Den resfärdiga. Studier i Emilia Fogelklous självbiografi
(1997)- Abstract
- Emilia Fogelklou (1878-1972) was the first woman in Sweden to take a degree in theology (1909) and later became a Quaker. She was a teacher and writer, mainly in the fields of religious education and psychology, and an active supporter of peace and other women's movements. Her autobiographical series, Arnold (1944), Bareheaded (1950), and Ready to Travel (1954), is written in the third person, Fogelklou naming herself Mi. A stylistic characteristic is the frequent use of quotations, which tend to be entered into the text without regard for their original context. When quoting her own private documents Fogelklou keeps the original first person, which results in a split within the autobiographical self. Thus, in certain respects Mi must be... (More)
- Emilia Fogelklou (1878-1972) was the first woman in Sweden to take a degree in theology (1909) and later became a Quaker. She was a teacher and writer, mainly in the fields of religious education and psychology, and an active supporter of peace and other women's movements. Her autobiographical series, Arnold (1944), Bareheaded (1950), and Ready to Travel (1954), is written in the third person, Fogelklou naming herself Mi. A stylistic characteristic is the frequent use of quotations, which tend to be entered into the text without regard for their original context. When quoting her own private documents Fogelklou keeps the original first person, which results in a split within the autobiographical self. Thus, in certain respects Mi must be regarded as a construct.
Arnold is in part the biography of her beloved husband, the Dante scholar Arnold Norlind. A liberal use of his letters and early diaries helps to convey a Franciscan ideal. In the final description of their marriage years, Arnold and Mi are seen as 3fellow-children of God2, leading a full life in the shadow of disease and death. Rich literary language contributes to making this a story of lasting love and spiritual growth.
The thesis also deals with Bareheaded, which describes Fogelklou's life before her marriage. The 19th century feminine ideal, stressing altruism and humility, left a lasting stamp on her self-image and from a gender perspective the portrait of Mi is an ambivalent one. The interaction between Mi's "paternal story", portraying her as an independent woman on the public arena, and her "maternal story", dealing with the private sphere of her life, reveals Fogelklou's marked unwillingness to voice a sense of pride in her achievements and admit her ambitious youthful dreams to play a leading role in Swedish religious life. By adopting a Christian attitude of humility, Fogelklou avoids the controversial issue of failed ambition. From a religious aspect, Mi can be seen as a role model in the tradition of medieval autohagiographies. Mi embodies Fogelklou's Christian ideal, that of "the most ordinary person", which closely resembles the 19th century model woman. The didactic aspect is reinforced by the the discourse, Fogelklou often addressing her readers in the present tense. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Emilia Fogelklou (1878-1972) utbildades vid Högre Lärarinneseminariet och Uppsala universitet, där hon som första kvinna i Sverige tog en teologie kandidat (1909). En stark gudsupplevelse i unga år hade kommit att styra hela hennes liv. Hon fick så småningom sitt religiösa hem hos kväkarna. Som sökare och gränsöverskridare spände hennes liv och verk över vida fält, främst religionspedagogik, psykologi, sociologi, fredsarbete och kvinnofrågor (hon tillhörde Fogelstadgruppen). I hennes stora författarskap har monografin Birgitta (1919) hållit sig mest levande förutom den självbiografiska sviten om tre delar. I Arnold (1944) skildrar hon sitt korta äktenskap med Arnold Norlind och tecknar samtidigt... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Emilia Fogelklou (1878-1972) utbildades vid Högre Lärarinneseminariet och Uppsala universitet, där hon som första kvinna i Sverige tog en teologie kandidat (1909). En stark gudsupplevelse i unga år hade kommit att styra hela hennes liv. Hon fick så småningom sitt religiösa hem hos kväkarna. Som sökare och gränsöverskridare spände hennes liv och verk över vida fält, främst religionspedagogik, psykologi, sociologi, fredsarbete och kvinnofrågor (hon tillhörde Fogelstadgruppen). I hennes stora författarskap har monografin Birgitta (1919) hållit sig mest levande förutom den självbiografiska sviten om tre delar. I Arnold (1944) skildrar hon sitt korta äktenskap med Arnold Norlind och tecknar samtidigt hans biografi. I Barhuvad (1950) och Resfärdig (1954) står hon själv i centrum. Min avhandling behandlar främst de två första delarna.
Efter en inledande biografisk skiss ger jag i kapitlet "Trots allt!" en orientering i Fogelklous livssyn, särskilt som den formades under studieåren. Jag betonar Nathan Söderbloms betydelse och lyfter fram hans förmedling av Geijers personlighetsfilosofi samt Bergsons dynamiska filosofi. I detta kapitel berör jag också Fogelklous förhållande till mystiken samt till Vännernas samfund (kväkarna).
