In that sense, the danish girl can be lauded for telling, in an empathetic way, the story of a woman with pioneering spirit. The danish girl, based on the novel of the same name by david ebershoff and directed by tom hooper, tells the story of lilli elbe, one of the first known recipients of sexreassignment surgery. The little match girl study guide american literature. Nov 25, 2015 we already brought you a video of director tom hooper and the cast of the danish girl talking about transgender misconceptions and what they learned while making the movie, but now its time to. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the danish girl by david ebershoff. For lili elbe, that young danish woman whom greta waud first brought into. Somewhere, unseen in the barren landscape, something is at its mercy we hear the rustle and punch of the weather going at it.
She is a tall, blonde, tenyearold christian girl living in copenhagen, denmark during world war ii. The tragic true story behind the danish girl save lili elbe. Einar arrives at the clinic, but he has to wait several days before he. Clearly written in a series of chapters exploring society and life in copenhagen and beyond. This a film not about a character looking for love. The the danish girl community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. The danish girl quotes by david ebershoff goodreads. The danish girl presents a fictionalized telling of lili elbe born einar wegener and the trials and tribulations she faces transforming from a man to a woman and later, as she undergoes sexual reassignment surgery.
Ebershoff, executive editor at random house, tells the story of a man who gets turned into a woman. Eddie redmayne on the danish girl and how transgender. In some ways, it shares something with charles dickenss stories highlighting the plight of the poor, and indeed, we might draw a tenuous link between dickenss famous story a. The danish girl 2015 is a fictitious story adapted from david ebershoffs book of the same name, which is loosely inspired by reallife danish artists and couple einar wegenerlili elbe eddie redmayne and gerda gottlieb alicia vikander. All that person wants is to be the truest version of thems. Greta asks her husband einar to wear silk stockings and feminine shoes to pose for her, so that she can continue painting a portrait in the absence of the female model. The novel is a fictionalized account of the life of lili elbe, one of the first people to undergo sex reassignment surgery. It is also about what makes a marriage and how far a woman will go to let her husband find his true self, knowing that she will likely lose him in the process.
The danish girl is not a novelization of an amazing historical anecdoteit is a beautifully written, senstivelyhandled, and deeplyengaging novel that it absolutely one of the best i have read in recent years. Inspired by the true story of danish painter einar wegener and his californiaborn wife, this tender portrait of a marriage asks. With eddie redmayne, alicia vikander, amber heard, ben whishaw. Tom hoopers new film, the danish girl based on the fictionalized account of lili elbe, spearheads what has been a banner 2015 year for lgbt film subjects. Im starting work now on a new film called the danish girl, and its another extraordinary story about extraordinary people. So grab a danish or a croissant, or a donut, or a piece of fruit. His book is based on the reallife story of einar wegener, a danish artist who 70 years ago became the first man to be medically transformed into a womanlong. Apr 05, 2016 the ending of the 2015 drama the danish girl. He is also, we come to understand, in ways subtle and extreme, a woman named lili elbe.
Growing up in a functionalist society, we were most likely taught two things specifically about gender. The german girl is a fictionalised account of the events that took place before, on board and after the german ship st louis set the author of the german girl, armando lucas correa, was a recent guest at a writers festival held in perth, western australia, where i live. The film stars eddie redmayne as elbe, one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery, alicia vikander as wegener, and sebastian. Given that hes telling the story of reallife artist einar wegener eddie redmaynethe first known person to undergo sexual reassignment surgery nearly a century ago when he transformed himself into lili elbedirector tom hooper plays it dismayingly safe. This was after approximately two decades of believing that he was a woman trapped in a mans body, a feeling that grew stronger as the years passed. Sep 05, 2015 when the danish girl first introduces redmaynes character, he is dapperly costumed as a danish gentleman, making eyes across a gallery opening at his wife, gerda vikander. She changes during the course of the novel due to her experiences and actions. The film fashions itself as a love story between einarlili and gerda, who together must confront and evolve as einar undergoes gender reassignment. During our investigation into the danish girl true story, we discovered that einars older sister accepted him as lili, but not without struggle. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the danish girl. But the book begins and ends with einar and lili, making greta the filling in this sandwichor danish, if you prefer. The danish girl is a delicate, elegant novel about the search for ones true self when ones body, as an. The film has its charms, but it shies away from examining the psychological complexities and the moral truths that could have made it a worthy costume drama, instead of an empty pantsuit. The story of transgender pioneer lili elbe is stripped of complexity and.
