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Fru Marta Oulie
”Jeg har været min mand utro”. Sådan lyder den meget berømte første linje i Sigrid Undsets debutroman Fru Marta Oulie, som nu for første gang kan læses på dansk.
Marta er ved at uddanne sig til lærerinde, da hun møder sin fremtidige mand Otto Oulie og i hans stærke og sunde ydre, hans ranke holdning, mener at finde kærligheden. Marta og Otto bliver gift og får hen ad vejen fire børn sammen, men Martas tanker drejer sig kun om den utroskab, hun har begået. Da Otto bliver først syg og siden er på gravens rand, forstærkes Martas dårlige samvittighed, hendes sjælekamp, og selve livets mening er på spil i spørgsmålet om troskab og synd.
Fru Marta Oulie udkom i Norge i 1907. På det tidspunkt var det stadig strafbart at bedrive utroskab, og Undsets roman med fokus på en kvindes utroskab har derfor været meget chokerende i sin samtid. Men Undset fokuserer ikke på samfundets love, hun skriver om den enkeltes ansvar over for sig selv. Mennesket (både mænd og kvinder) har ret til at gøre, som det vil, men skyldens konsekvenser må man leve med for evigt.
Marta er ved at uddanne sig til lærerinde, da hun møder sin fremtidige mand Otto Oulie og i hans stærke og sunde ydre, hans ranke holdning, mener at finde kærligheden. Marta og Otto bliver gift og får hen ad vejen fire børn sammen, men Martas tanker drejer sig kun om den utroskab, hun har begået. Da Otto bliver først syg og siden er på gravens rand, forstærkes Martas dårlige samvittighed, hendes sjælekamp, og selve livets mening er på spil i spørgsmålet om troskab og synd.
Fru Marta Oulie udkom i Norge i 1907. På det tidspunkt var det stadig strafbart at bedrive utroskab, og Undsets roman med fokus på en kvindes utroskab har derfor været meget chokerende i sin samtid. Men Undset fokuserer ikke på samfundets love, hun skriver om den enkeltes ansvar over for sig selv. Mennesket (både mænd og kvinder) har ret til at gøre, som det vil, men skyldens konsekvenser må man leve med for evigt.
124 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1907
13 people are currently reading
749 people want to read
About the author
Sigrid Undset
273 books874 followersSigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist whose powerful, psychologically rich works made her one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century. Best known for her medieval sagas Kristin Lavransdatter and The Master of Hestviken, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928 for her vivid portrayals of life in the Middle Ages, written with remarkable historical detail and emotional depth.
Born in Denmark to Norwegian parents, Undset spent most of her life in Norway. After her father's early death, she had to forgo formal education and worked as a secretary while writing in her spare time. Her debut novel Fru Marta Oulie (1907) shocked readers with its opening confession of adultery and established her bold, realist style. In early works like ,i>Jenny (1911), she explored modern women's struggles with love, freedom, and morality, often critiquing romantic idealism and social expectations.
Though she gained recognition for her contemporary novels, Undset felt increasingly drawn to historical fiction. This shift led to her masterwork Kristin Lavransdatter, a trilogy published from 1920 to 1922, which follows the life of a woman in 14th-century Norway as she navigates love, faith, motherhood, and spiritual growth. With its intricate character development and deep moral themes, the trilogy brought her international acclaim and remains a cornerstone of Scandinavian literature.
In 1924, Undset converted to Roman Catholicism, a profound personal decision that shaped her later writing. Her tetralogy,i>The Master of Hestviken (1925–1927) centers on a man burdened by unconfessed guilt, offering a deeply spiritual and psychological portrait of sin and redemption. Her Catholic faith and concern with ethical questions became central to her work and public life.
A vocal critic of both communism and fascism, Undset fled Norway after the Nazi invasion in 1940. Her books were banned by the occupying regime, and she lived in exile in the United States during the war, advocating for Norway and the Allied cause. The loss of her son in the war deeply affected her, and although she returned home after the war, she published little in her final years.
Undset’s legacy rests not only on her historical novels but also on her fearless exploration of conscience, duty, and the human condition. Her characters—especially her women—are fully realized, flawed, and emotionally complex. Her writing combines psychological insight with stylistic clarity and spiritual depth, making her work enduringly relevant and widely read.
Born in Denmark to Norwegian parents, Undset spent most of her life in Norway. After her father's early death, she had to forgo formal education and worked as a secretary while writing in her spare time. Her debut novel Fru Marta Oulie (1907) shocked readers with its opening confession of adultery and established her bold, realist style. In early works like ,i>Jenny (1911), she explored modern women's struggles with love, freedom, and morality, often critiquing romantic idealism and social expectations.
Though she gained recognition for her contemporary novels, Undset felt increasingly drawn to historical fiction. This shift led to her masterwork Kristin Lavransdatter, a trilogy published from 1920 to 1922, which follows the life of a woman in 14th-century Norway as she navigates love, faith, motherhood, and spiritual growth. With its intricate character development and deep moral themes, the trilogy brought her international acclaim and remains a cornerstone of Scandinavian literature.
