Fru Inés

by Amalie Skram

Hovedpersonen, den vakre Inés, er gift med den mye eldre konsul von Ribbing. Men det er et ekteskap bare i navnet, i virkeligheden lever de mer eller mindre separate liv. Inés har en rekke beundrere og har rykte på seg for å være løsaktig, men i virkeligheten er hun frigid. Hun kompenserer med koketteri og flørter med sine beundrere, men synes de er «indbildske Fyre» og «Idioter».

Blant Inés' beundrere er den unge svensken, Arthur Flemming, som har fått ansettelse ved von Ribbings kontor. Han er ikke like pågående som de andre beundrerne, noe som vekker Inés interesse og hun forelsker seg i ham. De to innleder et lidenskapelig forhold, men forholdet får fatale konsekvenser for dem begge to.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Audiobook, 19th Century

123 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1891

About the author

From Wikipedia.

Amalie Skram (22 August 1846 – 15 March 1905) was a Norwegian author and feminist who gave voice to a woman's point of view with her naturalist writing. She moved to Denmark in 1894 where she settled in Copenhagen with her husband, the Danish writer Erik Skram. She is considered the most important female writer of the Modern Breakthrough.

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ein klassikar? Ikke veldig.
Fru Inés er en sånn bok som så ettertrykkelig ble skrevet av en dame på den tiden fanfiction ikke var etablert, men det var fortsatt jenter som ville skrive sine overdramatiserte, romantiske og tragiske dagdrømmer ned på papiret likevel. Kanskje hadde jeg følt annerledes om jeg visste mer om Skram, men det eneste andre jeg har lest av henne var Karens Jul, som er en rørende og virkelighetsskarp novelle. Fru Inés, derimot, er en Romeo og Julie-type tragedie mellom Hunky MacSwede og Lady Inés of MILF-ville - og jeg ble utrolig skuffet. Portretteringen av kjærlighet er så urelaistisk, så brå og samtidig så utrolig uforanderlig, det blir for dumt. Det later til at Skram har som intensjon at Inés skal være en sterk og egen kvinne, men dessverre virker hun bare hysterisk mesteparten av tiden, på grensen til bipolar og ellers ekstremt selvsentrert. Dette kunne selvfølgelig vært et utrolig interessant utgangspunkt, men det virker som om det er helt ubevisst fra Skrams side.
Tappert prøver hun å hale seg inn igjen fra den superromantiske fortellingen med en tragisk slutt som virker nesten som om hun bare gikk lei av fortellingen sin. Uoriginalt og nesten uprofesjonelt kaster hun sine karakterer når hun er ferdig. Etter Arthurs død snakker Inés om at hun er så uendelig ulykkelig, men hun er fortsatt like todimensjonal som hun alltid har vært.
Jeg sitter ikke igjen med så mye annet enn irritasjon etter å ha lest ferdig. Kanskje er det fordi jeg ikke har lest boka godt nok, eller at jeg er for ung eller "moderne". Kanskje er det rett og slett en dårlig bok.

Men én ting skal den ha, Fru Inés, og det er deilige og fargerike stedsskildringer. Jeg lengter etter å ikke bare dra til Istanbul, men dra dit da det enda var Konstantinopel, gå i de små bakgatene, handle i de tyrkiske butikkene og drikke kaffe og røyke sigaretter på caféene.
Hadde det ikke vært for det, hadde jeg gitt hele boka stryk.

[victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

«Fru Inés er en sånn bok som så ettertrykkelig ble skrevet av en dame på den tiden fanfiction ikke var etablert»

Ja, og hva faen med det? Sjukeste romanen fra 1800-tallet akkurat derav! Amalie Skram, for ei TJEJ! Satte meg inn for å lese den i historisk kontekst og gapte hele veien. Skandaløst & modig, beste norske forfatter jeg har lest og måler høyere enn Austen når det kommer til skildring av kvinnefigurer. Elsk<3

[Sverre · Rating 5 out of 5]

=== A woman's desperate search for reasons to live and love ==

The author had difficulty finding publishers for many of her books due to their ‘scandalous’ content. The world of the 1880s and 90s was not ready to acknowledge women’s rights and freedom. Marriage was frequently a bondage to the kitchen stove, the laundry tub, the infant’s crib and compulsory compliance in the marriage bed. Amalie Skram was one of a handful of 19th century Scandinavian women authors who dared through their literature to pose questions about the traditional role of women within marriage. Some of their female characters were virginal and had no idea about sexuality—about possible pains or pleasures. Others had experience and were ‘tainted’ or ‘fallen’ women who no respectable man wanted so they had to marry slovenly, lazy or abusive men.

