Are Norwegians European?

Abstract

This article makes a case for Norway’s European identity by highlighting the history of Norwegian bohemians, i.e. those authors and artists who have rejected their homeland’s social norms and customs for being oppressive, narrow-minded and puritanical, and who have ventured south to continental Europe in the name of artistic, intellectual, social and sensual freedom. Upon their return, these bohemians have effected change in Norway, establishing a bit of European decadence in their motherland. Cafés keep popping up, urban nightlife is booming, people’s attitudes to alcohol, sexuality and pornography have become much more liberal, and the church’s authority on morals has greatly diminished.