In 1924, Undset converted to Roman Catholicism, a profound personal decision that shaped her later writing. Her tetralogy,i>The Master of Hestviken (1925–1927) centers on a man burdened by unconfessed guilt, offering a deeply spiritual and psychological portrait of sin and redemption. Her Catholic faith and concern with ethical questions became central to her work and public life.
A vocal critic of both communism and fascism, Undset fled Norway after the Nazi invasion in 1940. Her books were banned by the occupying regime, and she lived in exile in the United States during the war, advocating for Norway and the Allied cause. The loss of her son in the war deeply affected her, and although she returned home after the war, she published little in her final years.
Undset’s legacy rests not only on her historical novels but also on her fearless exploration of conscience, duty, and the human condition. Her characters—especially her women—are fully realized, flawed, and emotionally complex. Her writing combines psychological insight with stylistic clarity and spiritual depth, making her work enduringly relevant and widely read.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
April 16, 2020
In my early twenties, I fell in love with Sigrid Undset while reading Kristin Lavransdatter. Absorbed, I read it while rocking my baby son to sleep, my toddler daughter napping nearby. I suppose I could’ve napped, too, but instead I balanced the heavy book on one arm and read for as long as I could.
This novella’s Marta, though a decade older than I was when I first read Undset, is also a mother of young children. She too tries to carve out (head) space for herself. (Unlike me, Marta has a maid to care for her children, so it's more her relationship with her husband and her dissatisfaction with conventional expectations that are the issues.) Her thoughts are set forth honestly and sometimes brutally in her “diary.”
Undset wrote this short work when she was in her early-twenties, before she was a wife and mother. It’s an impressive feat and I wonder how I might’ve related to it if I could've read it all those years ago.
*
The translated novels I’ve read recently have been published by Minnesota presses, including this one. Kudos to Minnesota.
This novella’s Marta, though a decade older than I was when I first read Undset, is also a mother of young children. She too tries to carve out (head) space for herself. (Unlike me, Marta has a maid to care for her children, so it's more her relationship with her husband and her dissatisfaction with conventional expectations that are the issues.) Her thoughts are set forth honestly and sometimes brutally in her “diary.”
Undset wrote this short work when she was in her early-twenties, before she was a wife and mother. It’s an impressive feat and I wonder how I might’ve related to it if I could've read it all those years ago.
*
The translated novels I’ve read recently have been published by Minnesota presses, including this one. Kudos to Minnesota.
July 8, 2016
Marta Oulie is in my second tier of novels by Sigrid Undset that I appreciate. It's the "like" tier. I read Undset's Nobel Prize winning trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter years ago. It remains in the first tier of novels by this author that I love along with her tetralogy The Master Hestviken and her Dark Age novel Gunnar's Daughter. Along with Jenny, Marlie Oulie is second tier. Sigrid Undset is one of my all time favorite writers, but I prefer her medieval works.
Marta Oulie was Sigrid Undset's first published novel, written when she was 25. It is a very good effort. Here the young author is just getting into her stride. She had attempted a novel at 16 that had a medieval setting, but the manuscript had been rejected. Marta Oulie was initially rejected, but a bit later it was taken up by a publisher and caused a literary sensation because of it's subject matter and opening sentence, "I have been unfaithful to my husband".
Some of the tone, psychology, and imagery of nature found in Marta Oulie will later appear in Gunnar's Daughter, Kristin Lavransdatter, and The Master of Hestviken but on a maturer and more highly crafted level. As in the Kristin Lavransdatter, Jenny, and The Master of Hestviken, I love the main character's struggle with questions of morality and sin.
I am impressed by the Sigrid Undset's first successful literary work. I believe she really poured her energy into this novel. However, I prefer her previously mentioned writings set in Norway during the Dark and Middle Ages.
Marta Oulie was Sigrid Undset's first published novel, written when she was 25. It is a very good effort. Here the young author is just getting into her stride. She had attempted a novel at 16 that had a medieval setting, but the manuscript had been rejected. Marta Oulie was initially rejected, but a bit later it was taken up by a publisher and caused a literary sensation because of it's subject matter and opening sentence, "I have been unfaithful to my husband".
Some of the tone, psychology, and imagery of nature found in Marta Oulie will later appear in Gunnar's Daughter, Kristin Lavransdatter, and The Master of Hestviken but on a maturer and more highly crafted level. As in the Kristin Lavransdatter, Jenny, and The Master of Hestviken, I love the main character's struggle with questions of morality and sin.
I am impressed by the Sigrid Undset's first successful literary work. I believe she really poured her energy into this novel. However, I prefer her previously mentioned writings set in Norway during the Dark and Middle Ages.
September 3, 2021
"Bu işe yaramaz kelimelerden bıktım. Yaramın kanamasını durdurmak için kullanıyorum bu kelimeleri."
April 25, 2014
The more I read Sigrid Undset, the more I love her......And it is only my second Undset novel after Gunnar's Daughter. Besides I have read her biography of Catherine of Siena. Interestingly I am yet to read her masterpieces.
About this book:
It is a simple story of a woman who falls in love with a right man, marries him and has three kids - seemingly a happy home/family life. Only that she feels bored by the routine of every day life and loses her happiness. That results in an affair. Meanwhile, her husband who loves her much falls ill and is placed in a sanitarium. He lies there dying and the wife feels oppressed by guilt. She is both tormented to be truthful and at the same time despaired to say the truth to her dying husband. As a result, she writes everything in a diary. That is the form of the novel.
