Catharina Ahlgren
Encyclopedia
Catharina Ahlgren was a Swedish
feminist writer, poet, translator, managing editor
, and one of the first identifiable female journalist
s in Sweden. She is also known for her correspondance with Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht
. Ahlgren was a leading person in the "Female literary world of the 1750- and 1770s" in Sweden. She later emigrated to Finland, where she published the first Finnish paper in the country
, and by her sister the sister-in-law of Johan Halldin, an official of the Royal library She was at one point a chamber lady in the court of the queen, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
, but lost her position because of some kind of intrigue
Ahlgren married and had children but was divorced. It was after her first divorce that she began her career as a self-supporting woman in the literary world.
and they discussed recent events and news, politics
, philosophy
and the position of women and gender equality
, which presaged first-wave feminism
in the English-speaking world. These papers sometimes pamphlets, and often written in the form of letters between two female correspondents. They were often temporary, published during one year, and quickly replaced by new ones the next, possibly by the same writers, under a new name and new signatures. These papers became common during the 1730s and were very common in the last years of the Age of Liberty.
One of these publications was, for example, the paper De nymodiga fruntimren (In English: "The modern women"), which was written by the signatures Belisinde and Sophie and published during the year of 1773.
Literary women was seen as fashionable. A male editor stated during a publication of a female phoet : " As we wish for nothing higher than to encourrage the knowledge among us, it cannot be anything other than pleasant that a member of the gender so admirably support our intention". With the word gender, he actually ment women.
These writers were Sweden's first female journalists, but since they all wrote under psedonyms, mostly French names, in most cases they cannot be identified In 1738, the paper Samtal emellan Argus skugga och en obekant fruntimmers skugga nyligen anländ till Dödens rike ("A talk between Argus' shadow and the unknown shadow of a woman newly arrived to the kingdom of Death") was published, written as a debate between a male ("Argus' shadow") and a female journalist ("The shadow of a woman"). This was a radical paper where the writers were critical of religious repression and censorship, obedience to authority, and issues of war and peace, morality, and independence The paper was censored several times by the authorities The female writer is believed to be Margareta von Bragner-Momma
, and she satirizes the letters from some readers who criticize the thought of a woman discussing philosophy In 1755-1756, Henrika Juliana von Liewen
is believed to have contributed to the paper En ärlig swensk ("An Honest Swede").
One of the few of these anonymous female journalists that have been clearly identified is Catharina Ahlgren.
poem Die Prüfung Abrahams by Christoph Martin Wieland
(1753), and the French novel La Femme Malheureuse by Eliza Wyndham.
Ahlgren was active as a poet and presented the queen, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
, with her own poem at the queens birthday in 1764, which was her debute as a poet. She was also a friend and correspondent of the poet Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht
.
and gender equality
, and recommended solidarity between women as a protection against male guardianship and superiority. She states that the only way to reach true love within a relationship is to be equals, adding that as men so often want to rule over women, it is much harder to retain friendship with them than with another woman. She discussed love and friendship, uppbringing, the king and the monarchy and religion
In the correspondence-debate in her paper, she wrote 1772:
(By fether she ment her pen: fether-pen)
She also published Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht; Nordenflycht wrote under the name "A shepherdess of the North", while Catharina Ahlgren wrote under the name "The shepherdess in Ahl-Lunden". In 1773 she published "Brefväxling mellan Adelaide och några vittra snillen".
Ahlgren also managed a Printing press
for a period.
in Finland
, where she is considered as the publisher and managing editor behind the papers Om att rätt behaga ("Of the Art of Pleasing") in 1782, and Angenäma Sjelwswåld ("Pleasant Defyings") in 1783. These papers belonged to the first publications in Finland, and the former was, in fact, the first Finnish paper in Finland
She finished the publication Om konsten at rätt behaga officially because of health reasons. In her farewell she wrote: "You may see, gentlemen, how much I wished to copy you" The year after, she published another paper.
d twice. Her first marriage was with Bengt Edvard Eckerman, cavalry master of the royal Scanian Husars. She married secondly with a printing press journeyman by the name of Bark (or Barck), whom she also divorced.
Four of her children is known. She had two sons, Bengt Gustaf and Christopher, and two daughter, Charlotte (Charlotta Beata) and Julie (Juliana Catharina) during her first marriage: Charlotte Eckerman
(1756–1790) became a singer and Julie Eckerman (1765–1801), who was a courtesan, became the mistress of count Carl Sparre and then the wife of Nils Björckegren, mayor of Linköping. She had additionally at least one child outside marriage.
