Knuth Becker (1891-1974): Suppression and Vitalism

Abstract

The article is a comprehensive analysis of Knuth Beckers series of nine novels (1932-56) about his alter ego Kai Gøtsche (cf. the rejected Cain of the Bible). Kai is a lively boy who is marked by the lacking understanding of his parents and the strict morals which characterize the religious movement Indre Mission. The boy is sent to a reformatory, where the children are being maltreated psychologically and physically. – Kai grows up and becomes a writer. He is rescued through his own vitalistic forces and through the encounter with a woman, who can be characterized as ”a woman of nature”, but who is depicted with more nuances than the similar type in older Danish literature. The work is a Bildungsroman determined by an individualistic and humanist ideal, but it is also a contemporary novel. Becker has also written remarkable poems which are burlesque as well as gruff. They are not commonly known, but are included in the analysis as being interesting, preliminary studies for the series of novels.

The article relates to the theme of religious criticism in Danish literature. In this respect the series of novels is related to Henrik Pontoppidans novel Lykke-Per (1898-1904) and with the poetry of Thøger Larsen and Johannes V. Jensen.