In this essay I discuss the notion of memory and its effect on the three main characters of the book "Beloved" by Toni Morrison and additionally how these characters through their individual relationships with a ghost (in the shape of a young woman) are assisted to move towards a healthier life where they can live in the present. The memories of these characters, Sethe, Denver and Paul D, all differ, but still not one of them has the ability to live in the present. For Paul D and Sethe the haunting memories are due to their days as slaves, and additionally for Sethe, the fact that she murdered one of her children. Denver however, is merely the victim of her mother?s memories, and is more or less imprisoned in a monotonous life. The young (ghost) woman, who relieves these characters from their pasts, is though to be the reincarnation of Sethe?s murdered child Beloved. With her arrival, Beloved forces the characters to move away from their stagnated lives through dealing with their memories of the past and simultaneously finding new knowledge about themselves.

ABSTRACT An attempt to put the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft on the map of psychoanalytical criticism, this analysis examines Lovecraft’s use of setting, characters, and narrative mode and structure in “The Call of Cthulhu” (1926) to show how his construction of horror has its ground in psychology, or, more specifically, in ideas of identity and violated boundaries of the self. In addition, brief reflections on Modernist art, its connections with psychoanalysis, and its analogies to Lovecraftian imagery are provided in order to show the echoes of the Zeitgeist in Lovecraft’s horrors. Although Lovecraft made claims for the universality of the horror he depicted, the present analysis also maps its specific and time-bound characteristics.

This essay investigates how Norman Mailer’s “true-life” novel The Executioner’s Song may also be read as an autobiography. The novel contains strong traces of Mailer’s existential philosophy as related to sexuality, non-conformity and death. The essay discusses the nature of the relationship between truth as defined by the author and the function of autobiography to tell the truth about a life. The discussion centres around Mailer’s conviction that the novel is a better, i.e. more accurate vehicle for truth than is the autobiography. The essay argues that the truth which Mailer imparts is less the “true” story of Gary Gilmore and more the “true” story of Norman Mailer.

The purpose with this essay is to show how the protagonist in Toni Morrison's novel Beloved can be regarded as a traditional gothic heroine. Yet, she is given different roles and actions than a conventional gothic heroine. It is also argued in this essay that Morrison's heroine is given different qualities in order to reveal important messages. First, a short description of the plot is made in order to show the gothic elements in the novel. In the following, Sethe is dealt with in relation to four traditional gothic elements. These four all appear in the novel. These are: The heroine, the villain, the setting with the haunted house and the supernatural force. Then, Sethe as a different gothic heroine is analysed. Finally, Morrison's messages are brought up.

The essay deals with the patterns of storytelling in Selma Lagerlöfs novel "Körkarlen". The focus is on the relationship between idea and form. Selma Lagerlöf tries to show how the drinker David Holm comes to insight about his own shortcomings and faults without knowing that he is in fact educated by his old friend. The author of this essay tries to show that Selma Lagerlöf use the same method in relation to the reader of the novel. Selma Lagerlöf wants to enlighten the reader without actually preaching. To som extent the essay deals with typical patterns of storytelling that Selma Lagerlöf uses, such as her symbolic method, her use of patterns from legends and ghost stories and finally her esthetics.

Att beträda Ann Jäderlunds poetiska landskap i samlingen Som en gång varit äng är en omtumlande upplevelse. Den värld man möter i dikterna är rik på symboler/metaforer och bilder insvepta i bedrägligt prunkande grönska med starkt erotiska undertoner. Dikternas utgångspunkt är ofta traditionella bilder av kvinnligt/manligt som sedan bearbetas och dekonstrueras. Denna dekonstruktion av konventionella och vedertagna begrepp analyseras i min uppsats, ur ett feministiskt/eklektiskt perspektiv, genom fördjupade närläsningar av den poetiska texten.

Dikterna "Självbiografi" och "Partitur" kan ses som ett bidrag till 60-talets seenderelativistiska litterära debatt, genom att de visar hur ett liv som är präglat av 'osynlighet' och oförstående kan uppfattas som ett "döden-i-livet"-tillstånd. Men de visar även hur man genom dialog kan åstadkomma en förändring. I "Självbiografi" synliggörs två dialoger. En inre dialog i form av minnets cirkularitet mellan nu och då och en yttre mellanmänsklig dialog som blir synlig genom diktjagets replik. I dessa dialogers möte formas en kritik mot patriarkatets selektiva seende, i såväl den litterära traditionen som den samtida seenderelativistiska litterära debatten. Kritiken kommer till uttryck i potatismetaforen och visar att en ohälsosam yttre miljö påverkar det inre och gör att en 'osynlig' människa, bildligt talat, ruttnar bort. Även i "Partitur" syns två dialoger. Den inre dialogen försiggår mellan explicita och implicita, ibland motsägelsefulla, röster i en språkfilosofisk anda. Detta tolkar jag inte som kontaktlöshet och språkpessimism, så som den tidigare receptionen menat. Jag ser det istället som en synliggjord del av diktjagets bildningsgång: att bolla tankar fram och tillbaka inom sig gör att hon kommer vidare i sin bildningsgång; genomgår en egen attitydförändring, som möter andra människors tankar i en yttre dialog. Var för sig visar diktjagen, i respektive bildningsgång, att ett jämbördigt dialogiskt möte kan komma till stånd som en "jämlikhet mellan skillnader" i enlighet med Gunnar Ekelöfs 'strountes'-poetik och Lars Ahlins humorbegrepp, båda aktuella på 60-talet. Olika perspektiv i dialogiskt möte synliggör den 'osynlighet' som vid olika tillfällen i dikterna har liknats vid "döden-i-livet". Därigenom kan diktjagen erhålla en existensiell bekräftelse som ger dem förmåga att kunna bejaka livets svårigheter: att se sorg och glädje som förutsättning för varandra, istället för att genom distansering försöka uthärda svårigheterna.