Viking Magazine - July 2012 - 12

issue of Lutheran merger.
There was, however, in spite
of differences, a persistent
basis for cooperation
between Norwegians and
Swedes in America.
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The nine essays and the foreword
by Elizabeth Jameson
contained in the anthology
situate women in the history,
literature, politics and culture
of both the Norwegian homeland
and America. With a
wide range of topics that paint
a complex and true picture
of the world the emigrants
left, the essays compare and
contrast female and male
emigration, consider employment
and career opportunities
in rural and urban settings,
and interpret the central role
of women in the development
of Norwegian-American
communities. Dina Tolfsby's
detailed bibliography adds to
the value of the work.
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This delightful volume of
eighteen essays explores the
historic relationship between
two of the largest Nordic immigrant
populations. Swedes
and Norwegians of course
persist in friendly mutual
lampooning, but the contributing
scholars of this
groundbreaking volume
adopt a more serious
approach. Patterns of
Norwegian-Swedish interaction
are explored by
looking at cultural similarities
and differences
and historical events that
impacted both populations.
The dissolution of
the Swedish-Norwegian
Union in 1905 tested a
Scandinavian mutuality
in America, as did the
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Fridtjof Nansen is recognized
as an explorer, scientist,
statesman and humanitarian.
This book reveals
another side of the iconic
Norwegian hero, however.
Nansen was less successful
as a father and husband
than in his other endeavors,
which his passionate letters
written after a brief love
affair to the much younger
Brenda Ueland might suggest.
Ueland was a talented
writer and feminist, and
a member of a prominent
Norwegian-American family,
but her responses to
Nansen's letters are missing.
We see Nansen's humanity
in his correspondence
with Ueland, lasting until
shortly before his death in
May 1930. It is a literary
love affair played out at a
distance, with Brenda and
Fridtjof being separated by
the Atlantic Ocean and a
great age difference.
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For those old enough to have
recollections of the World
War II German occupation of
Norway, this book is a unique
reminder of the hardship
and terror of those fi ve long
years. Albert Jærn, a designer
and book illustrator, kept a
journal at his own peril
during the war and made
woodcuts which, to cite
Jærn, " would give a small
picture of wartime in
Norway as I experienced
it. " The woodcuts communicate
to contemporary
readers an intriguing
story of the atrocities and
indignities Norwegians
experienced during the
occupation, but it is also
a story of bravery and
coping during a time of
tyranny and oppression.
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Viking Magazine - July 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Viking Magazine - July 2012
