‘The Italian Factor’: Representations of Italy in Selma Lagerlöf’s Legends and Hans Ernst Kinck’s Novellas

Abstract

This article explores the representations of Italy emerging in a selection of short stories written by two Scandinavian authors at the end of the nineteenth century: two Italian legends by Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) first published together in 1899, ‘Santa Caterina av Siena’ (Santa Caterina of Siena) and ‘Fiskarringen’ (The Fisherman’s Ring), and the novellas in Trækfugle og andre (1899, Migratory Birds and Others) by the Norwegian writer Hans Ernst Kinck (1865–1926). Through a comparative analysis of these texts and with the help of the concepts of ‘cultural appropriation’ and ‘mobility’, this article demonstrates how both Lagerlöf and Kinck engaged creatively with the literary forms of their choice – the legend and the novella, respectively – in the attempt to create new images of a country already so often written about. While drawing on the Romantic myth of a cultured and idyllic Italy perpetuated by the Grand Tour tradition, Lagerlöf’s and Kinck’s stories bring a fresh perspective by combining tradition with modern debates around social, political and gender issues.