Edith södergran and the sexual discourse of the fin‐de‐siècle

Abstract

Edith Södergran, the Finland‐Swedish modernist poet, has a world‐wide reputation, alongside poets such as Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetajeva. At home, she has long been recognized as a major figure in Scandinavian modernism. In one respect though, she is persistently marginalized. Her love poetry is seen in a narrow biographical context. Poverty, isolation, illness, become explanatory tools. Her poems about men and women, about love and solitude, are read in the light of her personal situation. In general, her erotic poetry is seen as a token of resignation, a defensive reaction to a private situation. “Vierge moderne” and “The day cools…” are two of her best‐known poems. What attitude do they convey? How are they to be read? The context from which they emanate is the contemporary debate about the new woman. Around the turn‐of‐the‐century the new woman was a hot topic throughout the world. In 1913 a survey appeared in Russia, the article “The new woman” by Alexandra Kollontay. Starting from “Vierge moderne” in Edith Södergran's Dikter (Poems) 1916, this essay traces the connections between Södergran and the new‐woman discourse. New, powerful, meanings appear in the erotic poetry when seen in the light of the contemporary debate.