Mitt tredje kapitel, "Självbiografin - jagets genre?", ägnas självbiografin som genre med särskilt tonvikt på kvinnors självbiografiska skrivande. Jag berör här bl a Sidonie Smiths A Poetics of Women's Autobiography: Marginality and the Fictions of Self-Representation (1987) med dess teori om två parallella berättelser i kvinnliga självbiografier, "the paternal story" resp "the maternal story" ( i min översättning "fadersberättelsen" resp "modersberättelsen"). Smiths teori ligger till grund för min diskussion i kapitlet "Bästa kakan få!". Fogelklous val av synvinkel knyter jag till Philippe Lejeunes teorier om bruket av tredje person i självbiografin och finner att det fjärmar henne från läsarna. Hennes didaktiska hållning, som jag knyter till traditioner inom mystiken och kväkarrörelsen, förstärker intrycket av distans. Fyllliga kommenterarer från nuplanet lyser också med sin frånvaro. Till sist berör jag hennes svårigheter att foga in de mängder av personliga dokument som illustrerar hennes framställning samt diskuterar vad jag kallar hennes "montageteknik", dvs vanan att utan särskild angivelse rycka ut citat ur sin ursprungliga kontext och foga in dem i ett nytt sammanhang.
Avhandlingens kärna utgörs av två kapitel om Arnold , nämligen "Planetsystern" och "Guds medbarn", samt tre om Barhuvad. I "Bästa kakan få!" försöker jag ringa in Fogelklous ambivalens inför sin huvudperson Mi ur genussynpunkt. I detta sammanhang belyser jag också Fogelklous egen kvinnosyn. Kapitlet "Bondmålaren" fokuserar Fogelklous redogörelse för Mis religionspedagogiska arbete, och jag finner att det råder en viss diskrepans mellan Fogelklous version och den verklighet som kan utläsas av de dokument hon citerar. I "Den allra vanligaste människan" slutligen, lägger jag en religiös aspekt på Fogelklous diskurs. Mi avstår från ungdomens högt spända förväntningar att bli en nutida profet och beslutar att leva i ödmjukhetens och tjänandets tecken. Den idealbild för en dylik livshållning, som Fogelklou kallar "den allra vanligaste människan", finner jag likna det kvinnoideal hon uppfostrats till. Mi blir ur denna synvinkel inte bara ett privat livsöde utan också en förebild i en lång kristen tradition. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/18238
- author
- Meijling Bäckman, Ingrid LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Dr Fahlgren, Margaretha, Uppsala
- organization
- publishing date
- 1997
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- litteraturkritik, Allmän och jämförande litteratur, literary theory, women's autobiography, gender, autohagiography, narrative viewpoint, religious edeucation, Quaker, Dante aker, literature criticism, General and comparative literature, litteraturteori
- pages
- 287 pages
- publisher
- Ingrid Meijling Bäckman, Bredgat. 9 C, S-222 21, Lund,
- defense location
- Edens hörsal, Lund
- defense date
- 1997-12-06 10:00:00
- external identifiers
-
- other:0295
- ISBN
- 91-7139-358-7
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- e4f4ddcb-5124-446d-909d-3a40bedae0ea (old id 18238)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 10:56:36
- date last changed
- 2018-11-21 21:01:42
@phdthesis{e4f4ddcb-5124-446d-909d-3a40bedae0ea,
abstract = {{Emilia Fogelklou (1878-1972) was the first woman in Sweden to take a degree in theology (1909) and later became a Quaker. She was a teacher and writer, mainly in the fields of religious education and psychology, and an active supporter of peace and other women's movements. Her autobiographical series, Arnold (1944), Bareheaded (1950), and Ready to Travel (1954), is written in the third person, Fogelklou naming herself Mi. A stylistic characteristic is the frequent use of quotations, which tend to be entered into the text without regard for their original context. When quoting her own private documents Fogelklou keeps the original first person, which results in a split within the autobiographical self. Thus, in certain respects Mi must be regarded as a construct.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Arnold is in part the biography of her beloved husband, the Dante scholar Arnold Norlind. A liberal use of his letters and early diaries helps to convey a Franciscan ideal. In the final description of their marriage years, Arnold and Mi are seen as 3fellow-children of God2, leading a full life in the shadow of disease and death. Rich literary language contributes to making this a story of lasting love and spiritual growth.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The thesis also deals with Bareheaded, which describes Fogelklou's life before her marriage. The 19th century feminine ideal, stressing altruism and humility, left a lasting stamp on her self-image and from a gender perspective the portrait of Mi is an ambivalent one. The interaction between Mi's "paternal story", portraying her as an independent woman on the public arena, and her "maternal story", dealing with the private sphere of her life, reveals Fogelklou's marked unwillingness to voice a sense of pride in her achievements and admit her ambitious youthful dreams to play a leading role in Swedish religious life. By adopting a Christian attitude of humility, Fogelklou avoids the controversial issue of failed ambition. From a religious aspect, Mi can be seen as a role model in the tradition of medieval autohagiographies. Mi embodies Fogelklou's Christian ideal, that of "the most ordinary person", which closely resembles the 19th century model woman. The didactic aspect is reinforced by the the discourse, Fogelklou often addressing her readers in the present tense.}},
author = {{Meijling Bäckman, Ingrid}},
isbn = {{91-7139-358-7}},
keywords = {{litteraturkritik; Allmän och jämförande litteratur; literary theory; women's autobiography; gender; autohagiography; narrative viewpoint; religious edeucation; Quaker; Dante aker; literature criticism; General and comparative literature; litteraturteori}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{Ingrid Meijling Bäckman, Bredgat. 9 C, S-222 21, Lund,}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Den resfärdiga. Studier i Emilia Fogelklous självbiografi}},
year = {{1997}},
}