Tegner at the time
when he was singing of Frithjof's and Ingeborg's love was himself
suffering from a consuming but unrequited passion. The strong, warm
pulse of life which throbs in Frithjof's wrath, defiance, and scorn, and
in his deep and manly tenderness is the poet's own. It marks but the
rhythm of his own tumultuous heart-beat. It is altogether an unhappy
chapter, which his biographer has vainly striven to suppress. There was
among his acquaintance in Lund a certain Mrs. Palm, toward whom he felt
drawn with an irresistible half-demonic force. Beyond this fact we know
nothing of the lady, except that she was handsome, cultivated, and
well-connected. Whatever approaches Tegner may have made toward her (and
it is not known of what nature they were) she appears to have repelled;
and the poet, though fighting desperately against his growing
infatuation, wore out his splendid vitality in the conflict of emotions
which the unhappy relation occasioned. He became a prey to the most
terrible melancholy, and a misanthropy of the deepest hue spread its
sombre veil over the world which hitherto had given to him its brightest
smile.
Pages:
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338