Growth of a Soul

August Strindberg

Description

In his personal life, Swedish playwright and novelist August Strindberg placed great importance on personal development and progression, even if that process proved to be unbearably painful and disruptive. That value system is reflected throughout the novel The Growth of a Soul, a coming-of-age story in which the transition to a state of maturity and enlightenment extracts a significant cost.

Informations

• Publié par: The Floating Press
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781776534814
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE GROWTH OF A SOUL
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AUGUST STRINDBERG
Translated by
CLAUD FIELD
 
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The Growth of a Soul First published in 1914 Epub ISBN 978-1-77653-481-4 Also available: PDF ISBN 978-1-77653-482-1 © 2013 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
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Chapter I - In the Forecourt Chapter II - Below and Above Chapter III - The Doctor Chapter IV - In Front of the Curtain Chapter V - John Becomes an Aristocrat Chapter VI - Behind the Curtain Chapter VII - John Becomes an Author Chapter VIII - The "Runa" Club Chapter IX - Books and the Stage Chapter X - Torn to Pieces Chapter XI - Idealism and Realism Chapter XII - A King's Protégé Chapter XIII - The Winding Up Chapter XIV - Among the Malcontents Chapter XV - The Red Room Endnotes
Chapter I - In the Forecourt
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(1867)
The steamer had passed Flottsund and Domstyrken and the universitybuildings of Upsala began to appear. "Now begins the realstone-throwing!" exclaimed one of his companions,—an expressionborrowed from the street-riots of 1864. The hilarity induced by punchand breakfast abated; one felt that things were now serious and thatthe battle of life was beginning. No vows of perpetual friendship weremade, no promises of helping each other. The young men had awakenedfrom their romantic dreams; they knew that they would part at thegang-way, new interests would scatter the company which the school-roomhad united; competition would break the bonds which had united them andall else would be forgotten. The "real stone-throwing" was about tobegin.
John and his friend Fritz hired a room in the Klostergränden. Itcontained two beds, two tables, two chairs and a cupboard. The rent was30 kronas [1] a term,—15 kronas each. Their midday meal was broughtby the servant for 12 kronas a month,—6 kronas each. For breakfastand supper they had a glass of milk and some bread and butter. Thatwas all. They bought wood in the market,—a small bundle for 4 kronas.John had also received a bottle of petroleum from home as a present,and he could send his washing to Stockholm. He had 80 kronas in histable-drawer with which to meet all the expenses of the term.
It was a new and peculiar society into which he now entered, quiteunlike any other. It had privileges like the old house of peers and ajurisdiction of its own; but it was a "little Pedlington" and reekedof rusticity. All the professors were country-born; not a single onehailed from Stockholm. The houses and streets were like those ofNyköping. And it was here that the head-quarters of culture had beenplaced, owing to an inconsistency of the government which certainlyregarded Stockholm as answering to that description.
The students were regarded as the upper class in the town and thecitizens were stigmatised by the contemptuous epithet of "Philistines."The students were outside and above the civic law. To smash windows,break down fences, tussle with the police, disturb the peace of thestreets,—all was allowed to them and went unpunished; at most theyreceived a reprimand, for the old lock-up in the castle was no moreused. For their militia-service they had a special uniform of theirown which carried privileges with it. Thus they were systematicallyeducated as aristocrats, a new order of nobility after the fall of thehouse of peers.
What would have been a crime in a citizen was a "practical joke" in astudent. Just at this time the students' spirits were at a high pitch,as a band of student-singers had gone to Paris, had been successfulthere, and were acclaimed as conquerors on their return.
John now wished to work for his degree but did not possess a singlebook. "During the first term one must take one's bearings" was thesaying. John went to the student's club. The constitution of the clubwas antiquated,—so much so that the annexed provinces Skåne, Hallandand Blekinge were not represented in it. It was well arranged anddivided into classes, not according to merit, but according to ageand certain dubious qualities. In the list the title "nobilis" stillstood after the names of those of high birth. There were several waysof gaining influence in the club, through an aristocratic name, familyinfluence, money, talent, pluck and adaptability, but the last qualityby itself was not enough among these intelligent and sceptical youths.On the first evening in the club John made his observations. There wereseveral of his old companions from the Clara School present, but heavoided them as much as possible and they him. He had deserted them andgone by a short cut through the private school, while they had trampedalong the regular course through the state school. They all seemedto him somewhat conventional and stunted. Fritz plunged among thearistocrats and obtained introductions, made acquaintances easily andgot on well.