The last years of her life is poorly documented. At the death of her whealthy daughter Charlotta Eckerman in 1790, Catharina Ahlgren is listed as the chief benefactor and reported to be a resident of Åbo.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
feminist writer, poet, translator, managing editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, and one of the first identifiable female journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s in Sweden. She is also known for her correspondance with Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht
Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht
Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht was a Swedish poet, feminist and salon hostess...
. Ahlgren was a leading person in the "Female literary world of the 1750- and 1770s" in Sweden. She later emigrated to Finland, where she published the first Finnish paper in the country
Early life
Catharina Ahlgren was born the child of Anders Ahlgren, governor of ÖstergötlandÖstergötland
Östergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...
, and by her sister the sister-in-law of Johan Halldin, an official of the Royal library She was at one point a chamber lady in the court of the queen, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia was Queen of Sweden between 1751 and 1771 as the spouse of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III of Sweden.-Background:...
, but lost her position because of some kind of intrigue
Ahlgren married and had children but was divorced. It was after her first divorce that she began her career as a self-supporting woman in the literary world.
Social context
During the Age of Liberty in Sweden between 1718 and 1771, several papers were published written for and by women. They were publications typical of the Age of EnlightenmentAge of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
and they discussed recent events and news, politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and the position of women and gender equality
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
, which presaged first-wave feminism
First-wave feminism
First-wave feminism refers to a period of feminist activity during the 19th and early twentieth century in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. It focused on de jure inequalities, primarily on gaining women's suffrage .The term first-wave was coined retroactively in the 1970s...
in the English-speaking world. These papers sometimes pamphlets, and often written in the form of letters between two female correspondents. They were often temporary, published during one year, and quickly replaced by new ones the next, possibly by the same writers, under a new name and new signatures. These papers became common during the 1730s and were very common in the last years of the Age of Liberty.
One of these publications was, for example, the paper De nymodiga fruntimren (In English: "The modern women"), which was written by the signatures Belisinde and Sophie and published during the year of 1773.
Literary women was seen as fashionable. A male editor stated during a publication of a female phoet : " As we wish for nothing higher than to encourrage the knowledge among us, it cannot be anything other than pleasant that a member of the gender so admirably support our intention". With the word gender, he actually ment women.
These writers were Sweden's first female journalists, but since they all wrote under psedonyms, mostly French names, in most cases they cannot be identified In 1738, the paper Samtal emellan Argus skugga och en obekant fruntimmers skugga nyligen anländ till Dödens rike ("A talk between Argus' shadow and the unknown shadow of a woman newly arrived to the kingdom of Death") was published, written as a debate between a male ("Argus' shadow") and a female journalist ("The shadow of a woman"). This was a radical paper where the writers were critical of religious repression and censorship, obedience to authority, and issues of war and peace, morality, and independence The paper was censored several times by the authorities The female writer is believed to be Margareta von Bragner-Momma
Margareta Momma
Anna Margareta Momma was a Swedish publisher, managing editor, journalist and feminist. Chronologically, she may be counted as the first professionally active female journalists in Sweden.- Background :...
, and she satirizes the letters from some readers who criticize the thought of a woman discussing philosophy In 1755-1756, Henrika Juliana von Liewen
Henrika Juliana von Liewen
Henrika Juliana von Liewen was a Swedish noble, socialite and lady-in-waiting, believed to have been politically active on behalf of the Hats during the Age of liberty....
is believed to have contributed to the paper En ärlig swensk ("An Honest Swede").
One of the few of these anonymous female journalists that have been clearly identified is Catharina Ahlgren.
Translator and poet
Ahlgren begun her career as a selfsupporting woman in the literary world after her first divorce in 1753. She was first active as a translator of borth novels and poetry. Among her translations was the GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
poem Die Prüfung Abrahams by Christoph Martin Wieland
Christoph Martin Wieland
Christoph Martin Wieland was a German poet and writer.- Biography :He was born at Oberholzheim , which then belonged to the Free Imperial City of Biberach an der Riss in the south-east of the modern-day state of Baden-Württemberg...
(1753), and the French novel La Femme Malheureuse by Eliza Wyndham.
Ahlgren was active as a poet and presented the queen, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia was Queen of Sweden between 1751 and 1771 as the spouse of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III of Sweden.-Background:...
, with her own poem at the queens birthday in 1764, which was her debute as a poet. She was also a friend and correspondent of the poet Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht
Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht
Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht was a Swedish poet, feminist and salon hostess...
