Knocked out by a bad cold! I’m still woozy so if anything I say about Doctor Glas by Hjalmar Söderberg doesn’t make sense, it’s the cold and/or one of the many varieties of cold medicine I’m taking.
Dr. Glas is a middle-aged, well-respected doctor in Stockholm. He has no wife or children, the only woman he ever loved and who loved him back died suddenly and unexpectedly after they had one lovely day together. Glas’s female clients like him and bring their troubles to him, asking for an abortion, which he refuses, not because he thinks it wrong but because it is against the law and he doesn’t want to get into trouble. And now Mrs. Gregorious, the beautiful young wife of the Vicar no one seems to like, comes to him asking for help. She is repulsed by her husband and in love with another man. Is there anything Dr. Glas might do to keep her husband from exercising his “rights”?
Dr. Glas falls head-over-heels for Mrs. Gregorious; he only ever falls in love with women who are already in love with someone else. He speaks to Mr. Gregorious, telling him that his wife has a condition that requires her to abstain from sex. This works for a couple weeks until Mr. Gregorious can’t stand it any longer and forces himself on his wife.
The next ploy is to convince Mr. Gregorious that his heart is bad and he needs to go take in the waters. This works for about two months. What else can Dr. Glas do to help? He has a secret drawer in his desk in which he has hidden a few cyanide pills against the day he might decide to take his own life. Could he convince Mr. Gregorious to take one?
Dr. Glas is no Raskolnikov, he is neither mad nor does he have high philosophical theories. He views respect for life as a hypocrisy:
What else can it ever be on the lips of anyone who has ever whiled away an idle hour in thought? Human life, it swarms around us on every hand. And as for the lives of faraway, unseen people, no one has ever cared a fig for them. Everyone shows this by his actions, except perhaps a few more than usually idiotic philanthropists. All governments and parliaments on earth proclaim it.
Yet Dr. Glas is not a bad man nor is he unlikeable. He is very lonely and, as his friend Markel says, lacks a talent for happiness.
The story is told in the form of a diary but as Glas says, it isn’t a confession
To whom should I confess? Nor do I tell the whole truth about myself, only what pleases me to relate, but nothing that isn’t true. Anyway, I can’t exorcise my soul’s wretchedness — if it is wretched — by telling lies
Later he tells us he does not write all his thoughts in his diary, only thoughts that recur to him more than once. He is reliable in what he tells us, but what, if anything, is he not telling us? Glas has such a trustworthy voice and I really felt sorry for him and for Mrs. Gregorious, but I can’t help but wonder if there were thoughts that got left out and what they might be?
Doctor Glas is a most excellent and compact read. It was first published in Swedon in 1905 and caused a bit of a scandal because people saw it as promoting abortion and euthanasia. It doesn’t, not really, but there is much in it to think about and I am sure I will read it again one day when my head is not full of congestion and cold medicine.
This was a Slaves group read. Check out the Slaves blog for other thoughts on the book and feel free to also join in our forum discussion.
This book tempts me, sounds like I’d enjoy. I will place it in my Cart.
Thank you. Hope you recover quickly.
Richard, it’s a good psychological read with lots of nuances. I hope you enjoy it if you read it!
Your reaction to Glas really interests me because I didn’t trust him one bit. I could understand and even sympathize with some of his motives, but I felt that he was being selective in what he shared. The quote you include about how he only tells what it pleases him to relate was what clinched it for me. He wants to see himself as a hero so he twists the story to make himself one.
Teresa, I didn’t want to trust him and even though he tells us several times that he isn’t telling us everything I still can’t help but want to believe what he does tell us. I didn’t get the impression he wanted to see himself as a hero, more like desperate to an active agent.
I love a book with an unreliable narrator. This one sounds perfect for a group book discussion.
boarding, unreliable narrators do keep things interesting and provide much to discuss!
I’m going to be very late with this one, but I will catch up as I so want to read it! It’s just my sort of thing! I think my frazzled brain is improving. So sorry to hear about your cold, Stef. The joy of the internet is that I can offer a consoling hug without fear of catching anything!
Sorry to read about your bad cold – I hope it clears up soon. Doctor Glas is a novel that sounds an interesting read and a reminder of just how many good and interesting Scandinavian writers who were active before the Scandi-crimewave (my favourites would have to be the Moomin books!). Hpoe you feel better soon.
Ian, thanks! on the mend at last! Doctor Glas is a really interesting psychological and character study, and yeah, proof that there are excellent Scandinavian writers pre-Stieg Larsson.
Litlove, sorry to hear your brain is still frazzled but glad that it is improving. Thanks for the well wishes. The internet is a marvelous place, I don’t have to worry about spreading my germs or about having lost my voice!
I’ve never read this (although it sounds as though I might like it, if the library has a copy…which I highly doubt) but the story sounds very familiar. Do you know if it was ever made into a film or if a film was loosely based on it? Seems to me I saw an old flim noire type of movie at some point. Feel better soon. I’ve been hiding under my bed a lot this season and have not caught anything yet.
Grad, it looks like there is a 1942 Swedish film of the book and a 1968 Danish version so you could have seen it. The book is quite good, your lawyer-mind would probably enjoy it
And thanks for the well wishes! I hope you continue illness free!
This sounds so interesting, especially considering the time period!
Jenclair, it is really interesting. When reading it, the book feels very modern
Sounds like potent medicine for an ailment. It’s hard to read a book with an ‘unlikeable’ character and not be judgemental about it. And sounds like this is one of those… you’ve done a good job in gleaning the pleasures of the book and the writing while not throwing the protagonist into the pit of eternal fire. BTW, is there any redemptive ending? Reading your review makes me think of Bel Ami by Maupassant.
Arti, thanks! Dr. Glas is an intriguing character, I’m not sure I could say everything that makes him tick but that keeps the book interesting. The ending is an entire discussion in itself. I would not call it redemptive. I’ve not read Bel Ami but from the synopsis of it, I’d say Maupassant’s character has drive and will than is ever present in any part of Dr. Glas.
Hope you feel better soon. I’m down with my second chest cold of the winter. Despite the cold and medicine, you managed to write coherently about this book and have gotten me very interested (or else, because I’m sick and medicated, I’m just on the same wavelength as you “-)!)
Emily, Thanks! Sorry to hear you are unwell too. LOL, our medicated minds just might be on the same wavelength! I think this is one you would like especially since it’s kind of a crime novel.
Feel better! We’ve been knocked down by terrible stomach bug; ugh. I hope you feel better really soon.
wherethereisjoy, thanks! I hope you have recovered from the stomach bug! tis the season, eh?
Sorry to hear you’ve been hit with a cold. Ugh, who’s got time for that right?! As usual, I’m behind on the reading. Still working through Doctor Glas which I’m enjoying a lot but you are so right – I keep thinking Doctor Glas is not being totally upfront about everything.
Iliana, thanks. I am finally feeling human again. Now I just have to suffer through the long drawn out tail end of it all. Ugh. Glad you are enjoying Doctor Glas! I look forward to your thoughts on it!
Dr. Glas is an intriguing character, isn’t he? Really sort of sympathetic and while I think he probably wasn’t being entirely honest–certainly selective in what he shares, yo still sort of like him. What a thought–considering he is a murderer! Just goes to show you how grey life is–and not so very black and white. It’s always interesting how an author can make you like someone who has done something so reprehensible!
Danielle, I went back and looked over my notes and stuff last night and I thought, this guy is horrible, how could I have liked him when I was reading the book?! He seemed so hapless while I was reading and then looking over all the passages I marked he reveals himself to be rather calculating and creepy. The narrative casts a spell and you don’t realize it until later.