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Peter & Mathilde


By Marie Ørstedholm

The story about Peter Faber and Mathilde Figiber is about two outstanding characters who each in their own way managed to leave their clear marks on Danish history of the 19th century. Both were gifted with a great poetical talent and both happened to play a pioneer role within the early development of the telegraph.


Prosperity
Peter Faber (1810-1877) was a man of many talents. Through his life he wrote songs and verses for any occasion in the many different environments he frequented. With the most famous of them ("High from the green tree top", "What a tremendous crush and noise", and "The brave soldier") he won fame and honour and it is mainly for his songs that he is remembered today. When it comes to Christmas carols, Faber’s songs are still among the most popular.

Less known are Peter Faber’s skills as a practical scientist, who as the first director of the State Telegraph of long standing (1852-1877) became of significant importance to the establishment of the Danish telegraph network. Peter Faber’s lifework was first and foremost his achievements as an engineer. Versifying was a spare time occupation which he did for fun with no ambitions of getting recognized as a literary artist. According to his family and friends he was all his life a carefree soul who accepted the challenges and possibilities of life as they came. Thereby he got far despite being "nothing but" the son of a blacksmith.

A Bad Patch
Mathilde Fibiger’s (1830-1872) cause of life was far from carefree although it promised well for the future of young Mathilde when as a just 19-year-old governess full of youthful idealism and confidence she wrote the epistolary novel "Clara Raphael – Twelve Letters". With her small book Mathilde was the first in the country to advocate that women should be given the same opportunities for independent development as men. She sent her manuscript to the greatest literary authority of the time, Johan Ludvig Heiberg, who was so charmed with the book that he had it published in 1850 and even wrote a sympathetic preface for it.

Presuming that the controversial content of the book would not pass unnoticed in the literary circles he promised in a private letter to Mathilde to stand by her as her "knight on the battlefield of literature".

However Heiberg hardly understood how explosive Mathilde’s novel was. With her twelve letters she became the spark that ignited the thoughts of sex equality smouldering in natural continuation of the democratic currents of the time. An eager debate about men’s and women’s lot arose with the so-called Clara Raphael feud in 1851, and Mathilde Fibiger who had written under a pseudonym was soon revealed as the real voice behind Clara Raphael.

While Peter Faber gained great popularity for his literary works among the public at large, Mathilde Fibiger met violent opposition. She was merciless criticized by leading people and only understood by very few, among them her life-long supporters, theologian N.F.S. Grundtvig and politician Fredrik Bajer. Heiberg she heard no more of. During the following years she published a few writings, none of which gave her the recognition as a writer which she hoped to gain. Being an unmarried woman of the commonalty she had to utilize the few possibilities of provision that she had. During the subsequent years she barely made ends meet working as a governess, a porcelain painter, and a shirtmaker. Her pioneer role within telegraphy she obtained by the vicissitudes of fortune when her friend, doctor and later Minister of Finance C.E. Fenger helped her to train as a telegraph operator under the management of Peter Faber. In 1866 after a trial period of 3 years she was employed as Denmark’s first female telegraph operator and thereby also the first female public servant in the country; a role which she considered an honour to fulfil, but which did not leave her any energy to continue her writing. The recognition of her works came only long time after her death in 1872. "It started with Mathilde", is today said about her importance for the fight for equal rights.

On two Tracks
Men and women of the commonalty lived in very different worlds during the second half of the 19th century. As a man Peter Faber was educated and trained for an active social and working life and could to a wide extent choose his mission in life. As a woman Mathilde Fibiger was relegated to find the meaning of life within the frames of home and family. If she tried to break loose from these frames, it would have to be at her own risk and expense.

Letters, Books, and Verses
As a versifier and writer of comedies Peter Faber produces a large selection of songs, verses, and drawings. The literary activities of Mathilde Fibiger are shown in her works as well as a number of letters which she sent to her family and friends during her entire adult life. The attitudes to life and the literary works of both of them were strongly marked by the national spirit that bloomed under the influence the Three Years’ War and the tender democracy brought about by the constitution of June 1849.

The State Telegraph
The two courses of life cross each other in their common workplace, the State Telegraph. Here Mathilde Fibiger experienced some exciting, but fatiguing years trying to survive as the only woman in a totally male-dominated profession. Later on she had female colleagues when the State Telegraph – in conformity with the development in other countries – as one of the first trades realized the economical advantage of using women as labour. Both Peter and Mathilde worked in the telegraph service until their death.


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