The story looks very simple and it can be read in a sitting for it contains only 120 pages. What makes it special is Sigrid Undset. An Interesting Fact: She wrote this novel when she was 24 years old and it is her first published work. She was unmarried and had no children when she wrote it and yet this novel is about a married woman with four kids. Her descriptions of certain emotions relating to love, marriage, guilt, faith, the past, and mother's love are extra-ordinary. That is the greatness.
Endorsements:
Nobel Prize committee noted the following as Undset's greatness: "...for her extraordinary power and originality, both in her examination of the human soul and as a story teller."
Jane Smiley writes in her introduction to the book thus: "Undset was not an autobiographical writer but a speculative, inquisitive one; her genius was empathy, the ability to enter into the mind of someone unlike herself (male or female, modern or medieval) and to body forth the feelings and the perceptions of that character..."
A Passage to prove the point (It is a simple description of a mother's thought about her kid):
I read this passage many times and envied the mothers.......
I have opted for this citation in stead of the other ones relating to the past or the guilt, in order not to rob much of the plot.....
Final Remark:
My expectations for Kristin Lavransdatter have gone sky high. I will be reading it very soon.
About this book:
It is a simple story of a woman who falls in love with a right man, marries him and has three kids - seemingly a happy home/family life. Only that she feels bored by the routine of every day life and loses her happiness. That results in an affair. Meanwhile, her husband who loves her much falls ill and is placed in a sanitarium. He lies there dying and the wife feels oppressed by guilt. She is both tormented to be truthful and at the same time despaired to say the truth to her dying husband. As a result, she writes everything in a diary. That is the form of the novel.
The story looks very simple and it can be read in a sitting for it contains only 120 pages. What makes it special is Sigrid Undset. An Interesting Fact: She wrote this novel when she was 24 years old and it is her first published work. She was unmarried and had no children when she wrote it and yet this novel is about a married woman with four kids. Her descriptions of certain emotions relating to love, marriage, guilt, faith, the past, and mother's love are extra-ordinary. That is the greatness.
Endorsements:
Nobel Prize committee noted the following as Undset's greatness: "...for her extraordinary power and originality, both in her examination of the human soul and as a story teller."
Jane Smiley writes in her introduction to the book thus: "Undset was not an autobiographical writer but a speculative, inquisitive one; her genius was empathy, the ability to enter into the mind of someone unlike herself (male or female, modern or medieval) and to body forth the feelings and the perceptions of that character..."
A Passage to prove the point (It is a simple description of a mother's thought about her kid):
"Only Ase putters around the courtyard here with Ragna's little bare-bottomed Tomas. When I take her onto my lap and she sits there chattering, mostly to herself, I both listen and don't listen...then I think how inside this small head pressed against my breast there's a whole world. How much of it will I ever know? It does no good to imagine anything else-the souls of my own children are like foreign countries, with an infinite number of long roads that I will never travel. A mother thinks that she knows her children and understands them, but every single child realizes one day that she does not. Yet when I sit with my arms around Ase, I'm not completely alone. With child on your lap, you're as close to another person as you'll ever be."
I read this passage many times and envied the mothers.......
I have opted for this citation in stead of the other ones relating to the past or the guilt, in order not to rob much of the plot.....
Final Remark:
My expectations for Kristin Lavransdatter have gone sky high. I will be reading it very soon.
July 2, 2014
It is rare that I read a book and struggle with a character to the degree that I did with Marta Oulie. And it's a bit unfair in that I have little tolerance for adulterers. Because she has betrayed her husband by not only having sexual relations, but a child with Henrik, a good friend of her husband's and her acquaintance from childhood.
Her husband Otto does not know, even as he is hospitalized and dies of consumption. This book is written as a diary in which Marta expresses the inner thoughts and feelings she has always refused to share with either Otto or Heinrich. (I'm still trying to understand why they both loved her so much!) She admits to only thinking of herself and not truly loving anyone, even her children to the degree she believes she should. She is happy in her early marriage, but gradually becomes disillusioned with Otto.
If I were to proceed without saying that this book was published in 1907, I would do a disservice to readers of this review because the following will sound more like the end of the century. Marta had a teaching career but gave it up at Otto's request to care for her children. Otto has occasionally acted in and made somewhat chauvinistic statements. And she slowly withdrew from him and her marriage. Though his love is more steadfast, they are not close. She recognizes her inability to truly love either Otto or Heinrich.
It is tempting to rate this book in the like/dislike manner that Goodreads suggests. Because I didn't particularly like it. But I don't rate books that way. My admiration for good literary writing is too strong. And there is undoubted literary merit here. Unset was only 24 when she wrote this. It is blessedly short, but does not lack complexity or mature psychological understanding. And as jane smiley states in a fine introduction, this book is way before it's time in women's issues.
Her husband Otto does not know, even as he is hospitalized and dies of consumption. This book is written as a diary in which Marta expresses the inner thoughts and feelings she has always refused to share with either Otto or Heinrich. (I'm still trying to understand why they both loved her so much!) She admits to only thinking of herself and not truly loving anyone, even her children to the degree she believes she should. She is happy in her early marriage, but gradually becomes disillusioned with Otto.
