Barnboken – Journal of Children's Literature Research
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Väderkontraktet: plats, miljörättvisa och eskatologi i Astrid Lindgrens Vi på Saltkråkan
No full textAstrid Lindgren’s children’s novel Vi på Saltkråkan (1964) which is set in the outer archipelago of Stockholm is an ideal case for the study of a variety of eco- or “environmental critical” (Buell, 2005) themes and motifs. There is for instance, the ideo-historical motif of the representation of a number of positions on nature and the physical environment generally, from the most anthropocentric one of Vesterman over the “sociocentric” (Buell 2005) view represented by the Grankvist family, to the eco- or biocentric stand of Pelle, which is epitomized in his love and defense of all kinds of animals including the most threatening and irritating ones. There is also the ecocritical generic problem of the idyll. More themes could be named. What will be at the centre of attention in this article, however, is the motif of weather as connected to that of locale, or place, and the Melkersons and the islanders’ defense of place. I suggest that part of the novel’s environmental relevance lies in what could be understood through the metaphor of contract: the characters enter a contract of dependence through the category of weather. This contract is deeply place-related and existentially loaded. The motif of weather cuts into the idea of environmental justice (Adamson, Evans and Stein, 2002), through the Melkersons’ struggle to save Snickargården, a struggle which is shared by the islanders themselves. The weather always serves to underscore the Melkersons’ attachment to place which is one of deepest solidarity, and to home. The novel contains an escathological undercurrent related to place and to weather. In the emphasis on this, the novel offers a profound environmental insight into the dependence of human existence upon environment.Keywords: ecocriticism; environmental criticism; Astrid Lindgren; Vi på Saltkråkan; environment; nature; landscape; place; weather; eschatology; environmental justice
Fattigdomens hjälplöshet – too hot to handle? Hur Astrid Lindgrens böcker om Madicken översatts i USA och Storbritannien
No full textIn children’s literature, power relations are fundamentally assymetrical. This is furthermore accentuated in the process of translation where translation norms, social and cultural norms as well as the power game of adult authorities play a major part. The Swedish author Astrid Lindgren’s ideology is based on the notion that no aspects of life should be hidden from the child, making her thematize as well as break taboos in her writing for children. There has been extensive research on Lindgren’s authorship per se, but research on translations of her books seems to be limited. The fact that discussions on taboo elements in children’s books in general, and Lindgren’s source texts and target texts in particular are sparse indicates that this is a vast – and interesting – field still to be explored. This paper focuses on the American and British translations of Lindgren’s Madicken (1960) and Madicken och Junibackens Pims (1976) in order to find out why and to what extent these books were censored in translation.Keywords: children’s literature, translation, norms, taboo elements, censorshi
Sverige i rövarhänder. Berättelsen om nationen i Sven Wernströms Den underbara resan1
No full textSweden in the Hands of Robbers. The Narrative of the Nation in Sven Wernström’s Den underbara resan. Sven Wernström’s Den underbara resan (‘‘The Wonderful Journey’’) describes a modern Sweden by following in the trail of Selma Lagerlöf’s classic The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. This article analyzes Wernström’s depiction of Sweden and its people. By incorporating The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, the author foregrounds the notion of nation as narrative by stressing the subjectivity of the text and processes of creation. Rather than subscribing to Lageröf’s vision of unity, Wernström describes a Sweden divided by class conflict. Being a true Swede is defined through economic disinterestedness and love of nature. Den underbara resan describes the creation of a model citizen through the bildung of the protagonist. However, the ideal citizen is not depicted as a loyal subject but as an independent person willing to critize people in power and protest against injustice.Keywords: Sven Wernström; national identity; citizenship; socialism; young adult literature(Published: 28 November 2012)Citation: Barnboken - tidskrift för barnlitteraturforskning/Journal of Children’s Literature Research, Vol. 35, 2012 http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/clr.v35i0.1999
Guilt, Empathy and the Ethical Potential of Children's Literature
No full textThe paper takes as its point of departure cognitive criticism, the direction of inquiry that investigates readers’ cognitive and affective engagement with literature, partly based on recent brain research. It argues that for young readers who may not yet have developed full comprehension of fundamental moral issues and who have not attained the literary competence necessary to understand fictive characters’ mental processes, representation of emotions in literature may produce a problem. Since guilt is a complex social emotion, involving a reconciliation of several contradictory goals, such representation demands well-developed empathy and advanced mind-reading skills, as well as factual knowledge of relevant legislation and understanding of moral implications of crime, guild and remorse. The paper examines these issues through a reading of two texts for young audience, Forbidden (2010), by Tabitha Suzuma, and His Dark Materials trilogy (1995-2000), by Philip Pullman. The former is totally focused on guilt, in legal as well as moral sense, experienced by two siblings who enter an incestuous relationship. In the latter, guilt is less conspicuous, yet proves on closer consideration to be a major plot engine in the protagonist Lyra’s physical and spiritual quest. While Suzuma’s novel has an overt educational agenda, it is ambiguous in supporting young readers’ ethical position towards the protagonists’ guilt. In Pullman’s trilogy, guilt becomes closely connected with the fundamental philosophical issues of determinism and free will. Although Pullman does not provide any clear-cut ethical guidance either, the use of emotion discourse, or emotion ekphrasis, is more subtle, not least because the genre allows a outward projection of emotions in the form of dæmons. Lyra’s guilt becomes a driving engine in her maturation process. The ultimate argument of the paper is that literature provides an excellent training field for young readers’ developing of empathy skills, and the vicarious experience of guilt exposes readers to a wide range of ethical questions.Keywords: children’s literature; young adult literature; cognitive criticism; emotions; empathy; ethics; emotional education; Pullman; Suzuma(Published: 15 May 2012)Citation: Barnboken tidskrift för barnlitteraturforskning/Journal of Children’s Literature Research, Vol. 35, 2012 http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/clr.v35i0.1808
