2025-03-19 · Telegram (in Russian), t.me/iliathoughts/444

Laxness: independence and loneliness

There is an Icelandic writer, Halldor Laxness. He received the Nobel Prize for the book "Independent People." He writes about the life of an Icelandic farmer who strives for independence all his life. The main character buys a farm on credit for many years, lives a harsh life, builds a house, has children, loses them. And in his wish not to depend on anyone, he arrives at loneliness.

Laxness shows that absolute independence is an illusion for which a person pays a high price. The desire to control everything and depend on no one leads not to happiness but to deep loneliness and inner emptiness. Freedom is in the ability to live in harmony with other people and with nature, to be open to the world, to accept help and to share with others not only hardships but also the joys of life.

In this he is somewhat similar to Henry David Thoreau and his idea of a conscious life from "Walden." Thoreau sees solitude and independence as a path to the spirit and inner freedom, while Laxness reminds us that an excessive striving for independence leads to loneliness.

Among Scandinavian writers there is also the powerful Karl Ove Knausgaard. He tells about life in an extremely open way, and in his cycle "My Struggle" he reveals the beauty and importance of simple everyday small things, which are life itself.