Some overall conclusions
- By showing how both authorship and themes vary over time, societal changes in Sweden are reflected in the stories of the authors in exile. While early exile literature focuses on the discrepancy between the homogeneous majority society and the few immigrants, contemporary exile literature deals with social vulnerability linked to origin, ethnicity and life situation.
- The ambivalent view of Swedish society and the feeling of non-belonging to the majority society unite many of the narratives. What has been lost with exile is the natural belonging, while what has been gained with exile is freedom and a certain relief from traditions.
- Common to the authors examined is a self-reflective approach to the Swedish language. However, the approach differs between first- and second-generation exile writers. While the former to a greater extent strive for adaptation and mastering the language, the second generation exile writers rather struggle to find new ways to express a minority view in a majority language, using slang, sociolects and what is sometimes called “new Swedish”.
About the author
The research overview is written by Daniel Pedersen, author and researcher in Literature at Stockholm University.
The Delmi Research Overview 2022:1 is launched on February 1, 2022.
Photo by Jonas Jacobsson from Unsplash