Niels Lyhne

It is short, but not really hurried, and though it skips ahead in places, focussing only on specific times in Niels' life, it provides an ample, vivid picture of the boy and then the man he becomes. Considered his masterpiece, "Niels Lyhne" follows the struggles of an aspiring poet. Torn between a childishly idealized vision of the world and the more practical demands of adulthood in the modern world, the titular Niels's struggle is one of faith versus reason, of romanticism versus realism, and ultimately one of loneliness in a godless world. Niels Lyhne è uno dei primi personaggi letterari che incarnano questa nostalgia e restano simbolo di una crisi che, a partire da fine Ottocento, continua a minare il nostro secolo.

Georg Brandes skrev efter læsningen 25.12.1880, at bogen virker som et tilbagedateret brev - når der står 1850'erne, tror man, det er en trykfejl for ... Niels Lyhne is an aspiring poet, torn between romanticism and realism, faith and reason. Through his relationships with six women-including his young widowed aunt, a seductive free spirit, and his passionate cousin who marries his friend-his search for purpose becomes a yielding to disillusionment. 'Niels Lyhne' er en klassiker af en sammenbrudsroman, der brød med livshistoriens udvikling i de tidlige romaners dannelsesform "hjem-ude-hjem".