Marianne Fredriksson -- A Latebloomer (but Not Too Late)

by Songül Arslan

There is hope for us young aspiring writers who sometimes feel we aren't going fast enough or that we need more time to develop our skills and fear that we will never make it. Don't panic just yet; instead, look to Marianne Fredriksson as an example of what can happen if you keep on keeping on. Something of a latebloomer, she was over fifty when her first book, Eva, was published in 1980.

Marianne Fredriksson was born in 1927 in Göteborg, Sweden. As a young adult she worked as a journalist at the Göteborg-Tidningen. Later she moved to Sweden's capital city, Stockholm, and became a head magazine editor. Though she was married, her husband worked at sea and she was left to raise her children on her own. She made a conscious decision to combine career and family, something that could not have been easy for a woman of her time. Depression created a turning point in Fredriksson's life and during the course of psychoanalytic treatment, she discovered a "new voice" within herself. This voice became her "writing voice."

Because I had read about the fact that Marianne Fredriksson was not a young fledgling anymore, I had thought her books would be old-fashioned, dry and appeal to an age group that I am not yet a member of. To sum up, I thought they would bore me to tears. What else could I expect from a book called Hanna's Daughters with a storyline involving three generations of women? I never even contemplated reading it.

Yet on a family weekend I saw Fredriksson's According to Mary lying on the table and I flipped through it. Randomly, I started reading a few lines and they expressed a certain energy that made me eager to learn more. I decided to start from the beginning and I could not lay the book down. What an original way of describing Mary Magdalene! I thrilled as I read Fredriksson's daring characterization of Mary. She takes a familiar woman and creates a strong, self-confident woman who loves Jesus. Through Fredriksson's words we feel we get to know not only Mary, but also Jesus Christ himself. Without doing damage to Christianity, Fredriksson seems to pierce through some myths that have survived the ages. I was surprised by her ability to create a feminine figure that was not so ordinary and not at all what tradition has taught me to expect or believe of this friend of Christ.

Now I was hungry for more. I read The Nightwanderer, which evoked the same feeling of surprise. This book deals with a young child named Markus who suddenly becomes blind when his nurse disappears. Markus has a half-brother who is better at everything and more loved by their father, which is something that Markus can't handle. Through a magician he learns to see again, but discovers that he has a dark side, too. A strong bond forms between Markus and the magician, and when it is time for the magician to leave, they part with the words "See you in Jerusalem." They ultimately meet again in Jerusalem under the most exciting circumstances, during the time of the rise of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion. Markus's encounter with Jesus changes his being forever and he finally comes to terms with himself.

Just because the books deal with religious themes it doesn't mean they are overtly religious. They are inspiring in a very different way from what you would expect from books drawn from the Christian religion. I came to understand that by reading certain books we can separate ourselves from certain myths and certain truths. We can change them into ones that fit a more positive and bright outlook on life, without changing the root of the matter, whether one is a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist, an atheist or some other "-ist." Marianne Fredriksson has understood this as no other and has dedicated herself to sharing her ideas on paper so that we can all see life from a different side. I know my perspective about many things has changed for the better for having read her books, and I know it is never too late to see things anew.