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Isbjørnen
Pontoppidan er oprørt over de sociale forhold hos almuen. I Isbjørnen fra 1887 udtrykker han sin harme med en grum, men samtidig morsom, lystspilsagtig satire. Satiren går på det borgerlige samfund, der hytter sig selv og udstøder den egenartede præst, Isbjørnen, der nærer en ægte omsorg for de svage. Men den rammer også den almue, der i almindelig underkuethed og uvidenhed retter ind efter autoriteterne, hvilket får Isbjørnen til at forlade sognet med ordene: "I har de Tyranner, som I fortjener."
1 pages, Audiobook
First published January 1, 1887
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About the author
Henrik Pontoppidan
132 books85 followersAwarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1917 "for his authentic descriptions of present-day life in Denmark." (Award shared with Karl Gjellerup.)
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 12, 2008
I obtained a copy of The Polar Bear through an inter-library loan. So, thank you, University of California's Southern Library Facility, you really made my day. Or maybe even my year.
This was such a lovely short story, filled with the type of elegant, visual prose that writing instructors the world over are pointing to when they admonish their students to "Show!" and "Not Tell!" But even so, the dialog and the fluidity of the story are never bogged down in lengthly, over-flowered passages. Observe our first introduction to the novel's protagonist:
"Imagine for yourself, dear Reader, a large, flaming red face, with a snow-white, tousled beard hanging down from it; and hiding, here and there is the rough chinhairs, more old remnants of green cabbage slop, breadcrumbs or tan-colored snuff tobacco than one might find completely appetizing...It should also be pointed out that Pastor Muller was exactly six feet one and a half inches tall, that he had lost a finger on his left hand, and that he presented himself to the world, summer and winter, in the same marvelous costume, consisting of a moth-eaten dogskin cap with a visor, a pair of gray checkered trousers stuck into a pair of massive boots that stank sourly of whale oil, and a short, shiny old hunting jacket, a so-called "rump-cooler," that was buttoned tightly over his huge, giant-like body..."
The Polar Bear is a novella about Thorkild Muller, a reclusive, undereducated, and outcast Danish pastor who is reassigned to a parish in Greenland. Muller quickly finds a sense of belonging and fulfillment living with the Inuit, and becomes integrated into their nomadic society. In his old age, however, Muller returns to Denmark and finds himself unexpectedly embroiled in a confrontation with the Danish church.
It's wonderful, which is actually extremely tragic, in that most of you won't have access to a copy to read and those of you who do out there in Southern California don't seem to take advantage of it. (The borrower slip in the back of the book shows that this was only rented from the library once in April 2005. So, shout out to my library buddy in California--you have excellent taste.)
As translator James Massengale notes in his Afterword,
"There has been a real need, in our modern Scandinavian literature classes, for an exuberant story with no battle of the sexes, no lengthy account of awful diseases, no "depressing realism." The Polar Bear was chosen partially as an answer to the common student reaction of the type: "do the Scandinavians always get depressed or divorce, or commit suicide in their stories?" The answer, as far as this novella goes, is certainly no; but that does not mean our story is simplistic, or that it lacks depth or "debate." The choice also has the advantage of bring to students' attention the name of an outstanding but less-known Danish author, Henrik Pontoppidan, who, despite winning a shared Nobel Prize for literature in 1917, has not remained within our American-Scandinavian teaching "cannon." He needs to be reinstated, along with a number of other Scandinavian writers of both sexes who have been brushed aside by the great Ibsen/Strindberg steamroller and the restrictive policies of some of the larger publishing houses."
Amen.
This was such a lovely short story, filled with the type of elegant, visual prose that writing instructors the world over are pointing to when they admonish their students to "Show!" and "Not Tell!" But even so, the dialog and the fluidity of the story are never bogged down in lengthly, over-flowered passages. Observe our first introduction to the novel's protagonist:
"Imagine for yourself, dear Reader, a large, flaming red face, with a snow-white, tousled beard hanging down from it; and hiding, here and there is the rough chinhairs, more old remnants of green cabbage slop, breadcrumbs or tan-colored snuff tobacco than one might find completely appetizing...It should also be pointed out that Pastor Muller was exactly six feet one and a half inches tall, that he had lost a finger on his left hand, and that he presented himself to the world, summer and winter, in the same marvelous costume, consisting of a moth-eaten dogskin cap with a visor, a pair of gray checkered trousers stuck into a pair of massive boots that stank sourly of whale oil, and a short, shiny old hunting jacket, a so-called "rump-cooler," that was buttoned tightly over his huge, giant-like body..."
