Literary characters as archetypes and stereotypes : Gustav Pallas and Hamsun reception in Czechoslovakia

Knut Hamsun was a very popular writer between the two world wars in many countries. It was also during this period that the first and only monograph in the Czech language on Hamsun's life and works was written. The book is called Knut Hamsun a soudobá beletrie norská (1933, Knut Hamsun and Contemporary Norwegian Fiction) and was published by the translator, essayist and literary historian Gustav Pallas (1882-1964). The author of this article focuses on two books by Pallas in which he deals with Hamsun. The article argues that Pallas's studies of Hamsun's life and works, despite being quite nuanced, perpetuate some of the common stereotypes in the Czechoslovak reception of Hamsun. Among others, Pallas sees Hamsun's characters as archetypes of Scandinavian people, describing them as an extension of Scandinavian nature.