Today, the name of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson does not sound as familiar to Hungarians as Henrik Ibsen, though Bjørnson was known earlier, and his popularity in the second half of the 19th century can be traced in the Hungarian press. The Hungarian periodicals translated and published Bjørnson’s works and reported often on his political activities, while two of his plays were staged in Hungarian theatres – The Bankruptcy in 1876 and Leonarda in 1879. In my presentation, I will examine the two authors’ early Hungarian reception to demonstrate that this comparison can be helpful in understanding 1. Ibsen’s contemporary fame in Hungary; 2. the Hungarian discourse about the ‘Norwegian modern drama’ and 3. how Norway was imagined through their works.
Veronka Örsike Asztalos is a PhD student at the University of Szeged and a research assistant at the University of Arts Târgu-Mureș Theatrical and Multimedia Research Institute. She writes about the influence of Norwegian literature on Hungarian literature in the 19th century, focusing mainly on the reception history of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Henrik Ibsen and Alexander Kielland.
NB! Registration is needed for remote participation only. Please fill in this form before 6 March. A Zoom link will be sent on the day of the seminar.