Bergman, Hjalmar

Bergman, Hjalmar (yäl'mär ber'yumän) [key], 1883–1931, Swedish novelist, dramatist, and short-story writer. A popular and prolific writer, Bergman wrote from the background of an unhappy childhood and chronic mental depression. His works are characterized by insight into the ambivalence of human emotions. Bergman's individual style combines a basically pessimistic view with ironic humor, as in the play Swedenhielms [the Swedenhielm family] (1925) and the novels God's Orchid (1919, tr. 1924) and The Head of the Firm (1924, tr. 1936).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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