The danish girl was also adapted into a film in 2015 starring eddie redmayne. Before we get into this book, wed like to pause to make sure were all on the same page. What do you do when someone you love wants to change. The first doctor suggests a lobotomy, telling einar he will make two holes on each side of his head. Essay analysis of annana lorenzs the danish girl annalena lorenz in her article titled the danish girl and the deconstruction of gender identity theorised that einar wegener, or lila elbe eddie redmayne had to perform a theatrical performance while living in the normal everyday life in the assigned gender of male but during the period of minute 37. Hans christian andersen was the danish author of both the little mermaid and the snow queen. The first sex change, its reported that einar was so twisted that he. The danish girl 2015 and the deconstruction of gender. As a rule, the respectful way to discuss transgender people is by using the name and pronoun they specifically identify with. The danish girl is a delicate, elegant novel about the search for ones true self when ones body, as an external encasement, doesnt mirror what is on the inside. Annemarie is the protagonist, or main character in the novel, and can be seen as the heroine. By and large, todays western audience is unlikely to be roused by the story told in the danish girl 2015, directed by tom hooper, although it is based on true events. How to be danish is a fascinating insight into danish culture and mores bringing the land of the killing and the bridge to life. The danish girl by david ebershoff the danish girl, by david ebershoff opens in copenhagen in 1925 with a wonderful enigmatic four word sentence his wife knew first.
Here is a book that truly makes the reader stop and question one of our most rigidly held fundaments of identity, gender. Ebershoff, the publishing director of the modern library, has written a fascinating first novel. Jan 05, 2016 the danish girl, based on the novel of the same name by david ebershoff and directed by tom hooper, tells the story of lilli elbe, one of the first known recipients of sexreassignment surgery. The novel is a fictionalized account of the life of lili elbe, one of the first people to.
Alicia vikander wins best supporting actress oscar for the danish girl the first time nominee beats favourite kate winslet to win the academy award for her role in the transgender drama published. One day, annemarie, ellen, and annemaries fiveyearold sister kirsti walk home from school. The danish girl is a beautiful film with brave performances though hooper often struggles to translate lili elbes life into memorable movie drama einar wegener eddie redmayne and his wife gerda gottlieb alicia vikander are staples of the denmark art scene. David ebershoff on writing his debut novel, the danish girl, which has been adapted into a major motion picture starring eddie redmayne. The second one tells einar that his diagnosis is bad that he believes einar is a homosexual. Einar wegener played by eddie redmayne and his wife gerda alicia vikander are a happily married couple. We already brought you a video of director tom hooper and the cast of the danish girl talking about transgender misconceptions and what they learned while making the movie, but now its time to. The film stars eddie redmayne as elbe, one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery, alicia vikander as wegener, and sebastian koch as kurt warnekros. The danish girl vs the true story of lili elbe, gerda wegener. The danish girl essays are academic essays for citation.
While the pairs reputation stems from einars work as a landscape artist, einar dedicates a. Lili ilse elvenes 28 december 1882 september 1931, better known as lili elbe, was a danish transgender woman and among the early recipients of sex reassignment surgery elbe was born einar magnus andreas wegener, and was a successful painter under that name after successfully transitioning in 1930, she changed her legal name to lili ilse elvenes and stopped. A 2000 novel by david ebershoff, the danish girl is based on the life of lili elbe, one of the first known recipients of sexreassignment surgery also known as gender affirmation or gender confirmation surgery. Elbe was born einar magnus andreas wegener, and was a successful painter under that name. Lili ilse elvenes 28 december 1882 september 1931, better known as lili elbe, was a danish transgender woman and among the early recipients of sex reassignment surgery. The film fashions itself as a love story between einarlili and gerda, who together must confront and evolve as einar undergoes. Her gender reassignment surgeries were, for the most part, the first of their kind.
This is why we get her point of view in alternating chapters. This could be a hint about what year frozen takes place. Frozen 2 details and analysis you might have missed insider. The danish girl by bookrags available from rakuten kobo. The titlethe danish girlis fairly selfexplanatory as titles go. Given that hes telling the story of reallife artist einar wegener eddie redmayne the first known person to undergo sexual reassignment surgery nearly a century ago when he transformed himself into lili elbedirector tom hooper plays it dismayingly safe. At last, in this ripe age of 2016 we finally get a mainstream depiction of transgender issues.
