1882-1949
Novelist And Social Commentator

Life. The Norwegian writer Sigrid Undset was born in Kalundborg, in western Denmark, the eldest of three daughters. Her father was an archaeologist, and the family lived a comfortable uppermiddle- class lifestyle. In 1884 the family moved to Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. After Undset's father died in 1893, her mother raised her daughters in more difficult conditions. From 1899 until 1909 Undset attended a commercial school in Kristiania and then worked as a secretary in an office. During this decade she began to write, and in 1907 and 1908 she published her first two books, the novel Fru marta Oulie (Mrs. Marta Oulie) and Den lykkelige alder (The Happy Age), a collection of short stories about middle-class women in contemporary Norway.

Early Themes. Undset's early fiction is a window into the experiences of middle-class Norwegians at the turn of the century. In Mrs. Marta Oulie Undset depicts...