Cabins in Modern Norwegian Literature: Negotiating Place and Identity

• Published in: Scandinavian Studies 2015, Vol.87 (3), p.413-416
• Main Author: Mønster, Louise
• Format: Review
• Language: English
• Subjects: 19th century; Animals; Architecture; Classroom communication; Cultural heritage; Cultural identity; Ethnic Studies; History; Icelandic & Scandinavian literature; Identity; Language culture relationship; Languages; Literature; Negotiation; Norwegian language; Reading; Register; Scandinavian Studies; Studies
• ISSN: 0036-5637; 2163-8195
• DOI: 10.5406/scanstud.87.3.0413

[...]the diachronic perspective is combined with a synchronic orga- nization that allows the individual reader to select chapters and historical periods of greatest interest. the references to place theory are kept on a tight leash, and the recurring theoretical framework is Michel Foucault's notion of heterotopia. the concept refers to a specific type of social space that functions on numerous registers simultaneously; a heterotopia is often a counter-site where one can gain a momentary critical distance from the everyday. as such, it certainly fits the function of the cabin. although sticking to one main theoretical concept contributes to the unity of the book, some theoretically interested readers might long for an engagement with the by-now extensive theorization of place. among others, Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus and his cultural and gendered orientation toward place, as well as christian norberg-Schulz's concept of genius loci and his architectural orientation, could have enriched Rees's discussion of the cabin. the first chapter in the book deals with the history of the motif of the seter (a dairy in the mountains) and the shieling as a meeting point not only between the human and the supernatural but also of an erotic kind. typically, shielings were run by young female dairymaids who, in the summer months, took care of the animals, but shielings were also visited by bourgeois men in search of a sanctuary from modern life. therefore, the shieling offered a space for interaction across gender and class barriers.