Karin Michaëlis | |
|---|---|
 Karin Michaëlis, ca. 1931 | |
| Born | Katharina Bech-Brøndum (1872-03-20)March 20, 1872 |
| Died | January 11, 1950(1950-01-11) (aged 77) Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Other names | Karin Michaëlis Strangeland |
| Occupation(s) | journalist, author |
| Spouse(s) | Sophus Michaëlis (m. 1895; div. 1911) Charles Emil Stangeland (m. 1912; sep. 1917) |
| Relatives | Alma Dahlerup (sister) |
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Karin Michaëlis (20 March 1872 – 11 January 1950) was aDanish journalist and author. She is best known for her novels, short stories, and children's books. Over the course of 50 years, Karin Michaëlis wrote more than 50 books in Danish, German, and English. Her works have been translated into more than 23 languages from their original Danish.[1] Her works are published under several names, including her last name from her second marriage:Karin Michaëlis Stangeland.
Michaëlis' most famous novel,The Dangerous Age (Danish:Den farlige Alder), has been championed as a groundbreaking work on women's rights. It has since been adapted for film several times.
Michaëlis was born March 1872 inRanders, Denmark as Katharina Bech-Brøndum. She was the daughter of atelegraph official and notedFreemason, Jacob Anthonius Brøndum (1837–1921), and Nielsine Petrine Bech (1839–1932).[2] She was brought up together with her younger sister, the later philanthropistAlma Dahlerup, in their modest home in Randers where her mother contributed to the family's meager income by making wreaths.[3] Her grandmother and an aunt played a large role in her early upbringing. In school she was teased because she was small, chubby, and suffered fromstrabismus.
In her youth, Michaëlis was a private teacher for a few years, partly inLæsø and partly in a manor house north of Randers. In 1892 she moved toCopenhagen to train as a piano teacher. While there, she became acquainted with the writerSophus Michaëlis (1865–1932), whom she married in 1895. The couple earned their living predominantly through theater reviews. Their marriage was terminated in 1911.[4]
The following year, Michaëlis married the Norwegian-American diplomatCharles Emil Stangeland inNew Rochelle, New York. She had met Stangeland the previous year while returning from theUnited States to Denmark aboard a ship. He was a political economist, educated atColumbia University. At the time of their marriage, he was posted toBolivia as secretary to the American Legation.[5] Stangeland was unhappy with the literary and political activities of his wife, who had recently experienced a breakthrough as an author withThe Dangerous Age. They became separated in 1917.[2]
Michaëlis died on January 11, 1950, in Copenhagen. She is buried atThurø cemetery on the island ofFunen.[6]
In 1910 she publishedThe Dangerous Age (Danish:Den farlige Alder). It is the story of Elsie Lindtner, who, after divorcing her husband, attempts to rekindle a relationship with a younger man who had once worshipped her from afar. When this relationship fails as well, she resolves to spend her life traveling throughout the world with a female friend. The book created a great sensation, because it began to cut through tabooed themes like the sexual desires of a 40-year-old woman. The novel was translated into several languages, including English.[7][8] It has been adapted into film several times, including a 1911 version directed by August Blom:Den farlige Alder, and a 1927 German version directed byEugen Illés titledThat Dangerous Age.[9] In 1912, Michaëlis published a sequel to the novel named after the series' title character:Elsie Lindtner.[10]
Among the articles she wrote for American magazines were a two-part series forMunsey's Magazine in 1913, entitled "Why Are Women Less Truthful Than Men,"[11] and an interview withWoodrow Wilson forLiving Age Magazine in 1925: "On President Wilson's Trail."[12]
In 1914,Glaedens Skole (English:School of Joy) was published. The story centered on a reform school in Vienna led by her friend, the Austrian pedagogueEugenie Schwarzwald. Michaëlis also wrote a series of coming of age books about the a girl calledBibi. TheBibi books came in seven volumes between 1929 and 1939 and were an international success. In these novels for adolescents, readers meet the stationmaster's daughter Bibi, who is motherless but enjoys some freedom as a result. She is an idealistic tomboy who goes on train excursions on her own (with a free ticket due to her father's job) and fights ceaselessly for animal causes. Translators of Bibi include the English poet Rose Fyleman and Austrian novelist and dramatist Maria Lazar.
In 1927, she was awarded with theTagea Brandts Rejselegat.[13]
DuringWorld War I, Michaëlis was active in humanitarian work inAustria. Her friendship withEugenie Schwarzwald stood not only for her connection withVienna but also for her social engagement in this country. Early on, she warned of the danger arising fromMussolini andHitler. In 1932 she took part in an anti-war congress inAmsterdam where she advocatedconscientious objection andpeace education for children.[14] From 1933 on she took in German emigrants on her property inThurø, includingBertolt Brecht and his wifeHelene Weigel and their friend Maria Lazar, who remained in Denmark until 1939.[15][16] After the rise offascism, her books were banned in Germany andItaly. In 1940, with the invasion of Denmark, she emigrated to America. She returned to Denmark in 1946 after the end ofWorld War II.
Michaëlis' two autobiographies,Little Troll andWonderful World (Danish:Vidunderlige Verden), were published in the 1940s. She had previously written about her childhood experiences inPigen med Glasskaarene, the first volume of her seriesTræet på Godt og Ondt, which was written in the period between 1924 and 1930. The series also included includingLille Løgnerske,Hemmeligheden,Synd og Sorg og Fare, andFølgerne.
