Maternal Abandonment and Queer Resistance in Twenty-First-Century Swedish Literature

1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-3-030-72891-5
Verlag: Palgrave Macmillan

Buch, Englisch, 293 Seiten, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 524 g

This book questions why so many mothers leave their families in twenty-first-century Swedish literature, analyzing literary representations of maternal abandonment in relation to sociopolitical discourses. The volume draws on a queer-theoretical framework in order to highlight norm-critical dimensions, failure, and resistance in literature about motherhood. Jenny Björklund argues that novels about mothers who leave can be understood as ways to problematize and challenge Swedish-branded values like gender equality and a progressive family politics that promotes ideals of involved parenthood, the nuclear family, and pronatalism. The book also raises questions beyond the Swedish context about maternal ambivalence, family politics, and privilege and discusses how literature can work as resistance and provide alternatives to the current social order.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Björklund, Jenny

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies: Homosexualität, LGBTQ+
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Strömungen & Epochen
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Europäische Literatur

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 1: Happy Endings: (Re)producing the Gender Equality Ideal.- Chapter 3: Bad Mothers: Challenging Good Motherhood.- Chapter 4: The Nuclear Family as Well-Trodden Path and Script: Mental Ill-Health.- Chapter 5: Unwilling Mothers: Challenging Swedish Pronatalism.- Chapter 6: Conclusion: Dreams of a Different Future.

Über Autor(innen)

Jenny Björklund is Associate Professor of Gender Studies and Comparative Literature at Uppsala University, Sweden. Her books include Lesbianism in Swedish Literature: An Ambiguous Affair (2014), and, as co-editor with Ursula Lindqvist, New Dimensions of Diversity in Nordic Culture and Society (2016).