310 research outputs found
Vem är »Maja Lundgren« i Maja Lundgrens Myggor och tigrar? Fakta och fiktion som ontologi, framställningssätt eller retorisk kommunikationsakt
No full textSten Wistrand is associate professor in comparative
literature at Örebro University.Maja Lundgren’s outspoken description in Myggor och tigrar
(2007) of the male dominated cultural life of Sweden raised an
animated debate in media. Well known authors and journalists
felt themselves scandalized and accused Lundgren of being
paranoid. Others claimed that the narrator and character
»Maja Lundgren« was not to be confused with Maja Lundgren
the author, because the book was fictional and not factual. In
this article I discuss Myggor och tigrar out from different
fiction theories and conclude that it seems most rewarding to
approach the problem of fictionality as a question of rhetorical
communication rather than ontology or stylistic devices. I also
maintain that Lundgren’s book would implode if read as fiction,
since the rhetorical strategy implies the identity of the
author and the character
Astrid Lindgrens ”mest problematiska bok”. Ontologi, genre och funktion i Sunnanäng
No full textSten Wistrand, School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, Örebro University Astrid Lindgren’s “most problematic book”. Ontology, genre, and function in Sunnanäng (Astrid Lindgrens ”mest problematiska bok”. Ontologi, genre och funktion i Sunnanäng) Sunnanäng (1959) has been described as Astrid Lindgren’s “most problematic book”. The reason for this is its ambiguous status, critics being uncertain whether it is to be regarded as a work for children or adults. There are not that many interpretations of it, and it is obviously hard to deal with. Recurring questions when it comes to the tales of Lindgren are genre and ontology. Are for example the adventures in Nangiyala, in The Brothers Lionheart, to be seen as only existing in the mind of the sick and dying Karl or not? The same type of question, which could be related to Todorov’s concept of the fantastic, is often dealt with when discussing the four tales in Sunnanäng. It is common to suggest that we are to naturalize them in a realistic way, i.e. as dreams or fantasies within the minds of the protagonists. This, however, often proves not to be so easy, even though Lindgren’s text itself at times hints at this kind of interpretation. In this article I discuss these questions, exemplifying them with the “problematic” tales of Sunnanäng. Lindgren treats similar motifs in different ways in different narratives, and she also puts different genres into play, making a special genre more or less dominant in each tale: myth, Christian legend, local legend, and medieval allegory, respectively. The article is grounded in a view of fiction which highlights the rhetorical strategy of a work, focusing on how theme is generated and on the effect and function of the narrative and its motifs and devices
Astrid Lindgrens ”mest problematiska bok”. Ontologi, genre och funktion i Sunnanäng [Elektronisk resurs]
No full textSten Wistrand, School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, Örebro UniversityAstrid Lindgren’s “most problematic book”. Ontology, genre, and function in Sunnanäng (Astrid Lindgrens ”mest problematiska bok”. Ontologi, genre och funktion i Sunnanäng)Sunnanäng (1959) has been described as Astrid Lindgren’s “most problematic book”. The reason for this is its ambiguous status, critics being uncertain whether it is to be regarded as a work for children or adults. There are not that many interpretations of it, and it is obviously hard to deal with. Recurring questions when it comes to the tales of Lindgren are genre and ontology. Are for example the adventures in Nangiyala, in The Brothers Lionheart, to be seen as only existing in the mind of the sick and dying Karl or not? The same type of question, which could be related to Todorov’s concept of the fantastic, is often dealt with when discussing the four tales in Sunnanäng. It is common to suggest that we are to naturalize them in a realistic way, i.e. as dreams or fantasies within the minds of the protagonists. This, however, often proves not to be so easy, even though Lindgren’s text itself at times hints at this kind of interpretation. In this article I discuss these questions, exemplifying them with the “problematic” tales of Sunnanäng. Lindgren treats similar motifs in different ways in different narratives, and she also puts different genres into play, making a special genre more or less dominant in each tale: myth, Christian legend, local legend, and medieval allegory, respectively. The article is grounded in a view of fiction which highlights the rhetorical strategy of a work, focusing on how theme is generated and on the effect and function of the narrative and its motifs and devices.</p
Vem är "Maja Lundgren" i Maja Lundgrens Myggor och tigrar? : Fakta och fiktion som ontologi, framställningssätt eller retorisk kommunikationsakt
No full textMaja Lundgren’s outspoken description in Myggor och tigrar (2007) of the male dominated cultural life of Sweden raised an animated debate in media. Well known authors and journalists felt themselves scandalized and accused Lundgren of being paranoid. Others claimed that the narrator and character »Maja Lundgren« was not to be confused with Maja Lundgren the author, because the book was fictional and not factual. In this article I discuss Myggor och tigrar out from different fiction theories and conclude that it seems most rewarding to approach the problem of fictionality as a question of rhetorical communication rather than ontology or stylistic devices. I also maintain that Lundgren’s book would implode if read as fiction, since the rhetorical strategy implies the identity of the author and the character.</p
Gustav Meyrink’s The Golem : A Sensationalist Shlock Novel or an Esoteric Vision of the World?
