Doctor Glas

For the film, see Doctor Glas (film).
Doctor Glas
Author Hjalmar Söderberg
Original title Doktor Glas
Translator Paul Britten Austin
Country Sweden
Language Swedish
Genre Romance, Thriller
Publisher Little, Brown and Co. (1st edition)
Publication date
1905
Published in English
1963
Pages 150 pp
ISBN 0-385-72267-2 (recent edition)
OCLC 49925067
839.73/72 21
LC Class PT9875.S6 D613 2002

Doctor Glas, an epistolary novel by Hjalmar Söderberg, tells the story of a physician in 19th-century Sweden who deals with moral and love issues.

Synopsis

The novel is about "Dr. Tyko Gabriel Glas" who is a appreciated physician in Stockholm. The story is told in the form of a journal and fallows "Doctor Glas" as he is struggling with depression. The antagonist is Reverend Gregorius, a morally corrupt clergyman. Gregorius' beautiful young wife confides in Dr. Glas that her sex life is making her miserable and asks for his help. Glas falls in love with her and agrees to help even though she already has another lover. He attempts to intervene, but the Reverend refuses to give up his "marital rights"—she must have sex with him whether she likes it or not (at the time, a wife was legally the property of her husband, and subsequently had no right to say no). So, in order to make his love happy, he begins to plot her husband's murder. The novel also deals with issues such as abortion, women's rights, suicide, euthanasia, and eugenics. Not surprisingly, the book triggered a violent campaign against its author who thereafter was vilified in Swedish literary circles.

English translations

Prequel

External links

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