Snø og samfunnskritikk - snømotivet i Alexander Kiellands "Sne" (1886) og Jonas Lies "Familjen paa Gilje" (1883)

Abstract

Snow is the principle source of imagery both in Alexander Kielland’s Snow and in Jonas Lie’s Familjen paa Gilje, although it has different tasks to fulfill. Whereas Kielland’s narrator depicts snow as a homogenizing material and as a means to subdue people, Lie’s narrator unfolds a dialectic conception of snow, so that snow imagery becomes ambiguous. It not only functions as a metaphor to illustrate people’s suppression, but it is also linked to the notion of national freedom and progress. In this respect, snow is a key metaphor to depict self-realisation at the expense of community.