"Hvad er sannhet?" : Studier i Cora Sandels novellistik

Sammanfattning: This study examines the short fiction of the Norwegian writer Cora Sandel (pseudonym for Sara Fabricius, 1880-1974), primarily the short story collections En blå sofa (A blue sofa, 1927), Carmen og Maja (Carmen and Maja, 1932), Mange takk doktor (Thank you, doctor, 1935), Dyr jeg har kjent (Animals I have known, 1945) and Figurer på mørk bunn (Figures against a dark background, 1949).The first chapter gives an introduction to the short story genre and some of its theories. A survey of the reception of Sandel’s short stories in Norway and Sweden is also presented. This is followed by a discussion of realist and modernist traits in Sandel’s short fiction. Sandel’s exile and its meaning for her writing is also examined, as well as the complex of gender, power, and language in her stories. The use of gender theory in the readings is also discussed.The two following chapters consist of readings of the short stories. They show how Sandel represents women in her stories as powerless, but also as connected with a hidden, not verbalized truth. This is also visible in the stories’ technique, where Sandel pays special attention to the narrative act. In the animal stories from 1945, it is shown how Sandel elaborates the same themes and techniques, and also problematizes biographical truth. Sandel’s representation of women and the Second World War, which is the theme of her last short story collection, is also examined.The conclusion is that Sandel was an innovator of the short story in Scandinavia. Her acute awareness of the form as well as the content of the text resulted in short stories where power-related and gendered truth is examined and problematized.