Kristina Malmio

Skam, normenlighet och vithet i Rosanna Fellmans Strömsöborna (2019)

Introduction

Skam, normenlighet och vithet i rosanna fellmans strömsöborna (2019). Analys av Rosanna Fellmans Strömsöborna (2019) utforskar skam, normenlighet och vithet. Med affekt- och vithetsstudier granskas hur dikterna utmanar finländsk identitet.

Abstract

I den här artikeln analyserar jag förekomsten av skam i Rosanna Fellmans debutdiktsamling Strömsöborna (2019) för att undersöka hur dikterna tematiserar vithet. Samlingen består av rolldikter i vilka socialt och ekonomiskt utsatta människor berättar om sina erfarenheter. Skam är ett genomgående tema i boken och uppstår när diktjagen förgäves försöker uppfylla kraven på ett normenligt liv. Samtidigt är skam också en kraftfull affekt som kallar på reaktioner hos läsaren och gör läsningen obekväm. Med utgångspunkt i affektteori och kritiska ras- och vithetsstudier visar jag hur talarna i de analyserade dikterna bryter ner en finländsk gemenskap som har konstruerats genom att knyta ihop ”vi”, ”normalitet”, nation och vithet.

Review

This article proposes a timely and relevant analysis of Rosanna Fellman's debut poetry collection *Strömsöborna* (2019), focusing on the pervasive theme of shame. The abstract clearly articulates the study's ambition to explore how this collection, comprised of rolldikter from socially and economically marginalized perspectives, actively thematizes whiteness. By positioning shame not merely as a narrative device but as a powerful affect that elicits reader discomfort and engagement, the research sets a compelling foundation for examining the intricate relationship between individual experience and societal norms. The methodological framework, integrating affect theory with critical race and whiteness studies, appears robust and well-suited to the subject matter. The analysis promises to uncover how the characters' futile attempts to achieve a normative life expose and challenge the constructs of a Finnish community. This community is critically understood as having been historically built upon an exclusionary nexus of "we," "normality," nation, and whiteness. The article's focus on these specific linkages suggests a nuanced intervention into established understandings of national identity and social cohesion within a Finnish context. Overall, this study represents a significant contribution to literary criticism and critical social theory, particularly within Nordic studies. By meticulously dissecting the role of shame in deconstructing a monolithic concept of Finnish whiteness, the article is poised to offer valuable insights into the performative aspects of identity and exclusion. Its interdisciplinary approach and critical lens hold the potential to stimulate further dialogue on the representation of vulnerability and the ideological underpinnings of national belonging, marking it as a pertinent and thought-provoking piece of scholarship.

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