<p>Alice Lyttkens (1897-1991) was a very popular author in Sweden during several decades in the middle of the twentieth century. She was most famous for her historical novels. During her first period as a novelist in the 1930s, however, she wrote contemporary fiction, reflecting the situation of contemporary Women. The traditional view of the two sexes as “complementary” permeated the interwar period. Complementary at this time was presupposed as an asymmetrical and hierarchical relation between the two sexes. The male was seen as superior to the female in being strong when she was weak etc. According to the Swedish researcher Kristina Fjelkestam’s dissertation Ungkarlsflickor, kamrathustrur och manhaftiga lesbianer this view was close at hand in representations of femininity. In this paper I discuss how the protagonists in Alice Lyttkens novels Flykten från vardagen (1933) and - kommer inte till middagen (1934) relate to this social norm, or ”doxa”. By making such an analysis I come to the conclusion that this ”doxa” is represented in both novels, but strongly challenged by the protagonists in their actions and life choices. The narrator also questions the predominated complementary view and demonstrates the protagonist’s thoughts and feelings throughout the novels. The author there by emphasizes a critical feminist attitude. The narrator is also critical of the superficial so-called modern characters, which apparently is under the influence of the ”doxa”.</p>

Alice Lyttkens (1897-1991) was a very popular author in Sweden during several decades in the middle of the twentieth century. She was most famous for her historical novels. During her first period as a novelist in the 1930s, however, she wrote contemporary fiction, reflecting the situation of contemporary Women. The traditional view of the two sexes as “complementary” permeated the interwar period. Complementary at this time was presupposed as an asymmetrical and hierarchical relation between the two sexes. The male was seen as superior to the female in being strong when she was weak etc. According to the Swedish researcher Kristina Fjelkestam’s dissertation Ungkarlsflickor, kamrathustrur och manhaftiga lesbianer this view was close at hand in representations of femininity. In this paper I discuss how the protagonists in Alice Lyttkens novels Flykten från vardagen (1933) and - kommer inte till middagen (1934) relate to this social norm, or ”doxa”. By making such an analysis I come to the conclusion that this ”doxa” is represented in both novels, but strongly challenged by the protagonists in their actions and life choices. The narrator also questions the predominated complementary view and demonstrates the protagonist’s thoughts and feelings throughout the novels. The author there by emphasizes a critical feminist attitude. The narrator is also critical of the superficial so-called modern characters, which apparently is under the influence of the ”doxa”.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2005. / Includes bibliography (p. 146-153).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 195-202).