Queera Barnbiblar - En narratologisk & queerteoretisk analys av transformationen av berättelsen om David och Jonatan

Abstract

As humans we transfer norms and values, which we are aware or unaware of, to the children near to us. These children embrace them, and the adult´s norms and values become the child's own ones. When a Bible story is going to be transformed into a children’s bible text it goes through shortening and simplification of the story to fit children´s bible edition. The adjustment will be unconscious and conscious choices that change the meaning of the text and the possibility of contextual interpretation. In my essay I have used the narrative and queer theoretical method to examine what happens to the queer leakage and the queer possibilities of interpretation in the transformation between Bibel 2000 and children´s Bibles by the story of David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel chapters 18- 20. The narrative analysis has been the basis for the queer theoretical analysis. This method will focus on the story and not the surrounding events or contexts. Based on the method I have shown that the queer leakage that was detected in the Bibel 2000 almost completely ceased to exist in the two children´s Bible versions that I have chosen to use, namely, De yngstas bibel and Bibel för barn. Basically, the queer leakage in Bibel 2000 indicates that David and Jonathan would have been more than friends. But in the two children's Bibles editions it states clearly, by direct statements, that David and Jonathan are just "best friends". The consequence is that the possibility for LGBTQ people to identify with these two characters disappear and the child who reads the story can not personally make the choice of witch relationship David and Jonathan actually had.