If I were to proceed without saying that this book was published in 1907, I would do a disservice to readers of this review because the following will sound more like the end of the century. Marta had a teaching career but gave it up at Otto's request to care for her children. Otto has occasionally acted in and made somewhat chauvinistic statements. And she slowly withdrew from him and her marriage. Though his love is more steadfast, they are not close. She recognizes her inability to truly love either Otto or Heinrich.
It is tempting to rate this book in the like/dislike manner that Goodreads suggests. Because I didn't particularly like it. But I don't rate books that way. My admiration for good literary writing is too strong. And there is undoubted literary merit here. Unset was only 24 when she wrote this. It is blessedly short, but does not lack complexity or mature psychological understanding. And as jane smiley states in a fine introduction, this book is way before it's time in women's issues.
December 28, 2025
Undset is hardcore: "I've been unfaithful to my husband" - that's one hell of an opener in a 1907 debut novel!
And it doesn't get any better, like a wound never left to scab over, she just keeps looking at the damage and creating more. She unhappy and feels guilty towards the husband now dying of TB, not that she loves him anymore, nor his business partner with whom she cheated, and not just once...
Undset keeps digging and there is no easy ways out or happy ends in sight - but it is not just a sad tale it is also the story of a woman who tries to maintain herself even though the thoughtful husbond has wrapped her in everything she doesn't want and the three children makes demands.
And it doesn't get any better, like a wound never left to scab over, she just keeps looking at the damage and creating more. She unhappy and feels guilty towards the husband now dying of TB, not that she loves him anymore, nor his business partner with whom she cheated, and not just once...
Undset keeps digging and there is no easy ways out or happy ends in sight - but it is not just a sad tale it is also the story of a woman who tries to maintain herself even though the thoughtful husbond has wrapped her in everything she doesn't want and the three children makes demands.
March 5, 2014
“I have been unfaithful to my husband” is one of the most sensational and dramatic opening lines ever penned for a novel. Set in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, in 1902 Marta is a school teacher persistently courted by Otto, a partner in a business. They married and raise a family of two boys, Einar and Halfred, and a girl Ingrid. The birth of their daughter changes the equation in the family, resulting in an affair between Marta and Henrik, the business partner of Otto, and it lasts until Otto suffers from TB. Overcome by a deep feeling of guilt, Marta put an end to the affair but continues with the pregnancy, and a daughter Ase is born.
Marta Oulie: A Novel of Betrayal by Sigrid Undset, and translated from the original Norwegian by Tiina Nunnally, is a sweeping tale of infidelity, morality and belief. First published in 1907 as Fru Marta Oulie, this novel gives voice to the life of a woman from the dreamy days of her first love, to her growing frustration with her bored and restive life, her growing distance from her husband, her imprudent affair, and ultimately to her disgrace and despair.
Marta Oulie is the first novel by Sigrid Undset and enjoyed certain of degree. The novel which was first published in 1907 has much relevance in today’s complex society because fidelity and morality are still an issue, and we are still beset by double-standards. However, it has to be pointed out that Marta’s action is more about betrayal of self than anything. Feminism was considered revolutionary in those days, and over a century later the issue should have been resolved, dead and buried, and yet it is as much an issue even today and equality of the sexes is still a distant dream. Insightful and honest, Marta Oulie makes for an interesting and intriguing read.
Marta Oulie: A Novel of Betrayal by Sigrid Undset, and translated from the original Norwegian by Tiina Nunnally, is a sweeping tale of infidelity, morality and belief. First published in 1907 as Fru Marta Oulie, this novel gives voice to the life of a woman from the dreamy days of her first love, to her growing frustration with her bored and restive life, her growing distance from her husband, her imprudent affair, and ultimately to her disgrace and despair.
Marta Oulie is the first novel by Sigrid Undset and enjoyed certain of degree. The novel which was first published in 1907 has much relevance in today’s complex society because fidelity and morality are still an issue, and we are still beset by double-standards. However, it has to be pointed out that Marta’s action is more about betrayal of self than anything. Feminism was considered revolutionary in those days, and over a century later the issue should have been resolved, dead and buried, and yet it is as much an issue even today and equality of the sexes is still a distant dream. Insightful and honest, Marta Oulie makes for an interesting and intriguing read.
December 31, 2014
Undset's first novel, this story is told in diary form. Marta describes the early days of her love affair with her husband Otto, the conditions in her marriage that make her unhappy, and Otto's illness and death from tuberculosis. Both Marta Oulie and Undset's better known character Kristen Lavransdatter bear heavy loads of guilt after engaging in sexual relationships outside of marriage. Unfortunately, Marta's guilt and unhappiness dominate much of the novel, making it more interesting as a relic of Undset's talent than as a story.
My favorite part was Marta's description of her honeymoon in early 20th century Swedish countryside, a forest loaded with flowers, berries, and a rushing creek. Here and there we get enticing glimpses of a middle class Swedish household of the time, but the family's fortunes fall with their father's illness. After Otto dies, Marta rejects marriage with her erstwhile paramour and determines to raise her family of four children on a school teacher's salary.
This book is similar in theme to Kate Chopin's The Awakening, Doris Lessing's To Room Nineteen, and Ibsen's A Doll House, but Undset grants her heroine a way out of her misery, penurious though it may be. Marta's career means that she doesn't have to annihilate herself or abandon her children to become independent, a liberated point of view for the middle class in 1907.
My favorite part was Marta's description of her honeymoon in early 20th century Swedish countryside, a forest loaded with flowers, berries, and a rushing creek. Here and there we get enticing glimpses of a middle class Swedish household of the time, but the family's fortunes fall with their father's illness. After Otto dies, Marta rejects marriage with her erstwhile paramour and determines to raise her family of four children on a school teacher's salary.
This book is similar in theme to Kate Chopin's The Awakening, Doris Lessing's To Room Nineteen, and Ibsen's A Doll House, but Undset grants her heroine a way out of her misery, penurious though it may be. Marta's career means that she doesn't have to annihilate herself or abandon her children to become independent, a liberated point of view for the middle class in 1907.
January 8, 2024
Aşk, evlilik, çocukların evliliğe getirdikleri-götürdükleri, sadakatsizlik, eşlerin birbirlerini anlayamama halleri, vicdan azabı gibi edebiyatta çokça karşılaştığımız konuların etrafında şekillenen bir roman Marta Oulie. Ama romanı çok özel yapan birkaç şey var ki… Bence bunlardan en şaşrtıcı olanı; 45-50 yaşlarında bir kadının kaleminden çıkmış hissi uyandıran bu ihanet romanını Sigrid Unsted’in 24 yaşında iken yazmış olması. Üstelik yazarın basılan ilk kitabı ve 1907 yılında yazılmış. Çoğu insanın yaşanmışlıklar neticesinde elde ettiği bilgelik seviyesine çok erken yaşta erişmiş yazar. Zaten 1928 yılında da Nobel Edebiyat Ödülü’ne layık görülmüş.
Ülkemizde, son zamanlarda, Norveçli yazarların çevirileri daha çok yayımlanıyor ve okunuyor. Umarım bu durum, az okunduğunu gördüğüm Sigrid Undset’in eserlerine olan ilginin de artmasına vesile olur.
Ülkemizde, son zamanlarda, Norveçli yazarların çevirileri daha çok yayımlanıyor ve okunuyor. Umarım bu durum, az okunduğunu gördüğüm Sigrid Undset’in eserlerine olan ilginin de artmasına vesile olur.
January 22, 2021
Komme definitivt til å lese mer Undset!
March 19, 2016
Marta è una specie di moderna Bovary, anche se, a differenza del modello originale, è colta e spirituale e il suo tradimento viene più dalla lotta tra i sessi che nei paesi scandinavi data dagli inizi del secolo, piuttosto che da una noia di tipo estetico.
Essendo una creatura decisamente spirituale, dopo il tradimento e complice la malattia del marito, Marta scende tutti gli scalini del rimorso fino al riscatto, costituito dalla presa di coscienza che le è possibile vivere come donna emancipata, senza un uomo al suo fianco.
Opera prima di una donna che si aggiudicherà il premio Nobel, pur mostrando i limiti dell'estrema giovinezza e dell'immaturità stilistica dell'autrice, ha una enorme potenza di linguaggio e una altrettanto grande capacità di entrare nell'intimo dei personaggi.
La traduzione in inglese rende perfettamente il linguaggio originale.
Un enorme grazie alla University of Minnesota Press per avermi messo a disposizione il libro prima della sua uscita ufficiale in cambio di una recensione onesta.
Marta is like a modern Bovary, although, unlike the original one, she is cultured and spiritual, and her betrayal is caused more by the struggle between the sexes, that in the Scandinavian countries dates from the beginning of the century, rather than an aesthetic kind of boredom.
Being mainly a spiritual creature, after the betrayal and with the complicity of the illness of her husband, Martha gets off all the steps of remorse until a redemption, consisting of the awareness that it is possible to live as a liberated woman, without a man by her side.
First work of a woman who will win the Nobel Prize, while showing the limits of the extreme youth and the immature style of the author, has a tremendous power of language and an equally great capacity to enter deeply into the characters.
The English translation transmits perfectly the original language .
A huge thank you to the University of Minnesota Press for having made available the book before its official release in exchange for an honest review.
Essendo una creatura decisamente spirituale, dopo il tradimento e complice la malattia del marito, Marta scende tutti gli scalini del rimorso fino al riscatto, costituito dalla presa di coscienza che le è possibile vivere come donna emancipata, senza un uomo al suo fianco.
Opera prima di una donna che si aggiudicherà il premio Nobel, pur mostrando i limiti dell'estrema giovinezza e dell'immaturità stilistica dell'autrice, ha una enorme potenza di linguaggio e una altrettanto grande capacità di entrare nell'intimo dei personaggi.
La traduzione in inglese rende perfettamente il linguaggio originale.
Un enorme grazie alla University of Minnesota Press per avermi messo a disposizione il libro prima della sua uscita ufficiale in cambio di una recensione onesta.