.
Writer
Ahlgren participated under the signature Adelaide in the paper "Brefwäxling emellan twänne fruntimmer" ("A Correspondence between two women") which were published in sixty eight numbers from 1772 to 1773. She was also this paper's editor. This was a feminist publication in which she argued in favour of a social conscience, democracyDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and gender equality
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
, and recommended solidarity between women as a protection against male guardianship and superiority. She states that the only way to reach true love within a relationship is to be equals, adding that as men so often want to rule over women, it is much harder to retain friendship with them than with another woman. She discussed love and friendship, uppbringing, the king and the monarchy and religion
In the correspondence-debate in her paper, she wrote 1772:
"Even though I have just sent my letter, I still write anew until the post leaves. My only consolation Is my feather. Of all artists I praise the inventor of the art of writing the most"
(By fether she ment her pen: fether-pen)
She also published Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht; Nordenflycht wrote under the name "A shepherdess of the North", while Catharina Ahlgren wrote under the name "The shepherdess in Ahl-Lunden". In 1773 she published "Brefväxling mellan Adelaide och några vittra snillen".
Ahlgren also managed a Printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
for a period.
Publisher and editor
Ahlgren seem to have left Sweden in 1775. In 1782, she was listed as a resident in ÅboAbo
Abo may refer to:* ABO blood group system, a human blood type and blood group system** ABO , enzyme encoded by the ABO gene that determines the ABO blood group of an individual* Abo of Tiflis , an Arab East Orthodox Catholic saint...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, where she is considered as the publisher and managing editor behind the papers Om att rätt behaga ("Of the Art of Pleasing") in 1782, and Angenäma Sjelwswåld ("Pleasant Defyings") in 1783. These papers belonged to the first publications in Finland, and the former was, in fact, the first Finnish paper in Finland
She finished the publication Om konsten at rätt behaga officially because of health reasons. In her farewell she wrote: "You may see, gentlemen, how much I wished to copy you" The year after, she published another paper.
Personal life
Ahlgren was married and divorceDivorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d twice. Her first marriage was with Bengt Edvard Eckerman, cavalry master of the royal Scanian Husars. She married secondly with a printing press journeyman by the name of Bark (or Barck), whom she also divorced.
Four of her children is known. She had two sons, Bengt Gustaf and Christopher, and two daughter, Charlotte (Charlotta Beata) and Julie (Juliana Catharina) during her first marriage: Charlotte Eckerman
Charlotte Eckerman
Charlotte Eckerman , was a Swedish opera singer and actress. She was also a very well known courtesan during the Gustavian era, and the official royal mistress of Charles XIII of Sweden from 1779 to 1781...
(1756–1790) became a singer and Julie Eckerman (1765–1801), who was a courtesan, became the mistress of count Carl Sparre and then the wife of Nils Björckegren, mayor of Linköping. She had additionally at least one child outside marriage.
The last years of her life is poorly documented. At the death of her whealthy daughter Charlotta Eckerman in 1790, Catharina Ahlgren is listed as the chief benefactor and reported to be a resident of Åbo.
Works
- Brefwäxling emellan twänne fruntimmer. Den ena i Stockholm och Den andra på landet. I åtskilliga blandade ämnen (paper, 1772-73)
- La Femme Malhereuse (translation)
- Brefväxling mellan Adelaide och några vittra snillen (1773)
- Om att rätt behaga (paper, 1782)
- Angenäma Sjelfswåld (paper, 1783)
See also
- Sophia Elisabet BrennerSophia Elisabet BrennerSophia Elisabet Brenner was a Swedish writer, poet, feminist and salon hostess, and was regarded in her country as a pioneer in each of these fields.- Biography :...
- Hedvig Charlotta NordenflychtHedvig Charlotta NordenflychtHedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht was a Swedish poet, feminist and salon hostess...
- Maria CederschiöldMaria CederschiöldMaria Cederschiöld, , was a Swedish journalist and feminist.Cederschiöld studied in Uppsala and graduated in 1874. After having worked as a teacher, she became a reporter at Aftonbladet in 1884. She wrote foreign news articles and reviewed literature as a critic. In 1909-1921, she was chief editor...
- Louise FlodinLouise FlodinLouise Charlotta Kristina Flodin, née Söderqvist, , was a Swedish journalist, typographer, feminist and publisher. She was seen as the first woman in Sweden to be given a newspaper licence....
External links
- http://www.hum.uit.no/dok/ntbf/nr15.htm