# Prefatory Note explained — Hunger

> Chapter companion for Hunger by Knut Hamsun.

## What happens

George Egerton introduces Knut Hamsun and his first novel 'Hunger', describing the controversial reception of his work, his unique stylistic innovations in Norwegian literature, and his psychological exploration of the human soul, particularly the abnormal and insane.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hunger and Deprivation

The preface describes 'Hunger' as 'a shriek of hunger in all its moods' and a 'psychopathological study of the hunger of soul and body'.

### Psychological Fragmentation

Egerton highlights Hamsun's mastery in probing 'unexplored crannies in the human soul' and the 'mysterious territory of uncontrollable, half-conscious impulses'.

### Artistic Struggle and Creativity

The preface discusses Hamsun's struggle against conservative critics, his innovative use of language, and his 'superb contempt for everything that was not of aesthetic value'.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

The protagonist of 'Hunger', whose psychological and physical suffering is the focus of the novel.

## Key lines

> It made a great sensation; was as the flash of some strange meteor, holding perhaps a menace to social life, across the firmament.

The novel caused a huge stir, like a mysterious meteor that seemed to threaten society.

_Describes the shocking impact of 'Hunger' upon its release._

> Words were gold in his hands, to be tossed about rough as unwashed nuggets, or beaten into a delicate, fantastic filigree; language became a plastic material, capable of expressing the most elusive half-thoughts, the most unrecorded emotions.

Hamsun treated words like precious metal, using them roughly or finely to capture subtle and unspoken feelings.

_Highlights Hamsun's innovative and masterful use of language._

> None the less it remains a shriek of hunger in all its moods, a psychopathological study of the hunger of soul and body, the 'art of hungering with beauty.'

Nevertheless, the novel is a cry of hunger in every form, a psychological study of both spiritual and physical starvation, the 'art of hungering beautifully.'

_Summarizes the core theme and artistic approach of 'Hunger'._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hunger_se/chapters/prefatory-note
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hunger_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hunger_se/chapters