Living the American Dream: Aasta Hansteen’s Transnational Feminist Experience

This article discusses the Norwegian feminist pioneer and emigrant to the United States, Aasta Hansteen. Hansteen has been studied by many, but her encounters with American feminism and progressive circles have so far received little attention. I argue that her experience as an immigrant made it possible for her to meet American feminists and live out her feminist dream as a free individual. Through her writing, she communicated her experiences and views to Norwegians and Americans on both sides of the Atlantic. Hansteen’s elite background made her a cultural broker between American and Scandinavian cosmopolitan progressive networks. At the same time, her contacts and feminist activities made it difficult for her to develop close connections with common rural Norwegian Americans. Hansteen left Norway in 1880 with no intention to return but decided to travel back home nine years later. During her absence, women’s rights activists in Norway had organized, and Hansteen’s experiences as an immigrant made her a valuable asset to the Norwegian women’s movement. Hansteen shared her insights into feminist developments in America and opened the door for Norwegian feminists to a transatlantic feminist network.