Flowering Nettle
Encyclopedia
Flowering Nettle is a partly autobiographical novel written by the Swedish
Nobel laureate Harry Martinson
in 1935 and first translated into English by Naomi Walford in 1936.
The book tells the story of the orphan child Martin, who is Harry Martinson's alter ego
and is written from the perspective of the child. Martin's father dies and his mother leaves her children for a new life in California
. Everything he holds dear disappear at a very early age and he grows up working in several farms and being sent away or going himself away, as he faces the harsh working life of the farmhand. Martin is described as a selfish, stupid, childish, selfpitying, obsequious, coward and false. Thus, there is no idealisation of the child.
The language in the novel has been described as knowingly childlike.
Flowering Nettle and its continuation The way out are partly autobiographical and show the hard und unsafe existence of an orphan child in the poor Sweden
of the beginning of the 20th century.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Nobel laureate Harry Martinson
Harry Martinson
Harry Martinson was a Swedish sailor, author and poet. In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy. He was awarded a joint Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974 together with fellow Swede Eyvind Johnson. The choice for Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson was very controversial as both were on the...
in 1935 and first translated into English by Naomi Walford in 1936.
The book tells the story of the orphan child Martin, who is Harry Martinson's alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
and is written from the perspective of the child. Martin's father dies and his mother leaves her children for a new life in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Everything he holds dear disappear at a very early age and he grows up working in several farms and being sent away or going himself away, as he faces the harsh working life of the farmhand. Martin is described as a selfish, stupid, childish, selfpitying, obsequious, coward and false. Thus, there is no idealisation of the child.
The language in the novel has been described as knowingly childlike.
Flowering Nettle and its continuation The way out are partly autobiographical and show the hard und unsafe existence of an orphan child in the poor Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
of the beginning of the 20th century.