No full textGustav Meyrink lived in a time when the interest in spiritism, theosophy and occult phenomena was widespread. He joined about every esoteric society available, attended séances, experimented with diets and drugs, and practiced alchemy and yoga. But he also, in a way, was a sceptic. In some circles, he still has a reputation as a man with deep insights in the true nature of being and has even been seen as a man with prophetic gifts. Controver- sial in his lifetime, his reputation as an author is still disputable. Jorge Luis Borges praised his works, while Ernst Pawel, in his Kafka-biography, dismisses The Golem as »a shlock novel«. In The Golem Meyrink transforms the Prague legends of Rabbi Loew’s creature of clay into a book of esoteric wisdom putting into play Kabbalistic and alchemist thinking, tarot cards and metempsychosis. The novel also has been both referred to, and rejected, as a story of horror or Gothic fiction, and described as purely fantastic. I would like to discriminate between effect and function and maintain that Meyrink takes advantage of Gothic effects in order to convey his spiritual vision of the world. That aside, it is reasonable to argue that his foremost interest, as an author of fiction, was to tell us a good and interesting story. For that reason you might also question if his references to esoteric traditions are to be taken wholly seriously or rather are to be seen as motifs in the hands of a quite self-indulgent novelist
Gustav Meyrink’s The Golem [Elektronisk resurs] : A Sensationalist Shlock Novel or an Esoteric Vision of the World?
No full textGustav Meyrink lived in a time when the interest in spiritism, theosophy and occult phenomena was widespread. He joined about every esoteric society available, attended séances, experimented with diets and drugs, and practiced alchemy and yoga. But he also, in a way, was a sceptic. In some circles, he still has a reputation as a man with deep insights in the true nature of being and has even been seen as a man with prophetic gifts. Controver- sial in his lifetime, his reputation as an author is still disputable. Jorge Luis Borges praised his works, while Ernst Pawel, in his Kafka-biography, dismisses The Golem as »a shlock novel«.In The Golem Meyrink transforms the Prague legends of Rabbi Loew’s creature of clay into a book of esoteric wisdom putting into play Kabbalistic and alchemist thinking, tarot cards and metempsychosis. The novel also has been both referred to, and rejected, as a story of horror or Gothic fiction, and described as purely fantastic. I would like to discriminate between effect and function and maintain that Meyrink takes advantage of Gothic effects in order to convey his spiritual vision of the world. That aside, it is reasonable to argue that his foremost interest, as an author of fiction, was to tell us a good and interesting story. For that reason you might also question if his references to esoteric traditions are to be taken wholly seriously or rather are to be seen as motifs in the hands of a quite self-indulgent novelist.</p
Gustav Meyrink’s The Golem. A Sensationalist Shlock Novel or an Esoteric Vision of the World?
No full textGustav Meyrink lived in a time when the interest in spiritism,
theo sophy and occult phenomena was widespread. He joined
about every esoteric society available, attended séances, ex pe rimented
with diets and drugs, and practiced alchemy and yoga.
But he also, in a way, was a sceptic. In some circles, he still has a
reputation as a man with deep insights in the true nature of being
and has even been seen as a man with prophetic gifts. Controversial
in his lifetime, his reputation as an author is still disputable.
Jorge Luis Borges praised his works, while Ernst Pawel, in his
Kafka-biography, dismisses The Golem as »a shlock novel«.
