Cecil Bødker (b. 1927) created one of the most famous children in Danish childrens literature. The boy Silas ventures in the world has spread from Russia to Japan and is part of the reason why Bødker counts as one of the greatest modern classics in Danish Childrens litterature.
Cecil Bødker had already established a reputation as
an excellent poet and author of short stories when she sent Silas out into the world in a small boat in 1967 and breathed new life into Danish children’s literature. The title of the book was Silas og den sorte hoppe (Silas and the Black Mare). The thirteenth book about
Silas appeared in 1998, 31 years later, under the title Silas og flodrøverne (Silas and the River Pirates).
When Silas first appeared on the scene he had had enough of adults who wanted to run his life and force him to live according to their rules. He was a young anarchist fiercely opposed to grown-ups, particularly those in power. The times
were right for this kind of rebellion: the pendulum had swung away from authoritarian theories of child rearing. In the first books in the series Silas enjoyed a free and unconstrained existence, finding friendship particularly
amongst the outsiders that Cecil Bødker excels in portraying with such remarkable honesty and insight.
In the later books Silas demonstrates a high level of maturity, he was gripped by a feeling of responsibility and
solidarity with the more vulnerable members of society. We saw a character with great integrity, high moral standards and the strength to reject the meanness of man and the power of money and riches. Societal ideals no longer favoured individualism but rather the more collective lifestyle. This influenced Silas who went on to establish an alternative community at Sebastiansbjerget. Here,
the outsiders lived a simple and dignified life in harmony with Nature.
Hungerbarnet (The Famished Child, 1990)
takes the reader into the countryside at the turn of the century. The feudal society is seen from the very bottom through the eyes of two children, the farm boy Larus and the pauper Tinke. The lives of these two children are interwoven in an everyday existence marked by hard work and arduous demands. This is a fascinating book that cautiously creates a scornful picture of stupidity and social inequality, insensitivity and indifference. At the same time, however, it applauds the individual’s attempt to break the mould by shaping his own existence, regardless of the costs.
While Silas inhabits a utopian society, The Famished Child depicts life in Denmark. Cecil Bødker also found inspiration outside Denmark, however. She lived in
Africa for a period of three months, and her visit here gave rise to two exciting and inspiring children’s books. Leoparden (The Leopard, 1970) and Dimma Gole (Dimma Golem, 1971) introduce us to a place where people live a frugal existence. Despite their circumstances, however, they are joyful and hospitable. In a book for adults, entitled Salthandlerskens hus (The Salt Trader’s House, 1972), Bødker introduced her hostess who
impressed the author with her dignity and self-respect.
This ability to explore a strange and unfamiliar setting is equally evident in Cecil Bødker’s highly original reinterpretation of The New Testament in her two books
about Maria, Marias barn. Drengen (Maria’s Child. The Boy, 1983) and Marias barn. Manden (Maria’s Child. The Man, 1984).
Cecil Bødker is a true master of the language, whether she is writing for children or adults. Her expertise is particularly evident in the animated dialogues between
the characters that serve to bring different episodes in the books to life for the reader. She often reinvents the language, coming up with new words which, although their meanings are never in any doubt, must at times lead her
translators to despair.
(1999)
