shinobiryu

Ok, I'm better again after a really though down period. I assume most of you know about my illnesses. If not, drop me a hint and I'll give you a summary.

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So now the Olympics have started and we are looking forward to possibly 3 gold for Norway today, and a gold medal for Hannu Manninen of Finland.

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From syfilis to avalances
The dramatist Ibsen had become a man to take notice of. No subject was to big for him to handle. In En Folkefiende (An Enemy Of the People) he had a go at the pollution from the wood industry. But it was first when he moved into the private sfaere that the real uproar started. With et dukkehjem (A Dolls Home) he threw a fiery torch into the debate of the roles of the genders. Ibsen was a radical by default, and claimed that women had a soul. Yes, even if a woman forged a signature, she still was a full human being. That was why she was in her full right to leave husband and children to find herself. This was a provocation to most menn. Even the womans group of Hire (conservatives) disagreed with him. They said that women had done well without a soul before, and saw no reason to have one forced upon them by a small bearded man.
Even if Ibsen at this time har achived international recognition, Et Dukkehjem was more than many theatres could accept. When the play had it's German premiere in Dsseldorf, they changed the ending so that it hinted that Nora would return. When Et Dukkehjem was put up in Brssel they mainly kept the original title.
In Christiania it was the time of the Theatre Battles. Students got tickets to a reduced price (as it is still today) and went often to the theatres to boo when there was something they didn't like. Other times it was the bourgeoisie who felt stepped upon, and went to the theatre to coff demonstrantively. Then the students, sitting in the gods, booed loudly to drown out the coughing. In 1877 the Theatre Battles reached its highest point under Gjengangere (Ghosts) Ibsens classic description of how the children inherit the venereal diseases of their fathers, annoyed all groups at the same time. The bourgeoisie ment that syfilis wasn't something one should make theatre about, and coughed loudly already before the curtains went up. The students booed in protest against what they ment was hostility towards sexuality from Ibsen. On the first row sat the sifilectics, throwing eggs at the actors for what they ment was stigmatisation of people with venereal diseases.
With a stellar career behind him, the likes of which few authors or playwrights ever see, Ibsen passed away after a series of strokes in Kristiania in 1906 at the age of 78. He did particularly well in his last words, with his nurse assuring a visitor that the playwright was a little better, only for Ibsen to splutter "On the contrary" - and die. Ibsen was a great influence on many intellectuals and activists of his time, for instance anarchist Emma Goldman and Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson.

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NAA no 8: Knut Knudsen - Olympic Gold in Track Sycling



What: In the not exactly Norwegian competition "4000 metres track cycling" very few thought he had any chance. But he won sensationally, and returned home with a gold medal from the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Where: The Velodrome in Mnchen, Germany.
Why: Not only was this a sensational Olympic victory, which we have not had a lot of in the Summer Olympics, but it happened at a time when Norway had no velodrome to train in. This ignited the interest for cyceling in Norway, which was by no means deminished the next year, when he went on to win the World Championship. Well done man!