The Danish Girl

The Book

David Ebershoff's book is a work of fiction inspired by the lives of painters Gerda Gottlieb and her husband Einar Wegener, who became the first person to undergo gender affirmation surgery to become a woman in 1930. All the other characters and story are conjecture or made up by the author, which is important to bear in mind.

Greta and Einar live together in the creative quarter of Copenhagen, Denmark, where he is a slightly more successful painter of landscapes  than she with portraits. One day, however, when her female subject is unable to sit for her, she persuades Einar to put on stockings and a dress in order to finish the painting. This sparks an awakening in him and Lili is born.

Lili poses for Greta's portraits and she begins to go out to balls and the opera accompanied by an understanding wife. As the portraits become more successful, Greta encourages Einar to become Lili despite his reluctance - perhaps as he can see what blinds Greta.
 As Lili becomes more established, she explores new relationships that causes Greta to worry about losing her husband and resent Lili.



If you are looking for insight into the thoughts and feelings of a transgender person, then I don't think you gain a lot by reading this book; using Lili Elbe's semi-autobiographical account as a basis, published after her death, means little, perhaps, was set down about her own feelings. Einar and Lili are completely separate characters and one does not think about the other.

As Lili's friends and family seek a solution, there are the usual misdiagnosis and terrible solutions of a less enlightened time - schizophrenia, homosexuality; trepanning and lobotomy - before a pioneering operation.

What I did find engaging and food for thought was how Greta comes to terms with the situation after the operation - how seeing Lili would constantly remind her of a husband who to all intents and purposes is now dead but cannot be declared so officially.



The Film

The film is a more of a biographical work than the book, as it focuses on the Gerda (called Gerda in the film and not Greta)-Einar-Lili relationship and excludes flashbacks or any of Greta's tragic fictional back story (a previous husband and child both died). More realistic interpretations are presented, such as homosexual Henrik preferring Einar dressed as a woman rather than actually being one, whereas in the book he wants to marry her and have children after the operations.

The film also represents Einar as having a more assertive role in wanting to become Lili - it is his suggestion that Gerda paints Lili more and Lili seeks out Henrik on more than one occasion without telling Gerda, which does not happen in the book. Denied the opportunity at home, Einar slips out to try on clothes backstage at the theatre.
 
It was not an easy film to watch. It is one thing to read about and another to see Eddie Redmayne naked in front of a mirror pushing his bits between his legs or getting awakened stroking his silk stocking clad hairy legs. Perhaps some things are best left in private. When it got to the episode in the Parisian peep show I was glad that they decided not to include the scene of Einar and another man watching each other masturbating through the glass - but again I think that in the book that was probably out of character with the real figure.


There are some lovely scenic shots interspersed amongst the drama and the soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat is a beautiful accompaniment without being intrusive.