Vilhelm Moberg | |
|---|---|
 Vilhelm Moberg, 1967 | |
| Born | Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (1898-08-20)20 August 1898 Moshultamåla, Sweden |
| Died | 8 August 1973(1973-08-08) (aged 74) Väddö, Sweden |
| Resting place | Norra begravningsplatsen |
| Pen name | Ville i Momåla |
| Occupation | Journalist, author, playwright, historian, debater |
| Language | Swedish |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Citizenship | Swedish |
| Period | c. 1917–1961 |
| Notable works | The Emigrants |
| Children | Åsa Moberg |
Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedishjournalist, author,playwright,historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his four‑volume seriesThe Emigrants. The novels, published between 1949 and 1959, deal with theSwedish emigration to the United States in the 19th century. They have been adapted for a total of three movies (two in the 1970s and one in 2021), and a musical.
Among his other works areRaskens (1927) andRide This Night (1941), a historical novel of a 17th‑century rebellion inSmåland, acknowledged for its subliminal but widely recognised criticism of theHitler regime.
A prominent public intellectual and debater in Sweden, Moberg was recognized for his vocal criticism of theSwedish monarchy (most notably after theHaijby affair), describing it as a servile government bydivine mandate, and publicly supporting its replacement with a Swiss‑styleconfederalrepublic. He spoke out aggressively against the policies ofNazi Germany, theGreek military junta, and theSoviet Union, and his works were among those destroyed inNazi book burnings. In 1971, he scolded Prime MinisterOlof Palme for refusing to present theNobel Prize in Literature to its recipientAlexander Solzhenitsyn – who was refused permission to attend the ceremony in Stockholm – through the Swedish embassy inMoscow.
Moberg's suicide by self‑inflicted drowning drew much attention. He had had a long struggle withdepression andwriter's block.
Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg was born in 1898 on a farm outside the townEmmaboda in the Parish ofAlgutsboda inSmåland, in southern Sweden. He was the fourth child of six, of whom only three survived into adulthood. His forebears were soldiers and small farmers. He lived the first nine years of his life at the tenement soldier's cottage in Moshultamåla that his father Karl Moberg, a territorial soldier, took over in 1888.
In 1907 the family moved to a small farm in the village of Moshultamåla. This had been the family home of his mother Ida Moberg; they had lost it due to poverty. Money from her family in America enabled them to buy the property back. Moberg had only limited schooling from 1906 until 1912. However, as a child he was an avid reader; he published his first writing at the age of 13.[1]
Moberg worked as a farmer and forest laborer, and later atglassblowing before and between his various studies. In 1916 he nearly emigrated to the United States, following his uncle and aunt, but ultimately decided to remain in Sweden with his parents. Largely self‑educated, Moberg studied atKronoberg County Folk High School inGrimslöv from 1916 to 1917, and at Katrineholms Praktiska Skola, a private school inKatrineholm, from 1917 to 1918. Moberg contracted theSpanish flu in 1918, and was sick for half a year. After his illness, Moberg took a position on the newspaperVadstena Läns Tidning inÖstergötland, which published many of his stories between 1919 and 1929.
In 1926, Moberg made his breakthrough as a playwright when his comedyKassabrist had a successful run in Stockholm. He published his first novelRaskens the following year. Moberg became a full‑time writer when the financial success ofRaskens enabled him to devote himself entirely to writing.
Many of his works have been translated into English, and he is well‑recognized in the English‑speaking world among those interested inScandinavian culture and history. In his autobiographical novel,A Soldier with a Broken Rifle (Swedish:Soldat med brutet gevär), he speaks to the importance of giving voice to the downtrodden, illiterate classes of his forebears. This viewpoint also formed hisHistory of the Swedish People, I–II (Swedish:Min svenska historia, berättad för folket, I–II), published in 1970–71 in both Swedish and English. He had intended the history to have more volumes, but he never finished it.
As a playwright, Moberg wrote 38 works for the stage or for radio (1919–1973). Some were produced as lighter classics of the Swedish stage and television, or were adapted as feature films by directors such asIngmar Bergman[2] (Lea och Rakel/Leah and Rachel;Malmö City Theatre 1955) andAlf Sjöberg[3] (Domaren/The Judge; 1960).[4]
Moberg had become a member of a youngSocial Democrats club in 1913. In his works, he often expressed a republican (anti‑royalist) point of view. He was strongly influenced by the facts that surfaced in theKejne affair andHaijby affair, in which Moberg took an active part.
From the 1950s, Moberg participated in debates about theSwedish monarchy, bureaucracy, and corruption. In addition, he devoted much time to help individual citizens who had suffered injustice. Much like others of his generation of Swedish authors from a working‑class background, such asIvar Lo‐Johansson,Harry Martinson andMoa Martinson, Moberg depicted the life of the dispossessed, their traditions, customs, and everyday struggle. His novels are important documents of social history, and trace the influences of various social and political movements in Sweden.[5]
From 1948 to 1960, Moberg lived inCarmel-by-the-Sea, California. While there, he wrote his most famous work,The Emigrants series of four novels, written between 1949 and 1959.[6] The series describes one Swedish family's emigration fromSmåland toChisago County, Minnesota in the mid‑19th century. This was a destiny shared by almost one million Swedish people, including several of the author's relatives. These novels have been translated into English:The Emigrants (1951),Unto a Good Land (1954),The Settlers (1961), andThe Last Letter Home (1961). His literary portrayal of theSwedish‑American immigrant experience is considered comparable toOle Edvart Rølvaag's work depicting that ofNorwegian‑American immigrants.
The Vilhelm Moberg House is located onCarmel Point at 2423 San Antonio Avenue, near Isabella & Martin Way. Moberg also lived for a time in the guesthouse of Gustaf Lannestock, his friend and translator, at 26085 Scenic Road.[7]
Swedishfilm directorJan Troell in 1971–72 adapted the books into two major feature films,The Emigrants (based on the first two novels) andThe New Land (based on the second two), both starringMax von Sydow andLiv Ullmann as Karl Oskar and Kristina. These were nominated for severalAcademy Awards, andThe New Land wonGolden Globe Awards.
ThemusicalKristina från Duvemåla (English titleKristina) (1995) by ex‑ABBA membersBjörn Ulvaeus andBenny Andersson is based on Moberg'sThe Emigrants Series.[8]
A later film adaptation, known simply asThe Emigrants was released in 2021, and in August 2022 on digital platforms.[9][10]
Several other works by Moberg have been turned into films and TV series in Sweden over the years.
Moberg donated his papers to theSwedish Emigrant Institute inVäxjö, Sweden, It displays his original manuscripts, excerpts, notes, and photographs in The Moberg Room, in such a way that visitors get a feeling of meeting Vilhelm Moberg in his workshop. This unique collection of Moberg memorabilia includes Axel Olsson's sculpture entitledThe Emigrants, which portrays the main characters featured inThe Emigrants Series. The Vilhelm Moberg Society, headquartered in the Swedish Emigrant Institute, promotes publications, research and popular interest in Moberg's works.[11]
Moberg struggled with severe depression in the last years of his life. He committedsuicide[12] by drowning himself in the sea outside his house. He left a note to his wife saying: "The time is twenty past seven; I go to seek in the sea the eternal sleep. Forgive me, I could not endure." Moberg was buried inNorra begravningsplatsen inStockholm.
Klockan är tjugo över sju. Jag går att söka i sjön, sömnen utan slut. Förlåt mig, jag orkade inte uthärda.
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