Manlighet, mod och moral: Amanda Kerfstedts ”Carl Bergs skoltid”
No full textAmanda Kerfstedt’s ”Carl Bergs skoltid” describes a boy’s journey to manhood in late 19th century Sweden. This article pertains that the text contrasts an ideal of masculinity based on physical strength with an ideal emphasizing morality. Although a true man, as described in the story, is expected to be strong as well as righteous, the moral component is the most important. The text shows that courage and force, which are not checked by a sense of ethics, may turn into brutality and abuse of power. Different types of masculinity are compared in ”Carl Bergs skoltid” but masculinity is also defined in relation to ideas about femininity. The association with women is utilized to stress a lack of courage in men as well as to redefine a masculine ideal that has focused too much on physical prowess instead of strength of character.Keywords: Amanda Kerfstedt; masculinity; 19th century Swedish literature; bourgeoisi
"Med Flid opdigtet"? Om bruken av fabler i Avis for Børn (Kbh. 1779‒1782)
No full textThis essay is an investigation into the use of the fable genre in a Danish children’s magazine, Avis for Børn (Journal for the children), published in Copenhagen 1779‒1782 by the philanthropist and editor Emanuel Balling. The main purpose is to indicate that the classical, Aesopian genre to some extent was transformed and adapted to fit into the didactic and religious purpose dominating this journal. Some examples from the old lore are given to substantiate the assumption that the attitude of the fable mainly was a very pragmatic one, without the moral and religious orientation typical of the stories presented in Avis for Børn. In nature, Avis for Børn would admire the reign of a benevolent God, while in ancient fable nature is a place reigned by brutes and by arbitrary bestiality. Nevertheless, the journal chose to make some meaningful, yet strained use of the genre, without twisting the genre into pastoral sentimentality, a tendency that during the 19th century in children’s literature became predominant.Keywords: Fable, adaption, enlightenment, journals for children, philantrophy, moral education, pragmatic didacticism, benevolent natur
"Thet vnger lärer han gammal håller": strövtåg i den äldre barnlitteraturens historia
No full textChildren's literature in Sweden can be roughly divided into before and after the Reformation. Before the Reformation interesting, didactic texts with entertaining exemplary stories for the young were translated and adapted. During the 16th century very few literary texts – for children as well as adults – were published, mainly because the king had total control over the printing. Only texts sanctioned by the king were published. During the 17th century publications for the young increased and some, but not all of them, also address children or youth in the title or the preface. Earlier this was mainly implied, although some authors were explicit as well. In working with older literature I find it valuable to not just consider the intention of the text but the function as well, since more literary texts had the function of being children's literature in the Middle Ages than has been previously presumed. Folk tales, fairy tales and fables are among the genres that were indeed written for and used to educate children. Modern historical research, as well as my own, shows that there is not one but several different concepts of childhood existing at the same time. I also suggest that children's literature may be used as a perspective. If we try to find a universal, timeless definition it will have to be a compromise that may not help us to answer questions about the literary tradition and of how children and adolescents have been included and addressed, educated and entertained through literature in different historical and cultural contexts.Keywords: the history of children's literature; comparative children's literature; concepts of childhood; medieval children's literature; early modern children's literature; genre; the history of education; didactics in literatur
Det sublime og det skjønne som estetisk kvalitet i nyere norsk bildebokkritikk
No full textThis article analyses a specific number of picture book reviews on prize-winning Norwegian picture books from 1998-2008. The subject for the analysis is to examine what kind of aesthetic thinking that is expressed in the reviewer’s judgement of the book. I found that it was possible to relate the reviews to two well established concepts in classic aesthetic theory, namely the concept of the beauty and the sublime. To illustrate this I have studied more exhaustive a smaller number of reviews on two different books.Keywords: picture books, literary criticism, aesthetic theory, the beauty, the sublim
Inledning
No full textVälkommen till Barnboken – tidskrift för barnlitteraturforsknings första utgåva 2010. Nu fi nns tidskriften tillgänglig både i en tryckt utgåva och genom open access på Svenska barnboksinstitutets hemsida www.sbi.kb.se. Formaten är pdf, html och xml. Den granskningsprocess varje artikel genomgår inför publicering (peer review process) påverkas inte av omställningen till open access. Tidskriften kommer även fortsättningsvis att hålla samma höga vetenskapliga nivå. De artiklar som publiceras är antingen skrivna på svenska, norska, danska eller engelska. I april 2010 genomförs en nordisk forskningskonferens på Svenska barnboksinstitutet i samarbete med de övriga instituten i Danmark, Finland och Norge. Tanken är att några av de papers som presenteras på konferensen också ska publiceras i höstnumret av Barnboken – tidskrift för barnlitteraturforskning. Den utgåvan kommer förmodligen att komma ut något senare under hösten