Anna Maria Lenngren

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Anna Maria Lenngren bigraphy, stories - Swedish writer

Anna Maria Lenngren : biography

18 June 1754 – 08 March 1817

Anna Maria Lenngren (née Malmstedt; June 18, 1754 – March 8, 1817) was a Swedish writer, poet, translator and salonist. She is one of the best-known Swedish woman poets.

Feminism

Her work as a feminist is much debated; Anna Maria Lenngren is famed for her great love for irony, which have made people unsure about how to understand what it was she really meant. In the poem: "Några ord till min kära dotter, ifall jag hade någon:" (1794) ("Advice to my daughter, if I had one") she discusses the topic regarding women and politics, where she wrote that every women did best to concentrate on being a wife and mother and not on learning or politics, because; "Our household is our Republic, the lavatory is our politics". Lindqvist, ibid. (The days of Gustav)

Her writings are generally in verse, sometimes very short, and often about everyday life. They frequently employ satire and irony and she is regarded as a realist. Speaking of her work, Fredrik Böök says that "there was every word needed and no more, almost no adjectives. She painted with only verbs and substantives", and Snoilsky writes in his poem En afton hos fru Lenngren ("An evening at Mrs Lenngren’s"): "It’s like a burdock, this witty meter" Österberg, C., ibid. (Swedish women; Predecessors, pioneers) Signum, Lund (1990)

Early career

As an adult, her first paid, professional work were reviews, epitomes, epigrams and translations, among them translation of Horace. Lindqvist, ibid. (The days of Gustav)

In 1776 she was hired by Duke Charles, the King’s brother, for the translation of a French Opera, Lucile; this was the first operetta translated to the Swedish language. Lindqvist, ibid. (The days of Gustav) In its introduction, she defence the right of academic work for her gender. Lindqvist, ibid. (The days of Gustav) After this, she was hired a regular basis as a translator of published operettas by the royal court Lindqvist, ibid. (The days of Gustav) As a token of recognition and appreciation, Lenngren received several official gifts, such as a "golden clock", from the royal house, illustrating her then status as a court writer. She also translated erotic French poetry. Lindqvist, ibid. (The days of Gustav)

She was generally given received favorable reviews in the press. Lindqvist, ibid. (The days of Gustav) She proclaimed herself a "litterata", openly criticising the rampant misconceptions and preconceptions about women’s roles in society. She was known as a speaker for the free mind, especially women’s right to intellectual independence. Stig Hadenius, Torbjörn Nilsson & Gunnar Åselius: Sveriges historia. Vad varje svensk bör veta (History of Sweden: "What every Swede should know")

She was elected into a number of literal societies and academys, notably the Utile Dulci Society in 1779. Lindqvist, ibid. (The days of Gustav) She was one of only three females known to have been a member of the Utile Dulci, the other being Anna Charlotta von Stapelmohr and Anna Brita Wendelius.Ann Öhrberg: Fasa för all flärd, konstlan och förställning” Den ideala retorn inom 1700-talets nya offentlighet. Samlaren. 2010

Marriage

In 1780, she married Carl Peter Lenngren, editor of the newspaper Stockholmsposten, and after that she stepped back from the public scene, instead contributing anonymously to her husband’s publication. Her silence lasted for ten years, during which she instead became one of Sweden’s leading salonists and a centre of the cultural and political debate; Hadenius, Nilsson & Åselius, ibid. (What every Swede should know) Lindqvist, ibid. The days of Gustav) she counted Johan Henric Kellgren, Gustaf af Leopold, Nils von Rosenstein, Frans Michael Franzén and Gudmund Jöran Adlerbeth among her guests. As a salonist after her marriage, she was described as witty and energetic but also humble and shy Lindqvist, ibid. (The days of Gustav)