Shattering Minds — Experiences of Mental Illness in Modernist Finnish Literature

Ovaska, Anna
Title: Shattering Minds — Experiences of Mental Illness in Modernist Finnish Literature
Authors: Ovaska, Anna (Author)
Product number: 9789518586374
Product form: Paperback
Availability: Delivery in 7-14 workdays
Publication date: 16.8.2023
Price: 45,00 € (40,91 € vat 0 %)

Publ. product code: 21778369
Publisher: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura
Series: Studia Fennica Litteraria
Edition: 2023
Publication year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 264
Product family: Autumn 2023
Literary Studies
Studia Fennica Litteraria
Christmas Market
Finnish library classification: 86 KIRJALLISUUSTIEDE
YSO - General Finnish ontology: kirjallisuudentutkimus, modernismi, kertomakirjallisuus, narratologia, teemat (kerronta), representaatio, hulluus, psyyke, kirjallisuus, kaunokirjallisuus, mielenterveyshäiriöt, psyykkisesti sairaat, sairastuminen, kokemukset, kirjallisuudenhistoria, suomenkielinen kirjallisuus
Key words: kirjallisuudentutkimus, suomenkielinen kirjallisuus, mentaaliset häiriöt, Modernismi, narratologia
Shattering Minds is the first broad study on representations of mental illness in modernist Finnish literature. Through four case studies, it shows how in modernist texts mental suffering is not understood as something that is "inside" a person's mind. Rather, experiences of illness are entangled with social and material environments, interactions with other people, and cultural norms and narratives that shape, for example, subjectivity, gender, and sexuality.

The study brings forth narrative strategies through which literary representations of shattering seek to affect their readers: What kinds of interpretive paths are invited in the texts? How are readers guided to go through embodied experiences of distress? How do the texts invite critical reflection on cultural and social perceptions of mental illnesses?