice. She was the first Norwegian woman to preach in a church, during 1910 at the

Grønland Church Grønland Church (''Grønland kirke'') is a church located in the neighbourhood of Grønland in the borough of Gamle Oslo in Oslo, Norway. Grønland Church congregation was formed in 1861. Grønland Church was consecrated on March 3, 1869, by B ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. She was invited to an international women's conference in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, and planned to give a talk on women priests, until the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

forbade all

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

women to attend if she did, forcing her to give a speech on another subject. In 1894, she started writing in the newspaper, ''

Den 17de Mai ''Den 17de Mai'' is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1894 to 1935. History and profile The founder and first editor-in-chief of ''Den 17de Mai'' was Rasmus Steinsvik, who edited the newspaper until his death in 1913. Arne Garbo ...

'', which had been started that same year by her future husband

Rasmus Steinsvik Rasmus Olai Steinsvik (22 September 1863 – 22 June 1913) was a Norwegian writer, magazine editor and newspaper editor. He was born in Volda Municipality, and was married to Marta Steinsvik. He edited the magazine '' Fedraheimen'' from 1889 t ...

. She was employed as secretary to

Hans Tambs Lyche Hans Tambs Lyche ( 21 November 1859 – 16 April 1898) was a Norwegian engineer, Unitarian minister, journalist, and magazine editor. Background Hans Tambs Lyche was born in Fredrikshald, in Østfold county, Norway. His parents were Wilh ...

, editor and founder of the cultural journal ''

Kringsjaa ''Kringsjaa'' (Outlook) was a periodical which was published every two weeks from 1893 to 1910 (once a month from July 1905 to 1909). It was published by Olaf Norlis forlag in Kristiania. The magazine was around 80–100 pages, and was based ...

. In 1910 she became editor of the paper ''Kringsjaa''. She was multilingual and translated several books into

, including '' Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte'' written by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

and ''Quo vadis?'' written by

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish epic writer. He is remembered for his historical novels, such as The Trilogy, the Trilogy series and especially ...

. In the early 1920s, she was active in spreading antisemitism and was one of the most important proponents of antisemitism in Norway. Among other things, she delivered lectures based on the

Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated text purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination. Largely plagiarized from several earlier sources, it was first published in Imperial Russia in 1903, translated into multip ...

. In 1928, she published an anti-Catholic book ''Sankt Peters himmelnøkler'' ("Saint Peter's keys to Heaven"). Marta published ''Frimodige ytringer'', ("Frank Speech") in 1946. It was about the Norwegian treatment of suspects when they were punishing traitors after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The book includes examples of

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the German occupation of Norway, occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *As ...

torturing suspected

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

sympathizers in the summer of 1945. It also discussed the legality of withdrawing a group's human rights, (those who were members of

Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...

, the Norwegian National Socialist party, after 9 April 1940), by an ex post facto law that set aside the Hague Convention which Norway had ratified. The papers left behind on her death are currently being organised at the Norwegian cultural institution, The Blue Colour Works. Several people have announced their plans to write a book about Marta Steinsvik.

Works

* ''Ben-Hur. Ei forteljing um Kristus'', translation 1896 from english ''Ben-Hur. A tale of the Christ'' written by

Lewis Wallace Lewis Wallace (April 10, 1827February 15, 1905) was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, artist, and author from Indiana. Among his novels and biographies, Walla ...

, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Nordan um folkeskikken elder Ei leikstemna tilfjells'' by Erp. (written 1898), 1901, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Jeanne d'Arc. Kva eg kjem ihug um henne'', translation 1905 from english ''

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc ''Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte'' is an 1896 novel by Mark Twain which recounts the life of Joan of Arc. The novel is presented as a translation by "Jean Francois Alden" of memoirs by Sieur Louis de Conte, a ...

, by the Sieur Louis de Conte'' by

, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Ivan Mortensson: "Skogtroll"'', anmeldelse, 1906 * ''Ein liten adelsmann'', translation 1909, from english ''

Little Lord Fauntleroy ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was published as a serial in ''St. Nicholas Magazine'' from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Charles Scribner's Sons, Scribner's (the publisher of ...

'' by

Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1886), ''A Little Princess'' (1905), a ...

, Full text 1. edition
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Jerusalem'' 1 and 2, translation 1909 from swedish ''Jerusalem'' 1 and 2 by

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish writer. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was ...

* ''Ægteskabet og forplantningen'', 1910, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Äktenskapet och fortplantningen'', swedish translation by L. W. G. 1910 * ''Jeanne D'Arc : Orleans-møyi'', new edition 1913 from english ''

, by the Sieur Louis de Conte'' by

, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Kvendi og preste-embættet. Fyredrag halde paa landsmøtet for L. K. S. F. 8de juli 1916'', 1917, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Det skapende "ord". Et foredrag av Credo'', 1917, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Gammelægyptiske mysterie-indvielser'', 1917, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Bispen. Eit sjæle-drama i 3 akter'', 1918, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Isis-sløret. Mysterie-drama i 5 akter'', 1921, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Ein liten adelsmann'', translation 1909, 2. edition 1923 from english ''

'' by

, Full text 2. edition
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Eventyr. 1. Karavanen'', translation 1923 from german ''Die Karawane'' by

Wilhelm Hauff Wilhelm Hauff (29 November 180218 November 1827) was a German poet and novelist. Early life Hauff was born in Stuttgart, the son of August Friedrich Hauff, a secretary in the Württemberg ministry of foreign affairs, and Hedwig Wilhelmine Elsa ...

, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Sankt Peters himmelnøkler'', 1928, 2. edition 1930, 3. edition 1932, Full text 1. edition
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Hellig Olav og Den norske statskirke'', 1930, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Kvinner som prester'', 1934 * ''Kvinnornas självmordspolitik. Barnbegränsning och kvinnornas andra ungdom'', in swedish 1938, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''Kreftens gåte'', 1940, 2. oplag 1944 * ''Tang og tare som vitaminkilde'', 1943, 2. edition 1944, Full text 2. edition
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo
* ''"Frimodige ytringer"'', 1946, Full text
Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo

Personal life

She was born Marta Tonstad on the farm Skjeggestad in Bakke ( now part of

) in the county of

Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total popul ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Both of her parents Torkild Tonstad (1852–1908) and Ingeborg Evertsdatter Haugan (1848–1922) came from old farming families. Her father worked as a teacher in Flekkefjord and owned the farm Skjeggestad, where Marta lived until she was three years old. On 16 May 1896, she married Rasmus Steinsvik (1863–1913), the founder and editor of ''Den 17de Mai''. She had problems in childbirth and her doctor told her a sixth child would be likely to kill her, so she moved away from her husband. Her husband had a friend who was a doctor who diagnosed her as insane as soon as he heard she believed in

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

, and her husband had her committed. While institutionalized, she took the opportunity to study

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

. Another doctor became interested in her case and was able to get her released. This episode was often later used against her in newspaper debates. Her husband died in 1913 after an operation, barely 50 years old.''Rasmus Steinsvik'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinsvik, Marta 1877 births 1950 deaths Anti-vivisectionists People from Flekkefjord Nynorsk-language writers Norwegian translators MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society alumni Norwegian journalists Norwegian women writers