The Polar Bear is a novella about Thorkild Muller, a reclusive, undereducated, and outcast Danish pastor who is reassigned to a parish in Greenland. Muller quickly finds a sense of belonging and fulfillment living with the Inuit, and becomes integrated into their nomadic society. In his old age, however, Muller returns to Denmark and finds himself unexpectedly embroiled in a confrontation with the Danish church.
It's wonderful, which is actually extremely tragic, in that most of you won't have access to a copy to read and those of you who do out there in Southern California don't seem to take advantage of it. (The borrower slip in the back of the book shows that this was only rented from the library once in April 2005. So, shout out to my library buddy in California--you have excellent taste.)
As translator James Massengale notes in his Afterword,
"There has been a real need, in our modern Scandinavian literature classes, for an exuberant story with no battle of the sexes, no lengthy account of awful diseases, no "depressing realism." The Polar Bear was chosen partially as an answer to the common student reaction of the type: "do the Scandinavians always get depressed or divorce, or commit suicide in their stories?" The answer, as far as this novella goes, is certainly no; but that does not mean our story is simplistic, or that it lacks depth or "debate." The choice also has the advantage of bring to students' attention the name of an outstanding but less-known Danish author, Henrik Pontoppidan, who, despite winning a shared Nobel Prize for literature in 1917, has not remained within our American-Scandinavian teaching "cannon." He needs to be reinstated, along with a number of other Scandinavian writers of both sexes who have been brushed aside by the great Ibsen/Strindberg steamroller and the restrictive policies of some of the larger publishing houses."
Amen.
April 30, 2021
Jeg havde (næsten) glemt, hvor god Henrik Pontoppidan er. Den lille kortroman, Isbjørnen, er kun et hjørne af hans værk, men den rummer i sig mange af de temaer, der præger Pontoppidans store forfatterskab, og hans sproglige mesterskab er let genkendeligt.
Læs min anmeldelse på K’s bognoter: https://bognoter.dk/2021/04/30/henrik...
Læs min anmeldelse på K’s bognoter: https://bognoter.dk/2021/04/30/henrik...
November 3, 2025
3+
En ”evigt ung minor classic” kallar Bakhåll den här kortromanen av 1917 års Nobelpristagare. Kanske finns det något i det för det är en rätt härlig berättelse om en hopplös präststudent som skickas till Grönland för att predika och där lever upp innan han återvänder till Danmark och skapar oreda genom sin oortodoxa inställning till kyrkan och tron.
Både i ramberättelse och tematik finns det en hel del likheter med ”Profeterna vid Evighetensfjorden” av Kim Leine som vann Nordiska rådets litteraturpris 2013. Med sitt större omfång är den en klart större läsupplevelse, men det är svårt att tro att Leine inte läst och inspirerats av Pontoppidan.
Kanske har båda dessa berättelser förnyad aktualitet i våra dagar när Grönland hamnat mitt i världspolitiken och frågan om Danmarks koloniala historia diskuteras mer. Och trots att den har över hundra år på nacken läser jag Pontoppidans bok som ett ifrågasättande om inte av kolonialismen så i alla fall av synen på kolonialmaktens överlägsenhet och kyrkans stelbenta grepp om dåtidens samhälle.
En ”evigt ung minor classic” kallar Bakhåll den här kortromanen av 1917 års Nobelpristagare. Kanske finns det något i det för det är en rätt härlig berättelse om en hopplös präststudent som skickas till Grönland för att predika och där lever upp innan han återvänder till Danmark och skapar oreda genom sin oortodoxa inställning till kyrkan och tron.
Både i ramberättelse och tematik finns det en hel del likheter med ”Profeterna vid Evighetensfjorden” av Kim Leine som vann Nordiska rådets litteraturpris 2013. Med sitt större omfång är den en klart större läsupplevelse, men det är svårt att tro att Leine inte läst och inspirerats av Pontoppidan.
