The Family as Contagion: Disease and Transgression in Vigdis Hjorth’s Arv og miljø Cover Image

Familjen som pesthärd: Sjukdom och förbrytelse i Vigdis Hjorths Arv og miljø
The Family as Contagion: Disease and Transgression in Vigdis Hjorth’s Arv og miljø

Author(s): Henrik Johnsson
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature
Published by: Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Nakladatelství Karolinum
Keywords: Vigdis Hjorth; Arv og miljø; literature; psychoanalysis

Summary/Abstract: This article conducts a close reading of Vigdis Hjorth’s novel Arv og miljø (2016). I argue that the novel is informed by an imagery of contagion and disease which is used to express a theme of dysfunctional familial relationships. A related imagery of boundaries and cleanliness is used to relay the narrator’s experience of having been sexually assaulted by her father. In closing, I maintain that the novel should be regarded as a literary text influenced by popular representations of psychoanalytical theory and practice.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 115-127
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Swedish
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