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Die Pest in Bergamo: Novellen
Texte intégral révisé suivi d'une biographie de Jens Peter Jacobsen. "Et jour après jour la peste gagnait, le soleil de l'été consumait la ville, il ne tombait pas une goutte d'eau, pas un souffle n'agitait l'air, et, des cadavres qui pourrissaient dans les maisons comme des cadavres qui étaient mal enterrés, montait une puanteur suffocante qui se mêlait à l'atmosphère immobile des rues et avait attiré corbeaux et corneilles par essaims et par nuées, si bien que les murailles et les toits en étaient noirs. Et tout alentour, sur le mur d'enceinte de la ville, se tenaient isolément de grands oiseaux étranges, venus de très loin par delà les frontières, au bec rapace, aux serres recourbées et attentives, et, immobiles, ils plongeaient leurs regards tranquilles et féroces dans le cœur de l'infortunée cité, comme s'ils attendaient qu'elle fût devenue un seul et grand charnier."
- GenresShort Stories
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1881
1 person is currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Jens Peter Jacobsen
150 books236 followersJacobsen was born in Thisted in Jutland, the eldest of the five children of a prosperous merchant. He went to school in Copenhagen and was a student at the University of Copenhagen in 1868. As a boy, he showed a remarkable talent for science, in particular botany. In 1870, although he was already secretly writing poetry, Jacobsen adopted botany as a profession. He was sent by a scientific body in Copenhagen to report on the flora of the islands of Anholt and Læsø.
Around this time, the discoveries of Charles Darwin began to fascinate him. Realizing that the work of Darwin was not well known in Denmark, he translated The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man into Danish.
When still young, Jacobsen was struck by tuberculosis which eventually ended his life. His illness prompted travels to southern Europe.
Literary works:
Jacobsen's canon consists of two novels, seven short stories, and one posthumous volume of poetry—small, but enough to place him as one of the most influential Danish writers.
Prose:
The historical novel Fru Marie Grubbe (1876, Eng. trans.: Marie Grubbe: A Lady of the Seventeenth Century, 1917) is the first Danish treatment of a woman as a sexual creature. Based upon the life of an authentic 17th century Danish noblewoman, it charts her downfall from a member of the royal family to the wife of a ferryman, as a result of her desire for an independent and satisfying erotic life. In many ways the book anticipates the themes of D. H. Lawrence.
Jacobsen's second novel, Niels Lyhne (1880, Eng. trans. 1919), traces the fate of an atheist in a merciless world: his lack of faith is "tested" by tragedies and personal crises until he dies in war, disillusioned but unrepentant.
Jacobsen's short stories are collected in Mogens og andre Noveller (1882, translated as Mogens and Other Tales, 1921, and Mogens and Other Stories, 1994). Among them must be mentioned "Mogens" (1872—his official debut), the tale of a young dreamer and his maturing during love, sorrow and new hope of love. "Et Skud i Taagen" ("A Shot in the Fog") is a Poe-inspired tale of the sterility of hatred and revenge. "Pesten i Bergamo" ("The Plague of Bergamo") shows people clinging to religion even when tempted to be "free men". Fru Fønss (1882) is a sad story about a widow's tragic break with her egoistic children when she wants to remarry.
Mogens og andre Noveller and Niels Lyhne were both highly praised by Rainer Maria Rilke in his letters to Franz Xaver Kappus, translated as Letters to a Young Poet.
Poetry:
The poems of Jacobsen are more influenced by late romanticism than his prose. Many of them are wistful, dreamy and melancholic but also naturalistic. Most important is the great obscure poem "Arabesque to a Hand-drawing by Michel Angelo" (about 1875) the idea of which seems to be that art is going to replace immortality as the meaning of life. They significantly inspired the Danish symbolist poetry of the 1890s.
Around this time, the discoveries of Charles Darwin began to fascinate him. Realizing that the work of Darwin was not well known in Denmark, he translated The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man into Danish.
When still young, Jacobsen was struck by tuberculosis which eventually ended his life. His illness prompted travels to southern Europe.
Literary works:
Jacobsen's canon consists of two novels, seven short stories, and one posthumous volume of poetry—small, but enough to place him as one of the most influential Danish writers.
Prose:
The historical novel Fru Marie Grubbe (1876, Eng. trans.: Marie Grubbe: A Lady of the Seventeenth Century, 1917) is the first Danish treatment of a woman as a sexual creature. Based upon the life of an authentic 17th century Danish noblewoman, it charts her downfall from a member of the royal family to the wife of a ferryman, as a result of her desire for an independent and satisfying erotic life. In many ways the book anticipates the themes of D. H. Lawrence.
Jacobsen's second novel, Niels Lyhne (1880, Eng. trans. 1919), traces the fate of an atheist in a merciless world: his lack of faith is "tested" by tragedies and personal crises until he dies in war, disillusioned but unrepentant.
Jacobsen's short stories are collected in Mogens og andre Noveller (1882, translated as Mogens and Other Tales, 1921, and Mogens and Other Stories, 1994). Among them must be mentioned "Mogens" (1872—his official debut), the tale of a young dreamer and his maturing during love, sorrow and new hope of love. "Et Skud i Taagen" ("A Shot in the Fog") is a Poe-inspired tale of the sterility of hatred and revenge. "Pesten i Bergamo" ("The Plague of Bergamo") shows people clinging to religion even when tempted to be "free men". Fru Fønss (1882) is a sad story about a widow's tragic break with her egoistic children when she wants to remarry.
