An Insecure Base? Nerves, Violence and Step-Parents in Norwegian Children’s Literature

Authors

  • Anne-Kari Skardhamar Oslo University College, Norway

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21153/pecl2007vol17no1art1202

Keywords:

family violence, stepparents, Norwegian children's literature

Abstract

Central issues represented in four recent Norwegian books for children are children's resistance to step-parents, children's attempts to cope with family violence, and inverted relationships where children take responsibility for mentally unstable parents. The literary texts I have chosen as examples are three novels: Ingeborg Arvola's Blod, snørr og tårer (2000) (Blood, Snot and Tears); Kristin A. Sandberg's Verdens ondeste stemor (2004) (The World's Worst Stepmother); Endre Lund Eriksen's Pitbull-Terje går amok (2002) (Pitbull Terrier Runs Amok); and Gro Dahle and Svein Nyhus's picture book Sinna mann (2003) (Angry Man) My aim in this article is to explore how problems and survival strategies of children in troubled families are described and developed in these texts, and what stylistic devices and narrative techniques are employed. My analysis of the representations of nerves, violence and step-parents in four children's books draws on arguments from theories about philosophy and literature in general, children's literature, narrative analysis and attachment theories in child psychology.

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Author Biography

  • Anne-Kari Skardhamar, Oslo University College, Norway
    Anne-Kari Skardhamar is an associate professor at Oslo University College, Faculty of Education. She has published books on Faroese literature and on teaching literature, articles on children’s literature and literary representations of childhood.

References

Arvola, Ingeborg (2000) Blod, snørr og tårer (Blood, Snot and Tears). Oslo, Cappelen.

Bowlby, John (1979) The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds. London, Brunner-Routledge.

Bowlby, John (1988) A Secure Base. London, Brunner-Routledge.

Dahle, Gro and Svein Nyhus (2003) Sinna mann (Angry Man). Oslo, Cappelen.

Eriksen, Endre Lund (2002) Pitbull-Terje går amok (Pitbull Terrier Runs Amok). Oslo, Aschehoug.

Hunt, Peter (2001) Children’s Literature. Oxford, Blackwell Publishing.

Lothe, Jakob (2000) Narrative in Fiction and Film. An Introduction. Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press.

Nodelman, Perry (1999) ‘Decoding the images: how picture books work’ in Peter Hunt (ed.) Understanding Children’s Literature. London and New York, Routledge, pp. 128-139.

Nussbaum, Martha C. (1990) Love’s Knowledge. Essays on Philosophy and Literature. New York, Oxford, Oxford University Press,

Rudd, David (1999) ‘Theorising and theories. How does children’s literature exist?’ in Peter Hunt (ed.) Understanding Children’s Literature. London and New York, Routledge, pp.15-29.

Sandberg, Kristin A.(2004) Verdens ondeste stemor (The World’s worst Stepmother). Oslo, Damm.

Sommer, Dion (2003) Barndomspsykologi. Udvikling i en forandret verden (Childhood Psychology: Development in a Changed World), Copenhagen, Reitzels Forlag.

Stephens, John (1999) ‘Analysing texts: linguistics and stylistics’ in Peter Hunt (ed.) Understanding Children’s Literature. London and New York, Routledge, pp.73-85.

Watson, Victor (ed.) (2001) The Cambridge Guide to Children’s Books in English. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press

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Published

2007-05-01

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

“An Insecure Base? Nerves, Violence and Step-Parents in Norwegian Children’s Literature” (2007) Papers: Explorations into Children’s Literature, 17(1), pp. 19–27. doi:10.21153/pecl2007vol17no1art1202.

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