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Letter from Søren Kierkegaard to Regine Olsen. Undated.
The archives of Kierkegaard D, pk. 1, læg 7

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First page of the letter Second page of the letter


In this letter Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) has drawn himself walking on Knippelsbro (a bridge in Copenhagen) with a pair of binoculars. The letter was written in the early autumn of 1840 and belongs to the first part of Kierkegaard’s and Regine Olsen’s engagement. The first lines read as follows:
”Min Regine! Det er Knippelsbro. Den Person med Kikkerten det er mig. Du veed, at de Personer, der forekomme paa Landskaber i Almindelighed see noget curieuse ud; Du kan derfor trøste Dig med, at jeg ikke seer slet saa grim ud, og at enhver kunstnerisk Opfattelse altid har noget Idealt endog i at karikere” (My Regine! This is Knippelsbro. The person with the pair of binoculars – that is me. You know that people in landscapes in general look somewhat odd; so let it be a comfort to you that I do not look nearly as ugly, and that there is something ideal in any artistic perception, even a caricature).

28.2 x 23 cm.

References (in Danish): Joakim Garff, SAK – Søren Aabye Kierkegaard. En biografi, Copenhagen: Gad 2002 (1st ed. 2000), pp. 155-156.
Niels Jørgen Cappelørn, Joakim Garff, Johnny Kondrup, Skriftbilleder. Søren Kierkegaards journaler, notesbøger ..., Copenhagen: Gad 1996, pp. 124, 126.

Learn more on the website of the Royal Library Manuscripts from the Søren Kierkegaard Archive at the Royal Library.


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© Det Kongelige Bibliotek 2004