This short book, Fru Inés, is about a beautiful woman who marries a rich influential older man, Ribbing, who in the process will bail her out of insolvency. But behind his respectability he is a pervert and philanderer. Soon she avoids his sexual advances but he keeps her on as a showpiece, under close supervision so she won’t stray. After fourteen years, sexual frustration eventually wins out by her taking on a lover, the English Flemming. But he is socially inept and emotionally weak.

Unlike Skram’s other novels set in Norway or Denmark, this one has an exotic setting: Constantinople. She had traveled there so she knew the city, people and culture first hand. She took great pains in getting everything correct. This novel—although short—has many layers and can be interpreted on multiple fronts. After reading it one can wonder about events that were not told but were only hinted at. Psychologists have indulged themselves in attributing several meanings to symbolic clues built into the plot. The story of Fru Inés is a tragic story of a woman searching for reasons to live in a world she clings to but also detests. This is a brief but serious and memorable work with a very abrupt ending that may leave the reader in awestruck despair.

[Marius Emanuelsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A+

[Sara K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literære karakterer fra 1800-tallet har tydeligvis en tilbøyelighet for å løse problemene sine via selvmord eller å simpelten dø. Takk og lov for kvinnerettigheter.

[Frida · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hm. Hva skal jeg si. Antiklimatisk. Etter å ha lest Sjur Gabriel og Karens Jul, virker denne som om Amalie Skram hadde laget seg en ufeilbarig oppskrift som hun trodde hun kunne flyte på resten av sitt forfatterskap. X karakter opplever Y og deretter skjer Z. I hennes andre verk er handlingen flytende og naturlig, mens Fru Inéz virker som et mindre godt utflørt eksemplar av deus ex machina. Her var alt skrevet uten hint av mystikk, og slutten var nærmest lagt opp fra første side. Frampek er én ting, men Fru Inéz tok det til et helt nytt nivå. Og jeg har lest Et Helt Halvt År.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

For its time, Fru Ines was provocative and shocking, as it pushed far beyond the line of "proper" female behavior. While it may be viewed as feminist literature now, by a woman seeking more freedom than society would willingly give her, it now reads as melodramatic and almost ridiculous.

[Dorthe Svendsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vi og de problematikken ved de første reise berøres. Samt alt det uheldige i ett ekteskap der mye ikke blir adressert eller tatt på alvor. Vred blir jeg!! Viktig er disse bøkene. Heldigvis er vi kommet lenger, men ikke langt nok!

[Aurora Rypdal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boken var veldig bra skrevet med gode skildringer og beskrivelser

[Ine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragic

[Caroline Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deeply moving, difficult story - set in Constantinople.

I am glad to have learned of this Norwegian author.

[Thea Solheim · Rating 1 out of 5]

0.5*

Sikkert syk spennende på 1800-tallet!

[Evelyn Holmøy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Svulstig, pretensiøs. Veldig skuffende etter å ha forventet noe som slekter i det minste litt på Professor Hieronimus, som jeg virkelig liker.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Inés, you are so cruel. Oh, Inés, you are so selfish. Emma Bovary has already languished in her boredom and pursuit of bliss, and here you are, another woman who just cannot be satisfied with what you have, even though you are privileged, beautiful and filthy rich. So your husband is much older than you, the marriage was arranged, you shudder at the thought of him touching you, he has mistresses (who has born him a bunch of children). There was so much squalor and misery in society at this time, you live a life of leisure and luxury. This opens up a room to think about sexual satisfaction.

Flemming is young, only 22, he is the sensitive type – romantic and strong feelings, and he has always felt bored with life. He falls deeply in love with Inés (or thinks he does) – for her I guess it’s more of a thrill. Is he a woman’s fantasy (the manic pixie dream girl as a man), the one you read about in over-the-top romance novels written by women? Could be, but I have met the Fleming-type a couple of times – very sweet and attractive and intense …but don’t fool around with him unless feelings are mutual. Anyway, Inés feels attracted to him, and the attraction is so strong that she wildly hopes she finally will be able to experience sexual satisfaction, aka have an orgasm, with him. This being Norway in the late 1800s, I suspect this wasn’t a major concern of men or women at the time …

I have never read a novel by Skram with a happy ending. It’s melodrama, sentimentality and death. That woman shows no mercy. But it’s fascinating to read about women who rebel against social norms, they feel constrained and want more of life, and I especially like that they are flawed. Her main characters are quite headstrong and not entirely likeable, they make mistakes, and the men are also prisoners, of course, if not in body, then in mind and social rules, and they are also a mix of good and bad. It makes it all so much more interesting.

[Afsheen · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK

[Whyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

To write about a woman searching for sensual love at that time is quite exceptional.

[Andrea Barlien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another shocking indictment of women’s positions in the late 19th century. Although a short and quick read, this one will stay with me for a while.

[Lesserknowngems · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm surprised that there is such a difference between norwegian reviews and english-writing reviews of this book. Hmm.

[Taran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Melodrama

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5