# Strindberg quote...



## UrsaeMinoris

Hi !

I once heard a fairly mysoginist quote of Strindberg, saying:

"I have never seen something more ugly than a woman eating."

The phrasing might not be good. I am trying to find out -if indeed he ever wrote or say this - where or when he could have pronounced such a judgement.

Is there an expert on Strindberg that could help me ?

Ursae Minoris


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## JeanJean

Sorry, no. But Strindberg is maybee not a typical swede,I guess


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## Wilma_Sweden

If I remember correctly, Strindberg was pretty famous for being a great misogynist (even by the values of his contemporaries), so I wouldn't put it past him. I'll have a sniff around. In the meantime, have you tried Wikipedia/Wikiquote?

Moderator note: This is not strictly a linguistic question, but in the interest of cultural history, it is OK to answer the original question, as long as we don't start discussing Strindberg's view on women! 

/Wilma


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## UrsaeMinoris

Tusen tacks for your interest...

I have had a look here and there but I am not 100% sure of the phrasing. And actually, the phrasing could vary so much according to the translation.

I would doubt that we can find this quote in the body of his work. Perhaps in a letter, in his journal or a conversation that someone else would have reported?


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## Södertjej

I must say that wording sounds to me more like what a stand up comedian would say, not Strindberg. Are you certain it was Strindberg who wrote that? Have you tried googling those other alternatives? Google doesn't provide one single result for that sentence written like that. I've googled woman eating Strindberg (results containing those words in any order) and I can't find anything that resembles that sentence.


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## UrsaeMinoris

-I do not see what profit a stand-up comic would have with such a quote !

Again, I said that I am not sure about the phrasing, since it is obviously a translation.

I hold this quote from a respectable scholar from Sweden, yet of course, I am not sure that Strindberg has indeed said or write this since I am looking for the source of this quote.

Anyone who can help is welcome...


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## hanne

Not sure if it's of much help, but the same quote is mentioned here: https://www.flashback.info/archive/index.php/t-937475.html (post from 2009-06-17, 04:14)


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## UrsaeMinoris

Hi Hanne,

Tusen tack... "Han lär ha sagt att det värsta han visste var "att se en kvinna äta"
So, this is it ?
(You have guess that I am not fluent in Swedish).

Is there any source mentionned ?
What is this link exactly ?
Already, if I have the correct phrasing in Swedish, it would probably help me to locate it.

Also, the fact that you have found it, tends to prove that the quote is valid or that more than one have attributed it to Strinberg.

Ursae Minoris


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## Cagey

August Strindberg, 1913 (Claud Field, trans.)  _Zones of the spirit: a book of thoughts_. p.288.Eating is not beautiful, and to watch one's darling stowing away food in her beautiful mouth, which ought to speak beautiful words, smile bewitchingly, and purse up her tender lips to a kind of flower bud which one inhales in a kiss -- that may be downright repugnant!  Therefore one is accustomed to hide this unseemly function under light conversation, and forgets what the beautiful mouth is occupied with.​


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## Wilma_Sweden

Good job, Cagey!  I'm deeply impressed!

Now we just have to find the corresponding paragraph in the Swedish original, the title of which I haven't found yet. 

/Wilma


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## UrsaeMinoris

Thank you so very much !!!!
Indeed, if someone had this quote in Swedish, that would be great !


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## hanne

The Swedish title is En blå bok which Projekt Runeberg has as etext, and the original quote is here:

"Att äta är icke vackert och att se sin älskade skjuta
in mat i den vackra munnen som skall tala vackra ord,
le ljusa leenden och knyta de mjuka läpparne till
något liknande en blomknopp att andas in i en kyss,
det kan vara rent av fult! Därför brukar man dölja
den osköna förrättningen med lätta samtal, så att man
glömmer vad den sköna munnen nu har för sig."


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