Abstract
The Norwegian author Knut Hamsun and the Danish one Johannes V. Jensen argued about the modern civilization around 1900.
Their stances on issues such as modernity, America, industrial progress and the role of art differ radically. This article is, firstly, an attempt to ascertain the essence of their disputations.
Secondly, it tries to point out that their contradictory creeds precede some forms of modernism of the 20th century.