Blixens humor

Abstract

One of the things I enjoy most about books by Ivan Z. Sørensen is that I always learn something, even though he is writing about a topic (Karen Blixen) that I imagine I know very well. Blixen's sense of humor is certainly distinctive and can function as an antidote to the dark angst that is something of an occupational hazard when dealing with Scandinavian literature. One of Blixen's earliest critics, Robert Langbaum, noted this quality in her tales and chose to title his monograph on her The Gayety of Vision (1964). A book about Blixen's humor is long overdue, and it seems likely that the topic is not yet exhausted.As is well known, Blixen wrote her tales both in English and in Danish, and the Danish texts are the clear focus of this book. Obviously, humor, especially puns, are closely connected to language, and so jokes that work in one language might not work in another. Thus, I had never noticed before that there was a fart joke embedded in the introduction of the prostitute Lise in “Samtale om Natten i København” (Converse at Night in Copenhagen) that does not exist at all in the English version (p. 8). Indeed, it is amusing to consider how very naughty many of Blixen's jokes are. In return, I can offer a joke (not nearly as naughty) from the English version of “Roads Round Pisa” that does not translate: “In Denmark everybody has thick ankles and wrists, and the higher up you go, the thicker they are” (Dinesen, Seven Gothic Tales, Vintage, 1991, 181). Perhaps it is just as well that this jab at her countrymen (they're a bit thick) does not translate into Danish.The purpose of Sørensen's book is not to provide an inventory of Blixen's jokes, though he certainly offers up quite a few. Rather, along with Harald Høffding, Sørensen considers the nature of humor, both “stor” (great) and “lille” (small), then with a nod to Kierkegaard, looks at how that relates to irony. A fair amount has been written on Kierkegaard and Blixen, but Sørensen's views in this context are well worth considering. On the way, Sørensen provides one of the best comparisons between Hans Christian Andersen and Blixen that I have seen. In addition, someone has finally been able to explain to me the Spinoza reference in “Heloise,” which I puzzled over unsuccessfully for my own book, Understanding Isak Dinesen (2002). Høffding, whose work Karen Blixen knew, sees Spinoza as an inspiration for viewing life from the perspective of eternity, thus transcending both tragedy and comedy (p. 71).About halfway through his book, Sørensen strays from the main topic of humor, but that does not make the book any less interesting. Sørensen's chapter on Blixen and Brandes is the most thorough treatment of that relationship yet. Sørensen then turns his attention to Blixen and Shakespeare and, among other things, performs a detailed reading of the tale “Alkmene” from The Winter's Tale. A bold statement is made: “Det er påfaldende at i næsten alle analyser of ‘Alkmene’ er Perdita-henvisningen enten overset, forbigået eller ubetydeliggjort!” (p. 104) [It is striking that in almost all the analyses of ‘Alkmene,’ the Perdita references are either overlooked, passed by, or made unimportant!]. This statement is a bit of an exaggeration, but that is perhaps because Sørensen has missed a few analyses of the tale, including my own. In the final chapter, Sørensen takes up where Lynn Wilkinson left off in her article on Hannah Arendt and Isak Dinesen (“Hannah Arendt on Isak Dinesen: Between Storytelling and Theory,” Comparative Literature 56, no. 1, 2004) and provides us with even more food for thought.In an Afterword, Sørensen tells the story of how Judith Thurman received an assignment to write her acclaimed biography of Isak Dinesen. This includes a letter from Michael Denneny to Sørensen describing what happened. This is a delight to Dinesen buffs like me.Ivan Sørensen knows Blixen's tales like the back of his hand, and he is extremely well-versed in the cultural figures to whom she responded. In addition to the solving of various interpretive puzzles, these comparisons are where the real value of this book lie.