| Doctor Glas | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Hjalmar Söderberg |
| Original title | Doktor Glas |
| Translator | Paul Britten Austin |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
| Genre(s) | Romance, Thriller |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Co. (1st edition) |
| Publication date | 1906 |
| Published in English |
1963 |
| Pages | 150 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-385-72267-2 (recent edition) |
| OCLC Number | 49925067 |
| Dewey Decimal | 839.73/72 21 |
| LC Classification | 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.
Contents |
Doctor Glas is told in the form of a journal. The main character is Dr. Glas, a physician. 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, in love with her, agrees to help even though she already has another adulterous 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.