I Norrland kan ingen höra dig skrika
En postkolonial läsning av Stefan Spjuts Stallo
NorrlandColonialismMythologyGothicPost-colonial structuresThe OtherStefan SpjutSelma LagerlofJohn BauerTrollFolkloreFolktalesNorrlandStefan SpjutSelma LagerlöfJohn BauerTrollDen AndreSkräckromantikNaturmystikGotikOrientalismKolonialismMytologiFolkloreSagor
The northern province of Sweden has in both literature and film been depictured as something foreign and mythical, unlike the rest of the country. It has been my purpose to show in this essay that the systematic categorization of Norrland and its literature reveals multiple criteria known to define the colonial era. By reading the novel Stallo by author Stefan Spjut with postcolonial structures in mind I aim to show how the author uses Swedish mythology and through the presence of The Other criticizes colonial structures in place to this day. By examining the gothic atmosphere I intend to indicate how the trolls in the novel figures as both a horror element as well as a representation of nature itself. It is my belief that the author by further reinforcing the mythological in relation to Norrland addresses the problem at hand. That Norrland is still to this day a colony within its own country.