Att föra det egna till torgs : berättande, stoff och samtid i Kerstin Strandbergs, Enel Melbergs och Eva Adolfssons debutromaner
(2012) In Critica Litterarum Lundensis 10.- Abstract
- The Swedish debate both on the role of literature and on the social position of women underwent rapid change during the thirty years from 1960 to 1990. In Bringing the Personal to Market: Narrative, Subject-Matter and Contemporary History in the First Novels of Kerstin Strandberg, Enel Melberg and Eva Adolfsson, the debut novels of three female authors’ are close-read from a thematic and narratological perspective.
The theoretical point of departure for the dissertation is the emphasis found in postclassical, primarily feminist, narratology on the importance of context, as described by, among others, Robyn Warhol, Ruth E. Page, and Kathy Mezei. The dissertation’s purpose is to investigate whether the formal qualities of the... (More) - The Swedish debate both on the role of literature and on the social position of women underwent rapid change during the thirty years from 1960 to 1990. In Bringing the Personal to Market: Narrative, Subject-Matter and Contemporary History in the First Novels of Kerstin Strandberg, Enel Melberg and Eva Adolfsson, the debut novels of three female authors’ are close-read from a thematic and narratological perspective.
The theoretical point of departure for the dissertation is the emphasis found in postclassical, primarily feminist, narratology on the importance of context, as described by, among others, Robyn Warhol, Ruth E. Page, and Kathy Mezei. The dissertation’s purpose is to investigate whether the formal qualities of the novels and their thematic content can be conclusively linked to the debate on literature and women’s issues at the time of their publication.
The novels have been selected on the basis on the following criteria: Each novel should have been published after the middle of the decade in question, it should have been written by an author who, prior to her debut, was publically committed to the contemporary debate on the situation of women, and it should have initiated a more extensive literary production. After the dissertation’s opening chapter where, among other things, the basis of feminist narratology is presented, three analytical, structurally similar chapters follow, each devoted to one of the selected novels and its respective decade of origin, and presented in the order in which the novels were published. The analyses are designed to take into account the differences among the novels, but they all take their point of departure in the importance to the narrative of the narrator and of focalization.
With respect to context, it is mainly the reception in daily newspapers, but also in contemporary comprehensive surveys of literature, that forms the point of departure for a discussion of the relationship of each novel to the public debate of its time. In the final chapter, the three novels and the periods of time being investigated are discussed in a more comprehensive fashion.
In summary, the study shows that a problematic inter-generational relationship between mother and daughter is a recurring theme, but that this theme is treated in very different ways in the three novels, and that these differences can be connected to the various historical contexts and to changes in the debate over women’s issues during the time periods in question. The same is true of the mode of presentation itself.
Each of the three novels is, to a great extent, a product of its own historical period, and in this sense it bears the stamp of the public debate on literature of its own time. Using an expression of the time, each can be characterised as “women’s novels”, but they should above all be seen as contemporary novels that are typical of their age. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
I Immi Lundins avhandling Att föra det egna till torgs står 1960-, 1970- och 1980-talen i fokus. Tre kvinnliga författares debutromaner, en från varje decennium, undersöks och sätts i relation till de förändrade positionerna i den offentliga kvinno- och litteraturdebatten under trettioårsperioden. Frågan som avhandlingen söker svar på gäller romanernas samspel med tillkomsttiden. Har de några egenskaper som gjorde att de, när de kom ut, passade in i det offentliga samtalet, stämde de i tiden på ett sätt som gjorde det möjligt för att deras författare att – med avhandlingsrubrikens ord – föra det egna till torgs?
Kerstin Strandbergs Som en ballong på skoj från 1967, Enel Melbergs... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
I Immi Lundins avhandling Att föra det egna till torgs står 1960-, 1970- och 1980-talen i fokus. Tre kvinnliga författares debutromaner, en från varje decennium, undersöks och sätts i relation till de förändrade positionerna i den offentliga kvinno- och litteraturdebatten under trettioårsperioden. Frågan som avhandlingen söker svar på gäller romanernas samspel med tillkomsttiden. Har de några egenskaper som gjorde att de, när de kom ut, passade in i det offentliga samtalet, stämde de i tiden på ett sätt som gjorde det möjligt för att deras författare att – med avhandlingsrubrikens ord – föra det egna till torgs?
