Porösa bländverk. En materiellt ekokritisk studie av Hanna Nordenhöks prosa

Abstract

In the Swedish author, poet and critic Hanna Nordenhöks (1977-) novels Promenaderna i Dalbyhage (2011) and Det vita huset i Simpang (2013) the literary characters are often portrayed as diffuse shapes with a subtile closeness to other organic bodies, places and times. While the novels address themes such as colonialism and subjects becoming, they also explore the act of narrating through letters, journals, photographs and, in particular, fabrication. What emerge are two aesthetic, literary works that, on different levels, trouble our notion of borders between human and more-thanhuman bodies, an issue that’s essential for our understanding of human - environmental relationship. The purpose of this thesis is to show how the prose of Nordenhök can be read in the light of the term porosity, where matter is understood as elastic and open for both creating and de-creating interactions. I will argue that the novels contribute to a deepened understanding of the relationship between human subjects and more-than-human matter as elastic, and that they incorporate this dynamic porosity within the narration itself. But, as the study will present, porosity is far from balanced in regard of to who, how and why it appears and questions about power and subjecthood must be addressed. By applying a material ecocritical perspective to the readings of Promenaderna i Dalby Hage and Det vita huset i Simpang the study identifies three thematic areas where porosity can be explored; Stretching Vegetation, Liquid Bodies and Linguistic Porosity. The thesis investigates the intricate relationships through theorist Jane Bennetts notion of assemblage and Nancy Tuanas and Serenella Iovinos writings on viscosity. Together with Bronwyn Davies and Catriona Mortimer Sandilands theories on the relationship between bodies and landscapes the analyse is able to illustrate how and why the porosity is a crucial element of Nordenhöks literary texts and that the novels themself are elastic and open.