of Sweden, a frivolous, theatrical, Frenchified,
infidel monarch. And Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII. are forced into
the same livery, in spite of their diversity of structure, because
Tegner admired them all, and had practically but one type which appeared
to his frank, open, and somewhat boyish fancy wholly worthy of
admiration.[35]
[35] Georg Brandes: Esaias Tegner, pp. 17-19.
In reading consecutively the whole series of Tegner's collected works I
am much struck with the force of this criticism. The brave man who
defies the world single-handed, and plunges up to his ears into dangers,
without counting the odds against him, is the typical juvenile hero; and
it is strange, though by no means incomprehensible, that a man like
Tegner, who could betray such political insight as is shown in his
letters to Franzen and Leopold had not really gotten beyond this
primitive type of excellence. In a certain sense, perhaps, it was not
desirable that he should. For the tremendous popularity which greeted
"Frithjof's Saga" was due in no small measure to this half-juvenile
robustness of its author's genius.
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