Collett, Camilla (Wergeland)

Collett, Camilla (Wergeland) (kämē`lä vĕr`gəlän kôl`ĕt), 1813–95, Norwegian feminist novelist, essayist, and literary critic. Her feminist novels include The District Governor's Daughters (1854–55, tr. 1991), the first Norwegian psychological and social novel, and the charming In the Long Nights (1862). From the Camp of the Mute (1877) explores the depiction of women in literature. Collett was the sister of the poet Henrik Wergeland and the lover of J. S. Welhaven, his rival. She devoted her life and work to the emotional and social emancipation of women and is considered to be one of the most influential women critics.