Tantförvandlingen. Om kroppens längtan, skam och exotisering i Kerstin Thorvalls reseromaner

Abstract

This article deals with the motif tanten in the travel-writings of the Swedish author Kerstin Thorvall (translated to English the concept would be something like ”the old lady”, ”the aunt” or ”the old maid”, but none of these terms cover the social and historical position of tanten in the Swedish welfare-state, which is interesting in itself). Thorvall’s travel writings have received much feminist critique during the past few years for the ways they reproduce and reiterate colonial power relations. Particularly, it is Thorvall’s description of the sexual relations between the woman writer and the black men she encounters that has become provocative. The objectification of the black body, and the stereotypes about ”Africa” and ”African culture” are very much present in these narratives. However, in this article I offer another critical approach to Thorvall’s work, suggesting that the discourse of ageing further inflects the motifs of sexuality and emancipation in Thorvall’s writings. This approach doesn’t dismiss the problematic of glorified colonialism that the novels espouse, but acknowledges other modes of power also taking place in Thorvall’s work. My investigation of the transformation of the young woman to ”tant” explores the social emotion of shame, and the construction of menopause that defines character subjectivity, and narrative structure. I discuss the painful, affective and embodied experiences connected to this corporeal transformation. I ask how the loss of the body, connected to the sense of suddenly becoming ”nobody,” and the loneliness associated to the woman outside reproduction discourse, offers us a different way to read and analyse Kerstin Thorvall’s work.