In The Golem Meyrink transforms the Prague legends of Rabbi
Loew’s creature of clay into a book of esoteric wisdom putting
into play Kabbalistic and alchemist thinking, tarot cards and
metempsychosis. The novel also has been both referred to, and
rejected, as a story of horror or Gothic fiction, and described as
purely fantastic. I would like to discriminate between effect and
function and maintain that Meyrink takes advantage of Gothic
effects in order to convey his spiritual vision of the world. That
aside, it is reasonable to argue that his foremost interest, as an
author of fiction, was to tell us a good and interesting story. For
that reason you might also question if his references to esoteric
traditions are to be taken wholly seriously or rather are to be
seen as motifs in the hands of a quite self-indulgent novelist
Interculturality - narrative forms in Sten Nadolny's novels
No full textDie Dissertation zum Thema -»Interkulturalität - Erzählformen im Werk von Sten Nadolny-« behandelt ausgewählte Romanwerke von Sten Nadolny, nämlich "Die Entdeckung der Langsamkeit" (1983) und "Selim oder Die Gabe der Rede" (1990). In ihr werden die Ambivalenz des Verhältnisses von Eigenem und Fremdem und die dazu in den Texten praktizierten Modelle des Austauschs zwischen diesen beiden Instanzen untersucht. Die in den Romanen angesprochenen Problemfelder der 'Langsamkeit' und der 'Rede' erscheinen als zwei Merkmale randständiger Identität, die in Opposition und wechselseitigem Dialog mit den herrschenden Wahrnehmungen und Verständnissen der Umgebung stehen. Die Thematik der Interkulturalität als Wechselwirkung von Fremdem und Eigenem und ihre erzähltechnische Verwirklichung in den Romanen umfassen Aspekte des Inhalts und der Form. Ihre Betrachtung in der vorliegenden Arbeit ist durch die eigene fremdkulturelle Sicht der untersuchenden Instanz geprägt. Damit aber wird eine Infragestellung herkömmlicher Methoden der Analyse möglich. Das Ziel ist, eine neue (fremdkulturelle) Perspektive bei der Behandlung von interkulturell bezogenen Werken einzubeziehen. Dazu dient insbesondere die Betrachtung der Wechselwirkung zwischen alternativen erzähltechnischen Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten und alternierenden Erzählinhalten in Nadolnys erzählerischem Konzept. Die Auseinandersetzung der Literaturkritik mit dem Thema des Fremden und Eigenen wird durch das Verständnis der Verfasserin aus fremder Sicht kritisch kommentiert. Die vorliegende Arbeit umfasst fünf Kapitel. Auf das Konzept des Erzählers Sten Nadolny, sein Verständnis des Erzählens und seine Erzähltechnik wird auch im Rahmen der Diskussion um die ›Postmoderne‹ eingegangen. Hierbei soll besonders auf sein Arbeitsverfahren aufmerksam gemacht werden, das sich den ästhetischen Möglichkeiten des "fremden Blicks" widmet. Kapitel II und III gehen auf die Konstruktion der Lebensgeschichten und anschließend auf den Wechsel der Erzählformen ein. In Kapitel IV legen Schlussfolgerungen aus dieser Auseinandersetzung mit Werk und Erzähler Position und Rolle Sten Nadolnys in der deutschen Gegenwartsliteratur fest. Die Arbeit endet mit einem Kapitel zur Literatur über Sten Nadolny und sein Werk, Erzählen, Interkulturalität und Postmoderne.This dissertation "Interculturality - narrative forms in Sten Nadolny- novels" treats selected novel works of Sten Nadolny, i.e. "The Discovery of Slowness" (1983) and "Selim or The Gift of Speech" (1990). The ambivalence of the relationship between the Self and the Other as well as the types of exchange between these two instances is practiced in the texts and examined. The problematic forms of 'slowness' and 'speech' addressed in both novels appear to reinforce a sense of "exiled" identity, which stands as two characteristics in opposition and mutual dialogue with the dominant perceptions and understandings of the environment. Their narrative implementation in the novels, in the contents and in their formal structure address the issue of Interculturality as a reciprocal relationship between the self and the other. The characters" points of view in the available works are changed by the presence of foreigners" cultural viewpoints. Thus the questioning of conventional methods of the analysis becomes possible. The goal of this dissertation is to include within this perspective a treatment of intercultural references. In addition the dissertation discusses in particular the view of reciprocity between alternative structural possibilities and alternative narrative possibilities in Nadolny- work. A discussion of the literary critical history on the history of the Other and the Self is augmented by the author- own perspective on foreignness. The argument is divided into five chapters. The first chapter explores the concept of the storyteller Sten Nadolny within the context of Postmodernism criticism. Here particular attention is paid to his narrative structure and the aesthetic possibilities of the "foreign" view. Chapters II and III deal with the construction of life stories and the subsequent transformation of the narrative forms. In the concluding chapters the storyteller- positionality and role of Sten Nadolnys in contemporary German literature. The work ends with a chapter dedicated to the literature about Sten Nadolny, his work, narration, interculturality and postmodernism
Fakta, fiktion, faktion? : Elisabeth Åsbrinks Och i Wienerwald står träden kvar ur ett fiktionsteoretiskt perspektiv
No full textThe purpose of this study is to discuss the question of fact, fiction, and faction using as an example Elisabeth Åsbrink’s Och i Wienerwald står träden kvar (2013), the story of a Jewish boy who was rescued from Nazi Vienna to Sweden by Svenska Israelmissionen in 1939. When published, it was praised in reviews but also questioned for blurring the border between fact and fiction. In the article three different kinds of fiction theories are brought into play and their capability of coming to terms with Åsbrink’s rhetorical strategies, and with literary journalism of this kind, is examined and discussed. The conclusion is that theories focusing on purely extra-textual or intra-textual features get into trouble as opposed to a more pragmatic view treating fictionality as an act of rhetorical communication. It also seems clear that faction is a concept of disputable value.</p
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