In this essay, I study ambivalence in Pär Lagerkvist's (1891–1974) novel The Dwarf (1944). The ambivalence is primarily expressed through Lagerkvist's use of contrasts, and enhanced by the unreliable narrator. At first glance, the contrasts might be perceived as binary oppositions, but I aim to illustrate how boundaries are dissolved, and I argue that the contrasts cannot in fact be seen as opposites. Instead, a non-binary perspective is required. Inspired primarily by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and Judith Butler, I use a queer reparative reading as my starting point. The analysis focuses specifically on four examples of contrasts that I claim are most prominent in the novel: love–hate, closeness–distance, superiority–inferiority, and good–evil. Although the protagonist is confused by the dissolved boundaries between these, he is the one who embodies them the most. He might seem as a hateful, inferior, and evil character who wants to maintain distance from everyone else. However, he is not inferior all the time and he also expresses more loving feelings and shows a desire to be close to others. This raises the question whether he truly is evil or if his actions are simply the result of being mistreated. Reading the novel from a non-binary perspective thus proves that we can never reach any definitive answers. Rather, we are forced to continue asking important, difficult, and sometimes uncomfortable questions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:liu-201242 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Eriksson, Jessica |
| Publisher | Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för kultur och samhälle |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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