Skipper Worse

Garman & Worse/Skipper Worse #2

by Alexander L. Kielland

SKIPPER WORSE is a penetrating portrait of emotions and passions in a small coastal Norwegian town, where love and marriage struggle with pride and ambition. One of the most powerful and representative novels of late 19th-century European realism, SKIPPER WORSE reveals why Alexander Lange Kielland belongs in the company of Charles Dickens, Edith Wharton, and Katherine Mansfield.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Novels, 19th Century, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1882

About the author

Of the most famous realistic writer of the 19th century, Alexander Lange Kielland ranks as one of the "four greats" of Norwegian literature alongside Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, and Jonas Lie.

Born wealthy, he as a factory owner with a sincere affection for the less fortunate treated his workers well. He, a critic of society throughout his time as a writer, spoke for the weak. His best known plays were the satirical comedies Tre Par (1886) and Professoren (1888). He was also well known for his short stories.

Among his most famous works are the novels Gift (1883), Skipper Worse (1882) and Garman & Worse (1880). Gift (published in English as Poison ) is the first of a trilogy including Fortuna (1884) and St. Hans Fest (1887). In this trilogy, Kielland satirizes the hypocrisy of Norway's clergy. In Gift, Kielland debates the preference for Latin that Norwegian teachers had during his time. [wikipedia]

Reviews

[Gerhard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daran, dass ich in die Geschichte eingetaucht bin und mich über den christlichen Glauben und m.E. seiner extremen Ausübung im Dorf erzürnt habe, bewerte ich den Roman so positiv. Wie lieblos eine Mutter gegenüber ihren beiden Töchtern handelt, sie ins Unglück stürzt nur weil sie ausschließlich und konsequent nach ihrem Glauben handelt, sie beeinflusst und die Ehemänner für sie aussucht. Der Roman hat ein trauriges Ende.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars (rounded up, not down)
Captain Jacob Worse, a widower just over 50, (Skipper Worse) returns triumphantly from a voyage to Rio, the first captain in the area to do so. Sara is a devout member of the Haugian Christian sect, and her controlling mother has marital plans for Sara that are at cross purposes with who Sara loves. Sara's younger sister also loves a man her mother disapproves of.

This is a novel of the realism school of the nineteenth century, although by today's standards it is a bit melodramatic at times. It is a scathing criticism not only of the strict, rather off-the-wall Haugian sect, but of faith in general. However, I liked this better than I expected despite the starkness of much of the novel because if there is one thing Kielland, a new author to me, can do, it is write. While his characterization of the religious people is at times shallow and superficial (not always), his characterization of those of his point of view is frequently quite well done.

[Halvor (Raknes) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another well written book by Kielland (my fifth). This book deals with the wealthy merchant house Garman & Worse before the narrative of Garman & Worse which was published two years prior. Like the last book in the trilogy about the Løvdahl family, Sankt Hans Fest this book also centrally portrays a peculiarly Norwegian form of charismatic lay Christianity that unfolded itseøf in the wake of the great revival he impulsed and motored in the years before and after the turn of the century. Hauge's revival was strong and pure, and not the harsh life-inimical pietism of e.g. current Laestadianism. Still his removal from the scene caused this movement to wither and turn more zealous and hysterical. The central plot deals with how Skipper Worse, shortly after he has become a partner on the house of Garman (the company taking on the known name) is drawn into this sect by female scheming and his own lack of spiritual maturity to resist or see what's happening in a somewhat detached perspective.

Several pages injected into the storyline is a tableau portraying vividly and highly interestingly the workings of the town nightwatch men, usually old sailors, and their peculiar routines and also the drama of a town conflagration, detailing how the entire town, from urchins up to its highest officials are riled into action when the alarm goes. A similar tableau is shown of the town turning into a frenzied machinery when the first observation of herring spreads in minutes throughout town, whether night or day. Such depictions are true gems for later (especially much later) generations in their attempts to understand what life like was more than 150 years ago.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is set in Norway in the first half of the 19th century. It features the Haugians, a group of pietists known for bringing revival to Norway. The book shows Skipper Worse, a man of the sea, who eventually marries into a Haugian family.
The Haugians are portrayed as sometimes sincere, sometimes hypocritical, fanatical, conniving, and strenuously legalistic. The book gave me some insight into the times and the movement.

[Ola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Djevelen finner man selv i ertene.

