| Coulsong
Your Questions
Question 127: Why is Karen Blixen sometimes called Tania?
Q. Karen Blixen's husband calls her "Tania" in the movie. Where did this name come from?
A. Karen Blixen was called Tania (not Karen) by friends and relatives
during her adult life. There is no clear record of how the name
developed, although some writers have claimed that Denys Finch Hatton
first called her that, after Titania in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Her first biographer, Parmenia Migel, suggests that she learned this
information in talks with Karen Blixen. The author was called Tanne by
her immediate family--a name that originated from her pronunciation of
her own name as a child. She is said to have disliked the name.
Copyright © 2008 by Linda
Donelson. All rights reserved. During the past quarter century, Linda Donelson has been the only author writing about Karen Blixen for an international audience. Her biography, Out of Isak Dinesen (1998), was the Number One Best-Selling Scandinavian / or related title at Amazon.com for five years.
Comments or questions: Write to GraceJames at karenblixen.com.
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Supported misspellings: karen blixon, karin, isaac, isak dineson, isak denison, dinison, dinisen, denesen, coolsong, donaldson