At the origins of the Norwegian detective: Murder in Maurits Christopher Hansen’s prose

Abstract

This article discusses the function of the murder motif in M. C. Hansen’s prose. It shows that this motif is strongly related to the author’s quest for novel ways to represent reality, his ambition to portray the private lives of everyday Norwegians, and his goal to illustrate the moral development — or, on the contrary, the degeneration — of his characters. A crucial plot-forming device, the motif of murder is frequently combined with the motif of insanity as retaliation for the committed crime. It is possible to see how a critical view of modernity gradually replaces the distinct religious pathos of Hansen’s early prose (Den gale Christian (The Mad Christian), Keadan, eller Klosterruinen (Keadan, or the Abbey Ruins), Novellen (The Short Story), Den myrdede brudgom (The Murdered Groom)), inevitably leading to the emergence of a new kind of hero. The nature of this hero is determined by the surroundings and environment, the narrative becomes more psychologizing, and the interest in daily life takes the place of the theme of the moral revival (Jutulskoppen (The Troll Mountain) and Mordet på Maskinbygger Roolfsen (The Murder of Engine Maker Roolfsen)). Hansen’s writings from this time period are distinguished by a tragic perspective. The notion of a moral revival of man loses its appeal to the author. He feels that profit and vanity have replaced love, and that true feelings are doomed to vanish. The themes of mistrust between close people, the corruption of the ruling class, the oppressed position of the people, and the inability to escape from social oppression take on a new significance. We discover that Hansen’s interest in the everyday and private lives of regular people is linked to his search for artistic research tools, whereas the motifs of murder and crime investigation aid the writer in creating a vivid and accurate picture of contemporary Norwegian society while also making his narratives more entertaining.