Bodily representations of the shame of inferiority in Sofi Oksanen’s novels

Abstract

The range of violence comprises severe physical abuse and different methods of mental torture as well as social discrimination. Beside the traumas themselves, these acts also burden the victims with shame. Finnish writer Sofi Oksanen (born 1977) discusses these issues in her works. As a writer, Oksanen is very sensitive to social issues, discrimination and the unfairness of history. Most of her characters suffer from the shame of inferiority caused by physical or mental violence. Oksanen analyzes the influence of shame in our lives, and her characters demonstrate several different responses to the feeling. Eyesight and our looks play an important role in recognizing or hiding the humiliating episodes of our past. Appearance often reflects all our inner struggles and represents our mental state, wherefore a given individual’s manner of personal care and habits of shaping the body reveal a great deal about the person. Personal and beauty care come up in different ways in Oksanen’s novels and have varying symbolic meanings, but they have at least one thing in common: they are related to creating a false identity, one which is more acceptable for those in the surrounding environment. This paper analyzes the mechanism of shame connected to the feeling of inferiority, concentrating on four of Oksanen’s novels (Stalin’s Cows, Baby Jane, Purge and When the Doves Disappeared). Although violence can lead to mental disorders and the shame of inferiority also belongs to the domain of emotions, the paper focuses on the physical consequences of the victims’ mental state, which can vary from severe physical disorders to everyday personal grooming or beauty care.