But ebershoff emphasizes the title in the books final chapter, as lili thinks, she was fraulein lili elbe. Screenplay by lucinda coxon based on the novel by david. She begins as einar wegener, a danish man in copenhagen, and she ends as lili, the danish girl in dresden. It was with some trepidation that i went to watch the danish girl. The danish girl succeeds at being a wellmade bio pic with a heart, but its hard to shake the feeling that lili is more a vessel used to display the first transgender rather than a fully fleshed. A stunning first novel that probes the mysteries of sex, gender, and love with insight and subtlety. Amazing acting from alicia vikander and eddie redmayne. A fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of danish artists lili elbe and gerda wegener. A rectangle of ferociously stormy sea viewed from battered cliffs. Nov 27, 2015 the danish girl, tom hoopers new film, is a story of individual struggle that is also a portrait of a marriage. Similar to the successful novels memoirs of a geisha and hitlers niece, the danish girl is a wondrous book. David ebershoffs first novel, the danish girl, is inspired by the life of lili elbe.
It won the lambda literary award for transgender fiction in 2000 and. In researching the danish girl true story, we learned that einar even chose the date that he would kill himself, may 1, 1930 einars desire to commit suicide is only briefly hinted at in the movie. Silver waves are whipped by a wind that flies at us, stinging, relentless. The danish girl true story the real lili and gerda. The danish girl isnt just the story of einars transition to lili, its also the story of how his wife, greta, supports, responds, and reacts to this shift. His book is based on the reallife story of einar wegener, a danish artist who 70 years ago became the first man to be medically transformed into a womanlong before the much betterknown case of. In this respect and others it resembles the kings speech, mr. Gender identity vs gender expression in the danish girl. Dec 07, 2018 lili elbe was born einar wegener and spent her entire life trying to choose between the man she was born as and the woman she wanted to become. Nazi germany has occupied their country for the past three years. The movie stars eddie redmayne in the role of einar wegenerlilli elbe, the emerging transgender female. Upon their first meeting, his sister warned him not to be angry if she was unable to call him lili, since she longed for.
What i believe to be more important, though, and for which i consider the film to be a failure, is the fact that it portrays lili as a heightened version of socalled femininity. The danish girl eddie redmayne makes the ultimate transition, reteaming with les miserables director tom hooper in this sensitive, highprofile portrait of transgender. This guide is useful for exploring topics including pshe education, psychology, history, literacy and citizenship in. The danish girl quotes showing 112 of 12 einar felt lonely, and he wondered if anybody in the world would ever know him. Written with lush prose and emotional insight, this book is sure to create a buzz in the literary world. He therefore embarks on the arduous journey of freeing. Lili and gerdas marriage and work evolve as they navigate lilis groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer. The story of transgender pioneer lili elbe is stripped of complexity and danger in favour of slick, sumptuous. In a 1933 book thats listed as an inspiration for the movie, man into woman. A film guide that looks at the danish girl 2015, a period drama depicting the true story of danish artist lili elbe, one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery.
On the cover of his book, you can just make out the silhouette of ariel from the little mermaid. Npr coverage of the danish girl by david ebershoff. Presentation mode open print download current view. Einar wegener played by eddie redmayne and his wife gerda alicia vikander are a. The time is 1925, the place is copenhagen, and the protagonist of david. This study guide consists of approximately 42 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the danish girl. An excellent introduction to modern day denmark based on a series of interviews with contemporary danes.
Oct 08, 2015 the danish girl gives some historical perspective to a contemporary dilemma. After successfully transitioning in 1930, she changed her legal name to lili. Gerda was known for the bloodred poppies she wore behind her earsand for being the first. In 1943, annemarie johansen and her best friend ellen rosen are ten years old, growing up in copenhagen, denmark. Nov 27, 2015 such is the conundrum with the danish girl. The danish girls lush prose and generous emotional insight make it, after the last page is turned, a deeply moving first novel about one of the most passionate and unusual love stories of the 20th century. The danish girl is a 2015 biographical romantic drama film directed by tom hooper, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by david ebershoff, and loosely inspired by the lives of danish painters lili elbe and gerda wegener. Doing so should bring some light on where we have come and how we got there. Her life would later become the inspiration for the danish girl. The danish girl, tom hoopers new film, is a story of individual struggle that is also a portrait of a marriage. A summary and analysis of hans christian andersens the. Annemarie and ellen decide to race, but two german soldiers stop them.
562 402 1586 1056 890 19 1029 396 1274 1340 690 661 988 983 508 1204 404 544 1206 1420 56 1189 72 947 723 1584 410 1109 1265 767 694 1583 358 1189 1175 537 673 1427 1051 790 1303 1132 387 1130 369