Kerstin Strandbergs Som en ballong på skoj från 1967, Enel Melbergs Modershjärtat, som kom ut 1977 och Eva Adolfssons I hennes frånvaro från 1989 blev alla upptakt till mera omfattande författarskap, men det är de första romanerna – vad de handlar om och hur de är berättade ¬som studeras både tematiskt och berättartekniskt i avhandlingen Undersökningen visar att relationen mellan kvinnogenerationerna är ett viktigt motiv i alla tre romanerna, både som konkreta mor-dotter-relationer men också som en bild för historisk kontinuitet och traditionsöverförande. I den bemärkelsen är de, med en tidens term, kvinnoromaner. Men sätten mor-dotter-relationerna gestaltas i de tre romanerna skiljer sig markant åt. Olikheterna i berättarsätt hänger samman med olika synsätt och gör att de tre romanerna alla framstår som barn av sin tid, sitt decennium. De speglar inte bara förändringar i kvinnodebatten. Den aktuella litteraturdebatten har lämnat minst lika tydliga spår i dem. Kerstin Strandbergs groteska samhällssatir i Som en ballong på skoj, Enel Melbergs brechtinspirerade historieskildring i Modershjärtat och Eva Adolfssons postmoderna undersökning av manligt och kvinnligt i beredskapstidens Sverige i I hennes frånvaro kan alla ses som inlägg i det dåtida allmänlitterära samtalet. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2429609
- author
- Lundin, Immi LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Docent Fjelkestam, Kristina, Linköpings universitet
- organization
- alternative title
- Bringing the Personal to Market : Narrative, Subject-Matter and Contemporary History in the First Novels of Kerstin Strandberg, Enel Melberg and Eva Adolfsson
- publishing date
- 2012
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Eva Adolfsson, Enel Melberg, Kerstin Strandberg, 1970's and 1980's, Public Dialog in Sweden 1960's, Contextualization, Focalization, First Novels, Close Reading, Feminist Narratology
- in
- Critica Litterarum Lundensis
- volume
- 10
- pages
- 287 pages
- publisher
- Lund University (Media-Tryck)
- defense location
- Hörsalen, Språk- och litteraturcentrum, Helgonavägen 12, Lund
- defense date
- 2012-04-28 10:15:00
- ISSN
- 1651-2367
- ISBN
- 978-91-7473-291-7
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 62ae8362-a508-4b57-973d-91b38bd5e17e (old id 2429609)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 13:55:19
- date last changed
- 2019-05-21 12:52:36
@phdthesis{62ae8362-a508-4b57-973d-91b38bd5e17e,
abstract = {{The Swedish debate both on the role of literature and on the social position of women underwent rapid change during the thirty years from 1960 to 1990. In Bringing the Personal to Market: Narrative, Subject-Matter and Contemporary History in the First Novels of Kerstin Strandberg, Enel Melberg and Eva Adolfsson, the debut novels of three female authors’ are close-read from a thematic and narratological perspective. <br/><br>
The theoretical point of departure for the dissertation is the emphasis found in postclassical, primarily feminist, narratology on the importance of context, as described by, among others, Robyn Warhol, Ruth E. Page, and Kathy Mezei. The dissertation’s purpose is to investigate whether the formal qualities of the novels and their thematic content can be conclusively linked to the debate on literature and women’s issues at the time of their publication.<br/><br>
The novels have been selected on the basis on the following criteria: Each novel should have been published after the middle of the decade in question, it should have been written by an author who, prior to her debut, was publically committed to the contemporary debate on the situation of women, and it should have initiated a more extensive literary production. After the dissertation’s opening chapter where, among other things, the basis of feminist narratology is presented, three analytical, structurally similar chapters follow, each devoted to one of the selected novels and its respective decade of origin, and presented in the order in which the novels were published. The analyses are designed to take into account the differences among the novels, but they all take their point of departure in the importance to the narrative of the narrator and of focalization. <br/><br>
With respect to context, it is mainly the reception in daily newspapers, but also in contemporary comprehensive surveys of literature, that forms the point of departure for a discussion of the relationship of each novel to the public debate of its time. In the final chapter, the three novels and the periods of time being investigated are discussed in a more comprehensive fashion. <br/><br>
In summary, the study shows that a problematic inter-generational relationship between mother and daughter is a recurring theme, but that this theme is treated in very different ways in the three novels, and that these differences can be connected to the various historical contexts and to changes in the debate over women’s issues during the time periods in question. The same is true of the mode of presentation itself. <br/><br>
Each of the three novels is, to a great extent, a product of its own historical period, and in this sense it bears the stamp of the public debate on literature of its own time. Using an expression of the time, each can be characterised as “women’s novels”, but they should above all be seen as contemporary novels that are typical of their age.}},
author = {{Lundin, Immi}},
isbn = {{978-91-7473-291-7}},
issn = {{1651-2367}},
keywords = {{Eva Adolfsson; Enel Melberg; Kerstin Strandberg; 1970's and 1980's; Public Dialog in Sweden 1960's; Contextualization; Focalization; First Novels; Close Reading; Feminist Narratology}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{Lund University (Media-Tryck)}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Critica Litterarum Lundensis}},
title = {{Att föra det egna till torgs : berättande, stoff och samtid i Kerstin Strandbergs, Enel Melbergs och Eva Adolfssons debutromaner}},
volume = {{10}},
year = {{2012}},
}