Att bryta egen väg : Jeanna Oterdahl i föredrag och författarskap

Sammanfattning: This dissertation deals with the authorship and lecturing activities of Jeanna Oterdahl during the period 1919–1949. The study starts with Inger Skram (1919) and finishes with Bukett i November [Bouquet in November] (1949). The purpose is to show the historical context in which Jeanna Oterdahl wrote her literary works, and also to show how she participated in the debates of her time with her lectures. In her position as lecturer she appears a safe guide, but in fiction there is room for both doubt and sorrow. Three items were important for Jeanna Oterdahl: education for women, the subordinate role of women, and motherhood. These problem areas, which often reoccur in her fiction and in her lectures are examined. The perspective chosen here leaves room for only a brief discussion of the religious aspect sometimes found in her texts.The religious framework of the Church set special bounds to women's liberty of action in Jeanna Oterdahl's day. Her authorship can be interpreted as a request to women to conform to the demands placed on women. However, a well hidden and hardly visible force permeates her texts against the patriarchal social structure. Her authorship and lectures contain a radical charge and a diversity which have until now not been fully observed. These circumstances make the picture of the author even more multifaceted. Jeanna Oterdahl's literary production was replete with criticism as well as vigour.