Language and nationality: Swedish

Pages: 140

‘Hemsöborna’ is one of August Strindberg’s most famous works of prose; Strindberg himself being, perhaps, the finest of all Swedish authors.

‘Hemsöborna’ starts out with the story protagonist, Carlsson, arriving to the small archipelago community Hemsö, outside Stockholm. The book sets in what is perceived to be the the end of the 19th century, a time when Sweden is still, largely speaking, a strong monarchy with few signs of a wide spread and prospering parliament; that is to say, that Sweden is ruled by the privileged upper class. (As opposed to from the 1930’s and onwards, from when Swedish democracy has been coloured by a strong Social Democratic tendency.)
Carlsson is to be working as a farmhand on a farm estate; the farm has previously been in the hands of ‘old (Mr.) Floden’, but since his passing away, the state of the farm has been declining steadily, and an outsider leader, experienced with the business, has to be called in to bring the farm back to its previous order.
Head of the farm is, at the time of Carlsson’s arrival, Madam Flod – ‘old Floden’s’ widower – together with her young son, Gusten. Madam Flod immediatly takes a liking to Carlsson, though Gusten, the son, remains suspicious and questioning about the newcomer. He fears that Carlsson, who is of a lower class than Madam Flod and Gusten, will aspire to take over the farm – or rather, steal it away from them. Gusten is quite right in suspecting this, as becomes evident later on in the book.
Carlsson, a skilled handyman, raises the farm from its disorderly state, to becoming a small luxury summer resort for wealthy city-dwellers, to be gaining benefits from trade, and he manages to sustain good harvests throughout the years of his stay.
On an overall, Carlsson becomes an influential figure in the small community, and even gets voted to hold political office as the communal spokesman. In addition, he marries the old widower, Madam Flod, and in effect, tried to lay his hands on the ownership of the farm estate. The book does, however, come to a tragic defilation, when both Madam Flod and Carlsson dies; Madam Flod from symptoms of age, and Carlsson from being swallowed by the lake, after falling through the winter ice.

What takes place in ‘Hemsöborna’ is, essentially, what I would call – with some arrogance, I am willing to admit – a Nietzschean drama. Nietzsche mentiones in one of his minor essays that he has pen correspondants all over Europe; correspondants of genius character; in this context, he mentions Stockholm. I am inclined to believe that this correspondant of Stockholm was Strindberg, seeing as the two were contemporary, and that Strindberg’s many works contains the same ideas that Nietzsche consistently expresses throughout his vast collection of works – this is to be seen, particularly, in Strindberg’s play Miss Julie.
Evident in ‘Hemsoborna’ is a power struggle; here, the subordinate working class, in the form of Carlsson, meet the upper class in the form of Madam Flod and her son, Gusten. Carlsson has learned many skills and knows how to run a farm, this in contrast to the farm’s real owners. Carlsson, almost on his own, makes the farm a good and prosperous one. On the other hand, Madam Flod and Gusten enjoys the privilege of being of a noble, or somewhat noble, trait. The books many smaller intrigues explores precisely this topic; how one who is willing to have power, may achieve it, but who those who truly have power, in the end always will be protecting it. Carlsson, desperatly wanting to achieve something, wanting to be cherished and praised, does his best to attain power and status, whereas Madam Flod and Gusten lazily sits back, and watches him bring money to the farm.
The way the book ends, with Carlsson facing death in the most horrible and painful of ways – by drowning in a frozen winter lake – and Gusten living (it suits to be mentioned here, that Gusten abandons Carlsson on the ice that is about the crack), in order to keep leading the farm as its rightful owner, clearly shows what Strindberg thinks of society’s current standings. In Sweden at the time when Strindberg wrote this work of literature, a good name meant more than personal excellence, ambition and success.

The same conflict, revolving around the power theme, occurs between men and women – this in particular between Carlsson and Madam Flod, but also between Carlsson and one the summer guests, a noble girl called Ida, whom Carlsson falls desperatly in love with. Strinberg does here again explore the same ideas that Nietzsche has been perceived to have done. Nietzsche writes in ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’, through the character of an old lady who speaks to Zarathustra, that ‘when you go to women, don’t forget the whip’. However sadomasochistic this may sound, and however much undeserved critique Nietzsche has received as for being misogynistic (as have Strindberg), this applies to something different than merely taking on a violent side when dealing with women. In life, men and women fight on equal terms, and nothing is to be said against that the two genders carry out an eternal fight in between them – for power. “A woman who wants to be equal to men lacks ambition”, someone is known to have said.
Carlsson marries Madam Flod in order to attain a higher level of class, and more status as a true owner of an estate, rather than being a mere farmhand. Madam Flod marries Carlsson for the reason that, as it seems, her flesh is aching for lust; in addition, she marries a strong man, a leader even, that is sure to make her farm prosperous for many years to come.
What seems to be Strindberg’s point in this drama, however, is that the women always appear to have the last word in an intrigue. Before her death, Madam Flod makes sure that her son, Gusten, burns the legal contract that makes Carlsson the rightful owner of the farm after marriage has been ended. Instead, Gusten will inherit the farm estate, and Carlsson will be left with nothing.
The small affair that Carlsson has with the noble Ida, before his marriage with Madam Flod, also ends in a way that is to Carlsson’s dismay. Over the summer, Carlsson and Ida has had an affair, but when Ida goes back to Stockolm over the winter, she scolds Carlsson in front of her friends, makes fun of him and his manners, and calls him a poor peasant. Here it is obvious that both class and gender issues are involved. Carlsson is of course no-one to defend himself – he is merely a farmhand, and more, he is not a man of the city and its ways.

There are numerous intrigues and problems in ‘Hemsoborna’ that is worth discussing, though at the moment, I will satisfy with having elaborated, if only just a bit, on the matters of gender and class in particular. What is most essential to mention is what an astonishingly excellent work of literature ‘Hemsoborna’ is. It is one those books that one can read five or ten times, and for each time find new problems, new intrigues and new ideas to discuss. It is not really one of those books that cathes your attention and makes you want to read and read until the book is finished, no – that would be another bullshit crime/mystery novel a la the Da Vince Code. This is a true masterwork of literature that explores our very central themes in life, and it teaches us of how to look at them, and perhaps, how to deal with them.