[Trine Hegre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kielland imponerer nok en gang. Jeg sitter igjen med en tomhetsfølelse etter å ha fullført dette slående verket og misunner de som har til gode å lese boken.

Tragiske skjebner belyses i en tid hvor Stavangers religiøse kretser hersket og satte begrensinger for menneskets frie kjærlighet. Sjømannslivet løftes frem som djevelskap, mens religiøs manipulering får sentrere fritt så lenge referansene er å finne i Guds overbevisende ord.

Ettertanker: I hvilken grad skal Gudsfrykten sette retning for livet og gå på bekostning av den individuelle lykke? Er et ekteskap med ett utelukkende frelsesformål egentlig i tråd med Guds vilje?

[Mathias Bråthen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interessant om pietismen og haugianerne. Tydeligvis gjort mange folk disiplinerte og gitt gode rutiner i relasjonen til Gud, men blir også skildret hvordan enkeltpersoner kan bli forbitret og veldig regelbundne i dette miljøet (Hans Nilsen Fennefoss, Sara, Madam Torvestad og Skipper Worse).

[Perry Whitford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Social realism at its best about the merchants, shippers, and villagers on the west coast of Norway during the Haugian religious movement.

Hans Nielsen Hauge (April 1771 – March 1824) was a 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran lay minister and social reformer who sought to unite religion with industry. A quick read of his biography suggests a noble character, but the Lutherans were a severe lot with more than their fair share of fanatics.

A sequel of sorts, at the outset of the story Skipper Worse returns to his small yet prosperous fishing village of Sandsgaard Bay in triumph. His fortunes are on the rise. An ageing and simple man, he suddenly becomes a wealthy and eligible one.

Lay-preacher Hans Nilsen is so committed to the strictest renunciations of Haugism that he lives in denial about his love for Sara Torvestad, who loves him in return. Her mother is keen to bolster her own position in the community and seeks a more profitable match.

I can't commend Kieland enough for his mastery of both the private and public drama. He clearly doesn't approve of religion encroaching upon such secular concerns of love and happiness, but all the characters are given a fair crack.

Worthy of particular note is the entirety of chapter five, a portrait of the town in winter when the nights are long, the narrow streets cloaked in darkness, the fire-watch sit ready at the canon, and the coming of the herring to the coast, triggering feverish activity for both the men who must catch them and the women who will gut and salt them.

Quality literature.

[Alesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought a collection of classical novels for my Nook, and stumbled across this one, about Norway in the 1830s. It's set in a small fishing village, and follows the village's fortunes around fishing business and also rivalries between mainstream Lutheran and sect religious groups. I enjoyed it a lot primarily because of the way the characters interacted -- oddly similar to the Swedish side of my family. I therefore felt right at home with everybody in the book. In fact, I learned a lot about my own cultural heritage, in terms of relationships, modesty, seriousness, communications and expectations. It was an old-fashioned novel, in that it told a story with broad brush strokes, rather than doing a Freudian type analysis character analysis. In that regard, it reminded me of Isak Dinesen's stories, especially those set in Denmark (rather than her African work). It shows you how much our tastes have changed in literature over almost two centuries, but also how insights into human relations remain evergreen.

[Dhaval · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skipper Worse, a sea-faring Norwegian captain, liberal with the swear words and drink, falls for a younger pious woman, Sarah. Intersecting familial and religious duties results in hypocrisy and displaced love. A classic novel, interesting for the depictions of Norwegian life and the tangled webs of rationalizations that we weave.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not good and not bad. Not really my genre I suppose. I mostly picked it up because it was one swedish crown (thats around 11 American dollar cents and 10 euro cent) and it had the prettiest dark green leather bound cover. I mean, it should get stars just for how pretty it is.

[Kristian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artig innblikk i norsk bygdeliv på 1800-talet. Ikkje den mest spanande historia, men bra skrive. I tillegg var det øveraskande kjekt å få flashbacks frå norsktimane på videregåande. Hadde nesten heilt gløymd av Haugianarane.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Norwegian classic… Like many older books not as action packed, but I learned a lot about a period in history that I knew nothing about previously.

[Bent Andreassen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glimrende verk.

[Antonina Nowicka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bardzo ciekawa pozycja. Mozemy nie tylko zobaczyc jak dziala sekta ale tez spoleczenstwo norweskie w tamtych czasach.