A young girl sits naked on the edge of a bed, her thighs pressed together
and her hands hiding her nakedness. She stares straight ahead but without
meeting an onlooker's eyes. She has experienced something, and her state
is tense as a result, a fact underlined by the dark shadow unfurling behind
her. Was it her first erotic dream? Her first menses? We do not know,
nor is that crucial. What Munch depicts in this painting is sexual awakening,
an awareness of something new, something frightening yet alluring and
inescapable. Not surprisingly, a picture of such a subject was considered
offensive at the time. Even nowadays when the topic is not taboo, the
picture can shock the viewer with its frank portrayal of an intimate situation
experienced by all young girls. For this work, too, Munch's inspiration
came from Max Klinger's series of etchings A Love, from the plate entitled
"Awaken".
December 25, 2000