Gjellerup was the son of a vicar inZealand who died when his son was three years. Karl Gjellerup was raised then by the uncle ofJohannes Fibiger, he grew up in a national and romantic idealistic atmosphere. In the 1870s he broke with his background and at first he became an enthusiastic supporter of thenaturalist movement andGeorg Brandes, writing audacious novels aboutfree love andatheism. Strongly influenced by his origin he gradually left the Brandes line and 1885 he broke totally with the naturalists, becoming a newromanticist. A central trace of his life was hisGermanophile attitude, he felt himself strongly attracted to German culture (his wife was a German) and 1892 he finally settled in Germany, which made him unpopular in Denmark on both the right and left wing. As years passed he totally identified with the German Empire, including its war aims 1914–18.
Among the early works of Gjellerup must be mentioned his most important novelGermanernes Lærling (1882, i.e.The Germans' Apprentice), a partly autobiographic tale of the development of a young man from being aconformist theologian to a pro-German atheist and intellectual, andMinna (1889), on the surface, a love story but more of a study in woman'spsychology. Some Wagnerian dramas show his growing romanticist interests. An important work is the novelMøllen (1896, i. e.The Mill), a sinistermelodrama of love and jealousy.
In his last years he was clearly influenced byBuddhism and Oriental culture. His critically acclaimed workDer Pilger Kamanita/Pilgrimen Kamanita (1906, i.e.The Pilgrim Kamanita) has been called 'one of the oddest novels written in Danish'. It features the journey of Kamanita, an Indian merchant's son, from earthly prosperity and carnal romance, through the ups and downs of the world's way, a chance meeting with a stranger monk (who, unbeknownst to Kamanita, was actuallyGautama Buddha), death, and reincarnation towardsnirvana. InThailand, which is aBuddhist country, the Thai translation ofThe Pilgrim Kamanita co-translated byPhraya Anuman Rajadhon was formerly used as part of the school textbooks.
Den fuldendtes hustru (1907, i.e.The wife of the perfect) is a versified drama, inspired byDante'sDivine Comedy, aboutBuddha's earthly life asSiddharta, being inhibited in his spiritual efforts by his wife,Yasodhara. The giant novelVerdensvandrerne (1910, i.e.The world roamers) takes its contemporary starting point in a German female academic on a study tour in India, but evolves across chronological levels, in which characters re-experience what has happened in former eons, thus featuring souls roaming from one incarnation to another.
Rudolph Stens Landpraksis (1913, i.e.The country practice of [physician] Rudolph Sten) is set in the rural Zealand of Gjellerup's youth. The main character develops from a liberal, superficial outlook on life, including youthful romantical conflicts, through years of reflection and ascetic devotion to duty towards a more mature standpoint, hinting at the author's own course of life.
Das heiligste Tier (1919, i.e.The holiest animal) was Gjellerup's last work. Having elements of self-parody, it is regarded as his only attempt at humour. It is a peculiar mythological satire in which animals arrive at their own Elysium after death. These include the snake that killedCleopatra,Odysseus' dog Argos,Wisvamitra (the holy cow of India), the donkey ofJesus and the horses of various historical commanders in field. The assembly select, after discussion, Buddha's horseKantaka as the holiest of animals, but it has left without a trace to follow its master to nirvana.
In Denmark, Gjellerup's Nobel prize was received with little enthusiasm. He had long been regarded as a German writer. During various stages of his career, he had made himself unpopular with both the naturalist left surroundingGeorg Brandes and the conservative right. Gjellerup's nomination for the Nobel prize did nevertheless receive Danish support. BecauseSweden was neutral duringWorld War I, the divided prize did not arouse political speculations about partial decision, but showed on the other hand allegiance between the Nordic neighbors.
Today Gjellerup is almost forgotten in Denmark. In spite of this, however, literary historians normally regard him as an honest seeker after truth.
Gjellerup's works have been translated into several languages, including German (often translated by himself), Swedish, English, Dutch, Polish, Thai and others.[citation needed]The Pilgrim Kamanita is his most widely translated book, having been published in several European countries and the United States.[citation needed] In Thailand, a Buddhist country, the first half of the Thai translation ofKamanita has been used insecondary school textbooks.[citation needed]
