Ingrid Mathilda Kruse Malling (20 January 1864 – 21 March 1942), better known by her early pen name Stella Kleve, was a Swedish novelist known for her portrayals of women's sensuality.

Biography

Early life

Malling was born on her family's farm in North Mellby Parish,

Kristianstad County Kristianstad County () was a county of Sweden from 1719 to 31 December 1996 when it was merged with Malmöhus County to form Skåne County. The seat of residence for the Governor was in Kristianstad. See also * List of governors of Kristiansta ...

, Sweden in 1864. Daughter of Danish estate owner Frans Oskar Kruse and Anna Maria Mathilda Borgström, she graduated from Lyceum for Girls in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 1883, then studied at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

and in Switzerland in 1884, and in Copenhagen from 1885 to 1886.

Controversial early works

Malling debuted in 1885 with the novel ''Berta Funcke'', followed in 1888 by the novel ''Alice Brandt'', both published under the pseudonym Stella Kleve. In 1886, she published the novel (''Pyrrhic Victories'') in the progressive feminist publication ' ('Forward') by

Alma Åkermark Alma Mathilda Åkermark (11 June 1853, Forshälla parish – 4 June 1933, Oscar Fredriks parish) was a Swedish editor, feminist, writer, journalist and women's rights activist. She was a co-founder of the radical feminist women's paper '' Framåt ...

. Her contemporaries took note of her sensually colored depictions of young women, but posterity now considers her decadent late-naturalistic depiction of women as the female counterpart of the male breakthrough novels of this time. She had early contact with Ola Hansson who frequently corresponded with her and also courted and proposed to her. Hansson portrayed her, after a difficult break-up, in as "Gallblomma".

Emil Kléen Johan Emil Kléen (17 September 1868 in Sätofta, Skåne – 10 December 1898 in Lund) was a Swedish journalist and poet. He was an admirer and protégé of August Strindberg.''Strindberg Letters'' August Strindberg, Michael Robinson - 199 ...

and , young poets and students, wanted to include her in a Scanian "decadent calendar" in the late 1880s (which was never published), but failed to persuade her. Anti-Semitism and misogyny in the decadent literary style have been the source of much scholarship.

Fictionalized portrayal of Molly Brant

Detracting from presumed feminism, Malling's novel, ''Daybreak'', published in 1906 by a respected "magazine of the world's best fiction," depicts entirely real characters and settings, by name, thus promoting the vilification of an early American feminist leader of

native people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. Today, the reader is impressed by its sensational, even slanderous, quality. The very real Mary Brant, and her culture, might well have considered such 'fictions' to be but a form of highly influential propaganda, presented with a thin veneer of fiction, and meant to degrade Brant, who was an influential

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...

and the consort of

Sir William Johnson Major-General Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet ( – 11 July 1774), was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Ireland known for his military and governance work in British colonial America. As a young man, Johnson moved to t ...

. A breakthrough female herself, perhaps insight into Malling's motivation, in scandalizing Brant through fiction, is somewhat explained in the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

's and

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

's 1918 ''Scandinavian Studies and Notes'': While "a popular writer of considerable talent... it is Mathilda Malling's pride to think that descendants of her own race did something to establish American freedom and they like so many others were resolved not to yield an inch from what they considered right."''Scandinavian Studies and Notes'', Vol. 5, No. 1; Flom, G.T., Editor; Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study; Wisconsin, USA; 1918, pp. 165–166.
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Later works

After a long silence she resumed her writing, but in a very different character, with a novel about the First Consul, which was a huge success thanks to her skillful manipulation of historical material. Her work became hailed as well-done historically and even safe for family reading and included ''Madam Governor of Paris'' (1895, 2nd edition 1898), (1896), ''Shooting on Munkeboda'' (1897), the play ''Lady Leonora'' (1897), ''Doña Ysabel'' (1898), ''Ladies in Markby'' (1901), ''Daybreak'' (1902), ''Nina'' (1903), ''Little Marica and Her Husband'' (1904), ''Lady Elizabeth Percy'' (1905), ''Her Hero'' (1906), ''Mary Stuart'' (1907), ''Nina's Honeymoon'' (1908), ''Karl Skytles Wife'' (1909), ''Sisters of Ribershus'' (1910) and ''The White House and Red House'' (1911). The later work shows lush, but little original, storytelling imagination and a lot of free floating. The historical novels found a large readership in the early 1900s, but her breakthrough novel ''Berta Funcke'' still arouses interest.

European recognition

Malling's first two novels were heatedly discussed. Swedish feminist

Ellen Key Ellen Karolina Sofia Key (; 11 December 1849 – 25 April 1926) was a Swedes, Swedish difference feminist writer on many subjects in the fields of family life, ethics and education and was an important figure in the Modern Breakthrough movement. S ...

was famously connected with her.

American recognition

Malling's first novel was cited by prominent American psychologist

G. Stanley Hall Granville Stanley Hall (February 1, 1844 – April 24, 1924) was an American psychologist and educator who earned the first doctorate in psychology awarded in the United States of America at Harvard University in the nineteenth century. His ...

, in his pioneering study of adolescence, as a parallel to the famously frank (and accusedly egotistic) authors

Marie Bashkirtseff Marie Bashkirtseff, born Maria Konstantinovna Bashkirtseva (; – 31 October 1884), was an émigré artist who was born into a noble family on their estate near the city of Poltava. She lived and worked in Paris, and died at the age of 25. L ...

, Hilma Angered Strandberg, and

Mary MacLane Mary MacLane (May 1, 1881 – ''c''. August 6, 1929) was a controversial Canadian-born American writer whose frank memoirs helped usher in the confessional style of autobiographical writing. MacLane was known as the "Wild Woman of Butte".Wats ...

Personal life

In 1890 she married merchant Peter Malling in Copenhagen. She died in Esajas ''

sogn Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway (''Vestlandet''). It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestra ...

'', Zealand,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark, in 1942.

Bibliography

*''An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers, Volume 2'', Katharina M. Wilson (1991)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malling, Mathilda 1864 births 1942 deaths 19th-century Swedish writers Swedish women novelists 20th-century Swedish writers 20th-century Swedish women writers 19th-century Swedish women writers People from Hässleholm Municipality Writers from Skåne County