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Att se stjärnor på ljusa dagen. Förvandling och försoning i August Strindbergs En blå bok

Regnell, Astrid LU (2009)
Abstract
Abstract

Regnell, Astrid: Att se stjärnor på ljusa dagen. Förvandling och försoning

i August Strindbergs En blå bok.

Seeing stars in broad daylight. Transformation and Reconciliation in August Strindberg’s

Zones of the Spirit.

In this thesis a pattern of coherence is explored in August Strindberg’s Zones of the Spirit

(En blå bok) – a literary work consisting of a collection of short and quite diverse essays. It is

argued that Strindberg’s pattern of thought has its base in a concept of transformation that

characterizes his descriptions of nature and human life.

In the introduction, the transformationprocess is tied to the concept of transmutation in

... (More)
Abstract

Regnell, Astrid: Att se stjärnor på ljusa dagen. Förvandling och försoning

i August Strindbergs En blå bok.

Seeing stars in broad daylight. Transformation and Reconciliation in August Strindberg’s

Zones of the Spirit.

In this thesis a pattern of coherence is explored in August Strindberg’s Zones of the Spirit

(En blå bok) – a literary work consisting of a collection of short and quite diverse essays. It is

argued that Strindberg’s pattern of thought has its base in a concept of transformation that

characterizes his descriptions of nature and human life.

In the introduction, the transformationprocess is tied to the concept of transmutation in

alchemy, i.e. how matter is transmuted through different stages of purification into perfect

gold. Connections are also made to the Christian notion of conversion, made manifest in

the description of the stages of the meditation process. Finally the hypothesis is put forward

that Strindberg writes in a cryptic manner when using alchemical symbolism. In the

first two chapters the already known facts about Strindberg’s alchemical experience and

his acquaintances with devotional literature are summed up. From chapter three on follows

the analysis of Strindberg’s essays classified under the subtitles “The Transformations

of Nature”, “The Phenomena of Heaven” and “The Transformations of Man”. In the last

chapter, “The Transformation of Poetry”, the fluid border between fiction and reality in

Strindberg’s essays is explored.

A comparative methodology is adopted in order to demonstrate the role of transformation,

i.e. the texts in Zones of the Spirit are compared to alchemical ideas and to thoughts on

conversion, found in literature on meditation. The study shows the role of the alchemical

patterns of thought in Strindberg’s comprehension of different phenomena. For instance,

applying the theme of transformation to Zones of Spirit lends explanation to Strindberg’s

thoughts about reconciliation, but also to his thoughts about the process between life and

death and whether there will be life after physical death.

Keywords: August Strindberg, Zones of the Spirit, En blå bok, devotional literature, literature

of meditation, transformation, transmutation, alchemy, conversion, synthesis, Johann

Arndt, Swedenborg, Goethe, Platon

Copyright © Astrid Regnell och ellerströms förlag 2009

isbn 978–91–7247–204–4

Distributor: ellerströms, Fredsgatan 6, SE–222 20 Lund, Sweden

Phone: +46 32 32 95, www.ellerstroms.se (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • professor Nielsen, Erik A, Institutet för nordisk filologi och språkforskning, Köpenhamns universitet
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Platon, alchemy, conversion, synthesis, Johann Arndt, August Strindberg, devotional literature, Zones of the Spirit, Goethe, literature of meditation, En blå bok, transmutation, transformation, Swedenborg
pages
408 pages
publisher
Ellerströms förlag
defense location
Hörsalen, Språk- och litteraturcentrum, Helgonabacken 12, Lund
defense date
2009-02-28 10:15:00
ISBN
978-91-7247-204-4
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a51a9299-eb9c-4ca6-8657-cf0738bd5844 (old id 1288240)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 12:08:53
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:09:16
@phdthesis{a51a9299-eb9c-4ca6-8657-cf0738bd5844,
  abstract     = {{Abstract<br/><br>
Regnell, Astrid: Att se stjärnor på ljusa dagen. Förvandling och försoning<br/><br>
i August Strindbergs En blå bok.<br/><br>
Seeing stars in broad daylight. Transformation and Reconciliation in August Strindberg’s<br/><br>
Zones of the Spirit.<br/><br>
In this thesis a pattern of coherence is explored in August Strindberg’s Zones of the Spirit<br/><br>
(En blå bok) – a literary work consisting of a collection of short and quite diverse essays. It is<br/><br>
argued that Strindberg’s pattern of thought has its base in a concept of transformation that<br/><br>
characterizes his descriptions of nature and human life.<br/><br>
In the introduction, the transformationprocess is tied to the concept of transmutation in<br/><br>
alchemy, i.e. how matter is transmuted through different stages of purification into perfect<br/><br>
gold. Connections are also made to the Christian notion of conversion, made manifest in<br/><br>
the description of the stages of the meditation process. Finally the hypothesis is put forward<br/><br>
that Strindberg writes in a cryptic manner when using alchemical symbolism. In the<br/><br>
first two chapters the already known facts about Strindberg’s alchemical experience and<br/><br>
his acquaintances with devotional literature are summed up. From chapter three on follows<br/><br>
the analysis of Strindberg’s essays classified under the subtitles “The Transformations<br/><br>
of Nature”, “The Phenomena of Heaven” and “The Transformations of Man”. In the last<br/><br>
chapter, “The Transformation of Poetry”, the fluid border between fiction and reality in<br/><br>
Strindberg’s essays is explored.<br/><br>
A comparative methodology is adopted in order to demonstrate the role of transformation,<br/><br>
i.e. the texts in Zones of the Spirit are compared to alchemical ideas and to thoughts on<br/><br>
conversion, found in literature on meditation. The study shows the role of the alchemical<br/><br>
patterns of thought in Strindberg’s comprehension of different phenomena. For instance,<br/><br>
applying the theme of transformation to Zones of Spirit lends explanation to Strindberg’s<br/><br>
thoughts about reconciliation, but also to his thoughts about the process between life and<br/><br>
death and whether there will be life after physical death.<br/><br>
Keywords: August Strindberg, Zones of the Spirit, En blå bok, devotional literature, literature<br/><br>
of meditation, transformation, transmutation, alchemy, conversion, synthesis, Johann<br/><br>
Arndt, Swedenborg, Goethe, Platon<br/><br>
Copyright © Astrid Regnell och ellerströms förlag 2009<br/><br>
isbn 978–91–7247–204–4<br/><br>
Distributor: ellerströms, Fredsgatan 6, SE–222 20 Lund, Sweden<br/><br>
Phone: +46 32 32 95, www.ellerstroms.se}},
  author       = {{Regnell, Astrid}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-7247-204-4}},
  keywords     = {{Platon; alchemy; conversion; synthesis; Johann
Arndt; August Strindberg; devotional literature; Zones of the Spirit; Goethe; literature
of meditation; En blå bok; transmutation; transformation; Swedenborg}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Ellerströms förlag}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Att se stjärnor på ljusa dagen. Förvandling och försoning i August Strindbergs En blå bok}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}