The week with Sara
The week with Sara (Original: Det går an ) is a 1839 novel by Carl Jonas Love Almqvist . It is about a young sergeant who meets the young Sara Videbeck on a steamboat trip. He succumbs to their fascination, but is challenged in his bourgeois views as the story progresses. Sara does not want to be dependent on a man, rejects his advances several times and does not plan to marry.
A German version of the book was published in 2004.
action
Sergeant Albert is on a steamship when he falls in love with the young Sara Videbeck. Although she travels alone, he finds it difficult to get to know her; Sara rejects him. Unable to simply give up his fascination for the young woman, Albert continues to seek her closeness and eventually manages to slowly get to know her and her life.
Sara Videbeck is the daughter of a late glazier . Her mother is ill and the daughter runs the family business; Due to the regulations of the Glaziers Guild, as a woman, she is not allowed to carry out the core activities of a glazier. Instead, she sells glass objects and putty. She is currently on a business trip.
When the sergeant and Sara go ashore, they grow closer and continue to spend time together; Sara suggests that Albert share the last available room in the hostel. She develops feelings for Albert; because of her view that marriage is just a cage, she signals to the sergeant that he should conform to her wishes or that their relationship will have no future.
Sara finally demands that she and Albert should be equal in their relationship. You shouldn't have to be dependent on each other, for example in terms of your own finances and your own living space.
reception
The week with Sara is one of Almqvist's most important works today. Even at the time of publication, the novel caused a scandal due to the unconventional view of the role of women and marriage. Several authors wrote counter-drafts, including August Blanche (Det går an), Sophie von Knorring (Så går det), Malla Montgomery-Silfverstolpe (Månne det gå an?), Victor Snellman (Det går an) and Wilhelmina Stålberg (Eva Widebeck eller Det går aldrig an).
The book was filmed for Danish television in 1963, directed by Bengt Lagerkvist . Three years later it appeared under the title Die Reise in Westdeutschland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eva Borgström: Can it really be done? In: Nordic Women's Literature. Retrieved July 5, 2015
- ↑ Storm, Anne. Epilogue. In: Almqvist, Carl Jonas Love. The week with Sara . Berlin 2004. p. 151.