Mogens og andre Noveller and Niels Lyhne were both highly praised by Rainer Maria Rilke in his letters to Franz Xaver Kappus, translated as Letters to a Young Poet.
Poetry:
The poems of Jacobsen are more influenced by late romanticism than his prose. Many of them are wistful, dreamy and melancholic but also naturalistic. Most important is the great obscure poem "Arabesque to a Hand-drawing by Michel Angelo" (about 1875) the idea of which seems to be that art is going to replace immortality as the meaning of life. They significantly inspired the Danish symbolist poetry of the 1890s.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 17, 2020
Εξαιρετική μετάφραση!
October 26, 2020
Τι σύλληψη, τι σκηνικό! Σαν ξυλογραφία του Ντύρερ! Και τι μετάφραση, από τα βάθη του μπαούλου της ελληνικής πεζογραφίας (19ος αιώνας)!
May 19, 2020
Το περιμένα αλλιώς...
December 14, 2024
Απίστευτη σύλληψη.
November 9, 2025
Αριστούργημα
March 31, 2021
Här finns det att analysera!! Framförallt i dESsA tIdEr
December 25, 2022
J'ai souhaité lire cette nouvelle car elle traite d'un thème qui sera un peu abordé dans mon prochain roman : la peste. Ce qui m'a intéressé c'est l'aspect psychologique de la population confrontée à ce fléau. J'ai trouvé que l'atmosphère pesante était très bien décrite. La manière dont l'hystérie collective se met en place progressivement est très bien mise en scène... Jusqu'à ce qu'une phrase fasse tout déborder et conduise les protagonistes vers l'acte ignoble suprême, accepté presque de bonne grâce par les suppliciés, finalement eux-mêmes touchés par cette hystérie.
Cela m'a rappelé un autre court roman traitant d'une hystérie collective : "Mangez-le si vous voulez" de Jean Teulé, sur un fait divers s'étant réellement déroulé en France au XIXe siècle. Je vous le conseille d'ailleurs !
Pour en revenir à cette nouvelle, le style d'écriture est très "XIXe" puisqu'elle a été écrite en 1882 (décidément, encore 1882 !). C'est même un style parfois un peu indigeste je trouve. Mais cela change des récits historiques modernes. J'ai quand même dû la lire deux fois pour bien tout appréhender !
En ce qui concerne la chute, élément primordial d'une nouvelle, elle fait son effet. Sans que l'ignominie finale ne soit réellement décrite, l'auteur décrit la scène juste avant, laissant le soin au lecteur d'imaginer la suite... Sensations garanties !
Cela m'a rappelé un autre court roman traitant d'une hystérie collective : "Mangez-le si vous voulez" de Jean Teulé, sur un fait divers s'étant réellement déroulé en France au XIXe siècle. Je vous le conseille d'ailleurs !
Pour en revenir à cette nouvelle, le style d'écriture est très "XIXe" puisqu'elle a été écrite en 1882 (décidément, encore 1882 !). C'est même un style parfois un peu indigeste je trouve. Mais cela change des récits historiques modernes. J'ai quand même dû la lire deux fois pour bien tout appréhender !
En ce qui concerne la chute, élément primordial d'une nouvelle, elle fait son effet. Sans que l'ignominie finale ne soit réellement décrite, l'auteur décrit la scène juste avant, laissant le soin au lecteur d'imaginer la suite... Sensations garanties !
December 23, 2025
[...]Μήτ' ἀλληλεγγύη, μήτε συμπόνια πέρσευε στην καρδιά τους. Καθένας τὸ τομάρι του. Ὁ ἄρρωστος, κοινὸς ἐχθρὸς λογιάζονταν· κι ἂν τύχαινε κάνας φουκαρᾶς νὰ σωριαστῇ καταμεσής στη στράτα, ἀποκαμωμένος ἀπ' τὸ πρῶτο πυρετικό παραλήρημα τῆς πανούκλας, οἱ ξώθυρες μέναν θεόκλειστες... μόν' τὸν ἀνάγκαζαν κιόλα, μὲ κοντάρια καὶ πέτρες, νὰ κάνῃ πέρα ἀπὸ τὸ διάβα τῶν γερῶν τρομάρα τους![...]
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October 16, 2025Læst Oktober 2025. Indeholdt i Mogens og andre Noveller
March 22, 2020
En ret kort novelle, der både er aktuel i forhold til pandemien og den forestående påske. Den skal I læse!
Kan bl.a. findes på Mofibo i novellesamlingen “Mogens og andre noveller”
Kan bl.a. findes på Mofibo i novellesamlingen “Mogens og andre noveller”
March 21, 2021
Πολύ ωραία γλώσσα, σκοτεινό και αφοριστικό.
October 23, 2025
igual de breve que las demás narraciones, muy interesante, la narracion igual de exquisita que siempre en el autor y es curioso que esta obra inspirara a Muerte en Venezia
May 16, 2020
Hvad kan en altomfattende krise, som f.eks. den nuværende Corona-krise, gøre ved et samfund? J. P. Jacobsens uhyggelige beskrivelse, af da pesten kom til Bergamo, er et bud
Læs mere her: https://boegerneslabyrint.wordpress.c...
Læs mere her: https://boegerneslabyrint.wordpress.c...
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October 28, 2011A chilly morality story in either Danish or English. When the plague consumes the city of Bergamo, its residents turn their backs on their Christian god. But has He also turned His back on them?
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews