Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Sidor ...
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
A BIOGRAPHY
241
to be described. In a word, it was to be tbe romance
of women who are commonly believed to have no
romance at all—a sort of counterpart to " Mandvolk"
("Men"), in which Garborg tells how bachelors live.
I wished to describe the life of the lonely women of
my time. I had collected materials and types, and
was much interested in my design.
Then Sönya appeared with her idea, and so great
was her influence upon me, so great her power of
persuasion, that I forsook my own child in order to adopt
hers. A few letters I wrote to a mutual friend at this
time will best describe the hot enthusiasm with which
this new project had inspired both Sönya and myself.
February 2, 1887.
Iam now writing a new novel, entitled "Utomkringäktenskap"
("Unmarried"). Only fancy! I am so deep in it that the
outside world, the world which is unconnected with my work, no
longer exists for me. The state, physical and mental, in which
one finds one’s self when writing something new is wonderful.
A thousand doubts as to its merits, and as to your own value,
assail you. And in the depths of your heart there is the joy of
possessing a secret world of your very own, in which you are at
home, and the outer world becomes a shadow. ... In the midst
of all this I have a new idea. Sönya and I have got an
inspiration. We are going to write a drama of two parts, which will
occupy two evenings. That is to say, the idea is hers, and I am
to carry it out and fill up the plot. I think the idea very
original. The first portion will show " How it was," and the second
" How it might have been." In the first every one is unhappy,
because, in real life, people generally hinder rather than further
one another’s happiness. In the second the same personages
assist one another, form a little ideal commune, and are happy.
Do not mention this to any one. I really do not know more of
S6nya’s idea than this mere sketch. To-morrow she is going to
tell me her plot, and I shall be able to judge whether there be
any dramatic possibilities in it. You will laugh at me for always
anticipating the finale as soon as I have seen the start. I already
see Sönya and myself collaborating in a work which will have a
16
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