As they went home in the evening John asked him who was the "snob" inthe velvet jacket with stirrups painted on his collar. Fritz answeredthat he was not a snob, and that it was as stupid to judge people byfine clothes as by poor ones. John with his democratic ideas did notunderstand this and stuck to his opinion. Fritz asserted that the youthreferred to was a very fine fellow and the senior in the club, andin order to rouse John further, added that he had expressed himselfsatisfied with the newcomers' appearance and manners; he was reportedto have said "they had an air about them; formerly the fellows fromStockholm when they came there, looked like workmen."
John was ruffled at this information and felt that something had comein between him and his friend. Fritz's father had been a miller'sservant, but his mother had been of noble birth. He had inherited fromhis mother what John had from his.
The days passed on. Fritz put on his frock coat every morning and wentto pay his respects to the professors. He intended to be a jurist;that was a proper career, for lawyers were the only ones who obtainedreal knowledge which was of use in public life, who tried to obtaindeeper insight into social organisation and to keep in touch with thepractical business of everyday life. They were realists.
John had no frock coat, no books, no acquaintances.
"Borrow my coat," said Fritz.
"No, I will not go and pay court to the professors," said John.
"You are stupid," answered Fritz, and in that he was right, for theprofessors gave real though somewhat hazy information regarding thecourses of study. It was a piece of pride in John that he did notwish to owe his progress to anything but his own work, and what wasworse, he thought it ignominious to be regarded as a flunkey. Wouldnot an old professor at once perceive that he was flattering him forhis own purposes? To submit himself to his superiors was, in his mind,synonymous with grovelling.
Moreover everything was too indefinite. The university which he hadimagined to be an institution for free investigation, was only one fortasks and examinations. The professors gave lectures for the sake ofappearances or to maintain their income, but it was useless to go upfor an examination without taking private lessons. John resolved toattend those lectures for which no fee was necessary. He went to theGustavianum to hear a lecture on the history of philosophy. For thethree-quarters of an hour during which the lecture lasted the professorwent through the introduction to Aristotle's Ethics. John calculatedthat with three lectures a week he would require forty years to gothrough the history of philosophy. "Forty years," he thought, "that istoo long for me." And did not go again. It was the same everywhere.An assistant-professor expounded Shakespeare's Henry VIII with thecommentary, in English, to an audience of five. John went there a fewtimes, but reckoned that it would be ten years before Henry VIII wasfinished.
It began to dawn upon him what the requirements of the degreeexamination were. The first was to write a Latin essay; therefore hemust learn more Latin, which he did not like. He had chosen æstheticsand modern languages as his chief subject. Æsthetics comprised thestudy of Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Literary History and thevarious systems of æsthetics. That was work enough for a lifetime. Themodern languages were French, German, English, Italian and Spanish,with comparative grammar. How was he to obtain the requisite books? Andhe had not the means of paying for private lessons.
Meanwhile he set to work at Æsthetics. He found that one could borrowbooks from the club and so he took out the volumes of Atterbom's Prophets and Poets which happened to be there. These unfortunatelyonly dealt with Swedenborg and contained Thorild's epistles. Swedenborgseemed to him crazy, and Thorild's epistles did not interest him.Swedenborg and Thorild were two arrogant Swedes who had lived inretirement and fallen a prey to megalomania, the special diseaseof solitary people. It is remarkable how often outbreaks of thishallucination occur in Sweden, owing probably to the isolated positionof the country and to the fact that a sparse population is scatteredover enormous distances. Megalomania is apparent in the imperialprojects of Gustavus Adolphus, in Charles X's ambition of becominga great European power, in Charles XII's Attila-like schemes, inRudbeck's Atlantic-mania, and in Swedenborg's and Thorild's dreams ofstorming heaven and of world-conflagrations. John thought them mad andthrew them aside. Was that the sort of stuff he was expected to read?
He began to re