Marta is like a modern Bovary, although, unlike the original one, she is cultured and spiritual, and her betrayal is caused more by the struggle between the sexes, that in the Scandinavian countries dates from the beginning of the century, rather than an aesthetic kind of boredom.
Being mainly a spiritual creature, after the betrayal and with the complicity of the illness of her husband, Martha gets off all the steps of remorse until a redemption, consisting of the awareness that it is possible to live as a liberated woman, without a man by her side.
First work of a woman who will win the Nobel Prize, while showing the limits of the extreme youth and the immature style of the author, has a tremendous power of language and an equally great capacity to enter deeply into the characters.
The English translation transmits perfectly the original language .
A huge thank you to the University of Minnesota Press for having made available the book before its official release in exchange for an honest review.
April 15, 2018
Marta Oulie (tr. Tiina Nunnally) appears to have been an unorthodox choice for my first book by Sigrid Undset, best known for her historical epics. Yet this slim novella ended up hooking me from the beginning. Told in the form of diary-like entries (though like almost all diary-style stories, this is written with a precision that obviously does not match any real diary that I have ever read...), it follows Marta as she admits her infidelity (betrayal, as the cover announces) and muses over her relationship with her husband (slowly dying in a sanatorium) and life in general.
Marta's voice is clear and engaging. Despite the topic being one of my least favorite tropes (I'm really not a fan of adultery stories...), Marta Oulie focuses less on the adultery itself or what led to it, as much as Marta's tortured state of mind. She repeatedly goes back to moments with her husband, good and bad, contemplating their impact on her life and thinking of how much she loves him. Through this, the novella also touches on a lot of interesting aspects of early 20th century life for middle-class women, with an almost proto-feminist message in Marta's marital unhappiness and arguments.
This is a remarkably quick read, but it leaves an impact. The writing is very straight-forward and enjoyable, with little distractions or convoluted, extraneous plots. I quite enjoyed it overall and am eagerly looking forward to reading more of Undset's more famous works in the future.
Marta's voice is clear and engaging. Despite the topic being one of my least favorite tropes (I'm really not a fan of adultery stories...), Marta Oulie focuses less on the adultery itself or what led to it, as much as Marta's tortured state of mind. She repeatedly goes back to moments with her husband, good and bad, contemplating their impact on her life and thinking of how much she loves him. Through this, the novella also touches on a lot of interesting aspects of early 20th century life for middle-class women, with an almost proto-feminist message in Marta's marital unhappiness and arguments.
This is a remarkably quick read, but it leaves an impact. The writing is very straight-forward and enjoyable, with little distractions or convoluted, extraneous plots. I quite enjoyed it overall and am eagerly looking forward to reading more of Undset's more famous works in the future.
April 17, 2022
Hver eneste dag står jeg opp, pusser tennene, og er en norsklærers drøm
Read
June 19, 2025En god bok å ha med seg til feks morgenbladet-quiz, men også på grunn av sånne ting:
man lærer så lenge man lever, men gud hjelpe oss for hva vi lærer
de unge, de er ensidige, for dem er det bare én vei til saligheten, og duger de noe, så går de den. Siden får man øye på så mange veier, man syntes den ene kan være så god som den annen, så setter man seg, og lar fem være like. Det er godt å ha toleranse og forståelse å skylde på, når man ikke gidder å gjøre noe med livet mere. Men det er ensidigheten, og egensinnet som når noe, for det vil noe, og det er ungdommen
uendelig varsomt skal jeg verne om hver mulighet for varme og lykke i vårt hjem
«klussemål»
vi gledet oss om kapp
Jeg vet ikke hva livet er, men ensomhet, det er ikke livet. Så sikkert som vi er født og avlet av andres liv, så må vi oppholde tilværelsen av det vi får av andre, og det må vi kjøpe ved å gi av vårt eget hver eneste dag.
Jeg kan jo aldri tale til ham om dette. Det er i grunn derfor jeg har skrevet det ned, alt sammen. Det er det av meg selv jeg har skilt ut, og nu legger hen. Jeg har ikke bruk for det, i det livet jeg skal til å leve
man lærer så lenge man lever, men gud hjelpe oss for hva vi lærer
de unge, de er ensidige, for dem er det bare én vei til saligheten, og duger de noe, så går de den. Siden får man øye på så mange veier, man syntes den ene kan være så god som den annen, så setter man seg, og lar fem være like. Det er godt å ha toleranse og forståelse å skylde på, når man ikke gidder å gjøre noe med livet mere. Men det er ensidigheten, og egensinnet som når noe, for det vil noe, og det er ungdommen
uendelig varsomt skal jeg verne om hver mulighet for varme og lykke i vårt hjem
«klussemål»
vi gledet oss om kapp
Jeg vet ikke hva livet er, men ensomhet, det er ikke livet. Så sikkert som vi er født og avlet av andres liv, så må vi oppholde tilværelsen av det vi får av andre, og det må vi kjøpe ved å gi av vårt eget hver eneste dag.
Jeg kan jo aldri tale til ham om dette. Det er i grunn derfor jeg har skrevet det ned, alt sammen. Det er det av meg selv jeg har skilt ut, og nu legger hen. Jeg har ikke bruk for det, i det livet jeg skal til å leve
April 24, 2023
A quick read which focuses not so much on the sin at hand although the novella begins “I have been unfaithful to my husband,” it is really the love the husband continuously shows his wife even as their marriage becomes mundane that is highlighted.
Our rebellion towards the Father, towards the goodness of heaven is illustrated. How often we cheat ourselves of the Father’s love by settling for something we don’t even passionately desire! The Father never lets us settle - He continues to pour out on us even in our poverty, in our betrayal of His love. Marta is the epitome of humankind. She exhibits that even when we have everything we could want, we still desire something beyond the temporal.
Our rebellion towards the Father, towards the goodness of heaven is illustrated. How often we cheat ourselves of the Father’s love by settling for something we don’t even passionately desire! The Father never lets us settle - He continues to pour out on us even in our poverty, in our betrayal of His love. Marta is the epitome of humankind. She exhibits that even when we have everything we could want, we still desire something beyond the temporal.
April 14, 2025
kocham cię sigrid undset
July 13, 2024
Sigrid Undset’s first published novel, well worth reading because it contains the seeds of all her great later novels.
May 21, 2014
If you were to tell me this book was written in 1906 when this author was only twenty-four years old, living in Norway, I would say you're crazy! She writes as if she is much older, and is able to get us to pull us right into this story immediately without even knowing if we hadn't been told.
In the beginning of the book, the introduction is written by Jane Smiley. The English translation (from Norwegian) is done by Tina Nunnally. This introduction explains that this author is known for being able to write stories about older women (with kids, too) even though it did not reflect her life, and they are very correct in saying that. It is said she has an ability to write with feeling and experience for any age. This holds true in what I read, although for what this young author has gone through in her young life would allow for this ability. She had a tough upbringing with her father dying at the age of forty, leaving her the daughter of a single mother. I have to say the writing in this book was so beautiful, right now I would go out and search for ALL of her books to read because of the beauty of her writing and how she captured my mind into this story immediately. This was a page turner for me from the moment I started reading it.
This book, at least the galley, tells us about all of the books she has written, mostly historical novels set in the Middle Ages. Her father wrote about Norse themes, and she followed in his footsteps, also branching out into Women's Fiction. The beginning of the book even tells us she has won the Nobel prize for literature in 1928, after many years of her writing, and I can see why.
In this book, we learn times don't change, and the very same things that haunt us today haunted us yesterday just as much. Yes, this is how the opening line of this book went, "I have been unfaithful to my husband", and it continues on in diary form. Marta really beats herself up for being unfaithful to her husband who is in what would be more understood as a sanitarium for having tuberculosis. At the end she tells us she is tired of writing these words of her pain, and stops writing the story after telling us about one more incident.
The main story of this book tells us how her husband, Otto, gets Consumption/Tuberculosis, and is hospitalized of which he never does return home. This was such a common problem of that era. I cannot imagine living through times such as these, with all these diseases that antibiotics were just short of being able to treat as it took them just a little longer to come out before so many people died, the polio vaccine included. Marta is more or less left at home living as a widow once he is hospitalized, and this is when she has an affair with Henrik.
After Otto dies, Henrik tries to get Marta to marry him, of which she wants nothing of, she and her children must move on.
The book is a sad book, but one we can relate to in the way she writes it. It is a book not to be missed. Her words grab your attention and don't let you go. This is one Novella (128 pages) I don't believe I will ever forget.
I received this book for FREE from the Publisher, University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but of my own honest opinion. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wa... Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
In the beginning of the book, the introduction is written by Jane Smiley. The English translation (from Norwegian) is done by Tina Nunnally. This introduction explains that this author is known for being able to write stories about older women (with kids, too) even though it did not reflect her life, and they are very correct in saying that. It is said she has an ability to write with feeling and experience for any age. This holds true in what I read, although for what this young author has gone through in her young life would allow for this ability. She had a tough upbringing with her father dying at the age of forty, leaving her the daughter of a single mother. I have to say the writing in this book was so beautiful, right now I would go out and search for ALL of her books to read because of the beauty of her writing and how she captured my mind into this story immediately. This was a page turner for me from the moment I started reading it.
This book, at least the galley, tells us about all of the books she has written, mostly historical novels set in the Middle Ages. Her father wrote about Norse themes, and she followed in his footsteps, also branching out into Women's Fiction. The beginning of the book even tells us she has won the Nobel prize for literature in 1928, after many years of her writing, and I can see why.
In this book, we learn times don't change, and the very same things that haunt us today haunted us yesterday just as much. Yes, this is how the opening line of this book went, "I have been unfaithful to my husband", and it continues on in diary form. Marta really beats herself up for being unfaithful to her husband who is in what would be more understood as a sanitarium for having tuberculosis. At the end she tells us she is tired of writing these words of her pain, and stops writing the story after telling us about one more incident.
The main story of this book tells us how her husband, Otto, gets Consumption/Tuberculosis, and is hospitalized of which he never does return home. This was such a common problem of that era. I cannot imagine living through times such as these, with all these diseases that antibiotics were just short of being able to treat as it took them just a little longer to come out before so many people died, the polio vaccine included. Marta is more or less left at home living as a widow once he is hospitalized, and this is when she has an affair with Henrik.
After Otto dies, Henrik tries to get Marta to marry him, of which she wants nothing of, she and her children must move on.
The book is a sad book, but one we can relate to in the way she writes it. It is a book not to be missed. Her words grab your attention and don't let you go. This is one Novella (128 pages) I don't believe I will ever forget.
I received this book for FREE from the Publisher, University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but of my own honest opinion. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wa... Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
February 25, 2014
This book following a woman from first love to being unfaithful may not shock modern day folks, but for it's time and place it was scandalous, for a woman anyway. Written in diary form, not every reader will appreciate the style- luckily for me, I did. The story is about betrayal of the self more than anything, and regardless of the time it will always be a theme women can relate to. While marriage in the early 1900's was more constraining (and less forgiving of an 'immoral woman')one can say modern day marriage has similarities and it's own way of constraining women. As said in the summary 'she longs for an all consuming passion'- that has likely been the downfall of many a marriage, then as now. Boredom, and all the little details of life can lead us into choices that march us toward a heavy fate. It's funny to think when it comes to a woman's hunger for more, not much changes regardless of your decade. Quite an intimate read.
September 20, 2015
The 1907 novel by Norwegian writer Sigrid Undset, who would go on to win the Nobel Prize in 1928, still holds up to scrutiny today. It is now, as it was then, a very modern novel. The subject--the interior life of a young married woman who desperately longs for a more passionate life--made waves in Norway upon its publication and has been translated for the first time into English. A beautifully written, deeply affecting journey into the mind of a woman struggling against convention.
February 4, 2017
Proua Marta Oulie -3 tähte
Truu abikaasa- 5 tähte
kokku- 4 tähte
Soovitan viimast, peenelt kootud, liigutav muster.
Truu abikaasa- 5 tähte
kokku- 4 tähte
Soovitan viimast, peenelt kootud, liigutav muster.
June 22, 2020
The long and short of it, is that however long or short the story is, Undset is always amazing. Breathtaking, bracing, and real, like a chiropractic adjustment for the emotions.
July 19, 2016
3.55
July 8, 2024
4,5/5 ⭐
• wciąż aktualna
• debiut autorki, która jest noblistką - podczas wydawania tej książki miała 24/25 lat
• skupia się na kobiecości, a także na temacie przemijania, przeszłości i śmierci
• pierwsze zdanie książki: "Byłam niewierna mężowi"
• pokazuje, że człowiek, tak samo jak świat, nie jest czarno-biały. Ja np. sądziłam, że nie polubię się z główną bohaterką, wiedząc od początku, co zrobiła, a jednak jej losy bardzo mnie przejęły
• język tu jest bardzo konkretny, czasami wydaje się wręcz, że bohaterka jest nieczuła, ponieważ przedstawia różne kwestie w bardzo "suchy" sposób. Taki styl narracji jednak bardzo mi podpasował i koniecznie muszę znaleźć i przeczytać inne książki tej autorki 😍
• wciąż aktualna
• debiut autorki, która jest noblistką - podczas wydawania tej książki miała 24/25 lat
• skupia się na kobiecości, a także na temacie przemijania, przeszłości i śmierci
• pierwsze zdanie książki: "Byłam niewierna mężowi"
• pokazuje, że człowiek, tak samo jak świat, nie jest czarno-biały. Ja np. sądziłam, że nie polubię się z główną bohaterką, wiedząc od początku, co zrobiła, a jednak jej losy bardzo mnie przejęły
• język tu jest bardzo konkretny, czasami wydaje się wręcz, że bohaterka jest nieczuła, ponieważ przedstawia różne kwestie w bardzo "suchy" sposób. Taki styl narracji jednak bardzo mi podpasował i koniecznie muszę znaleźć i przeczytać inne książki tej autorki 😍
February 19, 2024
2024:
5 Stars
It blows my mind this was her first published novel. It caught me completely by surprise. It’s so masterfully written, raw, an insight into human emotions and thought that is rare.
5 Stars
It blows my mind this was her first published novel. It caught me completely by surprise. It’s so masterfully written, raw, an insight into human emotions and thought that is rare.
July 19, 2017
one of the best books i have read in years. finished it in 2 hours and i m still breathless from being in Marta's world.
March 14, 2022
Klasikler tadında böyle eserleri çok seviyorum. Yedi büyük günahtan birinin sonuçlarını araştırıyormuş gibi gelir hep.
August 8, 2022
Excellent!
Sigrid Undset's prose is so spare and precise and yet incredibly moving. I might like this even more than Jenny.
Sigrid Undset's prose is so spare and precise and yet incredibly moving. I might like this even more than Jenny.
November 30, 2020
The debut novel of the perhaps best author Norway has fostered is powerful and intense. The format is small, and it more of a novella than anything else. But it somehow manages to incorporate so many of the essential aspects of the great novels that were to come. The novel deals with choices, consequences and guilt. The descriptions of Oslo in the year 1902 are beautiful and interesting, and the psychological insights of the author is apparent already here. It is a great introduction to the work of an astonishing literary talent.
April 24, 2024
Nei, Marta, et menneskes liv er jo nogen andet end alt andet liv paa jorden.
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