Laura Kieler

Laura Kieler (born 9 January 1849 in Tromsø, Norway – died 23 April 1932 in Ålsgårde, Denmark) was a Norwegian-Danish novelist. Events from her life and marriage served as the inspiration for the character Nora Helmer in Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House.

Laura Kieler
BornLaura Anna Sophie Müller
(1849-01-09)January 9, 1849
Tromsø, Norway
DiedApril 23, 1932(1932-04-23) (aged 83)
Ålsgårde, Denmark
Occupationnovelist
NationalityNorwegian-Danish
SpouseVictor Kieler

Biography

She was born Laura Anna Sophie Müller to a Norwegian father, Morten Smith Petersen von Führen, and Danish mother, Anna Hansine Kjerulf Müller.[1][2]

When Kieler was nineteen years old, she wrote a response to Henrik Ibsen's play Brand that endeared her to Ibsen and his wife. They became friends and nurtured her literary ambitions.[3]

In 1873, she married Victor Kieler, a schoolteacher. The events of her marriage served as the inspiration for the character Nora Helmer in Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House.[4] Kieler's husband contracted tuberculosis soon after their wedding, and like the character Nora, Laura Kieler borrowed money under false pretenses in order to finance a trip to Italy for a cure. Some years later, in a desperate attempt to repay the loan, Kieler forged a check. When Kieler's husband learned of the fraud, he demanded a divorce and sought to bar his wife from their children. Kieler had a nervous breakdown and entered a mental asylum for a month.[2] They were later reconciled, but Kieler never forgave Ibsen for using her life as fodder for his controversial drama.

Bibliography

  • Kieler, Laura (1887). Silhouetter (in Danish). Milo'ske boghandelsforlag.
  • Kieler, Laura (1895). Paa post! : roman (in Danish). Odense: Milo.
  • Kieler, Laura (1904). Sten Stensen til Stensbo (in Danish). Hagerup.
  • Kieler, Laura (1909). Det stenholt Gods: et Sagn fra Stormnatten 1659 (in Danish). Copenhagen: Hagerup.

References

  1. "Laura Anna Sophie Müller Kieler". Nordic Women's Literature. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  2. Mortensen, Birgit. "Laura Kieler (1849–1932)". KVINFO. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  3. Joan Templeton (2001). Ibsen's Women. Cambridge University Press. p. 386. ISBN 9780521001366. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  4. A. S. Byatt (2 May 2009). "Blaming Nora". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
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