Kanske har båda dessa berättelser förnyad aktualitet i våra dagar när Grönland hamnat mitt i världspolitiken och frågan om Danmarks koloniala historia diskuteras mer. Och trots att den har över hundra år på nacken läser jag Pontoppidans bok som ett ifrågasättande om inte av kolonialismen så i alla fall av synen på kolonialmaktens överlägsenhet och kyrkans stelbenta grepp om dåtidens samhälle.
February 5, 2020
De smukke naturbeskrivelser af Grønland og hovedpersonens afsluttende besked til meningheden, var denne korte fortællings fortrin. - Mon Pontoppidan selv rejste til Grønland? Jeg får lyst til at læse mere af ham.
February 6, 2013
A estória de Thorild Muller, da sua hercúlea estatura, da sua metamorfose esquimó na Gronelândia, da sua acepção da religião, como qualquer outra dimensão da vida, e da importância de desistir. Uma pequena novela de oitenta páginas que flui pelas paisagens e costumes da esterilidade dinamarquesa, através da fértil imaginação e capacidade descritiva do realismo em Pontoppidan.
August 23, 2025
Un excelente libro. Nos muestra el ambiente propio de Dinamarca y en este caso también Groenlandia. Es una excelente forma de entrar en el nobel del 17, que se ha vuelto uno de mis preferidos. Ojalá en un futuro existan más ediciones de sus libros ya que yo afortunadamente encontré una edición de la extinta editorial aguilar, que sin duda son tesoros que pienso guardar toda mi existencia. Es una lectura exigente , que nos muestra atisbos de sus dos grandes obras "Per el afortunado " y " La tierra prometida ".
excelente 👌 🐻❄️🐻❄️
excelente 👌 🐻❄️🐻❄️
June 27, 2025
Refreshing characters, felt more unique than lots of novels I've picked up recently. Fairly straightforward morality tale with striking panoramas and some good humor. Quite brief, definitely worth your time.
NYRB Classics edition was paired with "The Rearguard"- enjoyed this one less, felt in line with the 19th/early 20th European Romantic tropes but had the same charm to the prose.
Kudos to Larkin's translations, very natural writing with a dry-comedy meter.
NYRB Classics edition was paired with "The Rearguard"- enjoyed this one less, felt in line with the 19th/early 20th European Romantic tropes but had the same charm to the prose.
Kudos to Larkin's translations, very natural writing with a dry-comedy meter.
October 16, 2024
Det var en god bog. Den var meget svær da sproget er meget gammelt i den og der derfor er en masse ord og vendinger jeg havde svært ved at forstå og måtte læse igennem et par gange og slå op. Men det var en god fortælling om en sørgelig skæbne, som udviklede sig til det gode.
November 25, 2025
Okay lad være med at overtage en hvid død mands syn på den grønlandske befolkning 100 procent, den her lille roman er ret kolonialistisk. Men den er også temmelig antidansk samtidig! Og jeg fnes lidt undervejs; daddy Pontoppidan er jo super spydig.
July 27, 2020
2.5⭐️
October 18, 2025
Härlig inblick i livet Grönland och Danmark under början av 1900-talet. Skildringen av Thorkilds liv är kort men hinner ge en både ett och annat skratt samt djup känsla av sympati.
April 5, 2021
En udmærket og hurtiglæst historie om en finurlig præst, der sendes til Grønland og forelsker sig i landet, men alligevel vender tilbage til Danmark, hvor han dog heller ikke passer ind.
Hørt som lydbog oplæst af Karsten Pharao, der gør det godt, men som overhovedet ikke kan finde ud af at udtale grønlandske ord, og det er lidt forstyrrende, hvis man kender sproget.
Hørt som lydbog oplæst af Karsten Pharao, der gør det godt, men som overhovedet ikke kan finde ud af at udtale grønlandske ord, og det er lidt forstyrrende, hvis man kender sproget.
January 2, 2024
A failed Danish priest who finds his true self in the wilderness of Greenland among Inuits. Quick witted and humorous. The everlasting story of man’s return to true nature and innocence, escaping modern life filled with superficial and degenerating characters.
December 30, 2016
Short, but not sweet, story chosen for an Around-the-World reading challenge (Denmark). Some of the imagery is lovely, but the characterization isn't deep enough for me.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews