Sidste kapitler, porøse punktummer

Livsafslutningsromanens ambivalente closure(s)

Forfattere

  • Nicklas Freisleben Lund

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/pas.v37i88.135733

Nøgleord:

Narrative endings, Literary gerontology, Aging and Literature, Contemporary Danish fiction, Life-review, end of life-novel, passage, dansk litteratur, alderdom

Resumé

Based on a selection of contemporary Danish examples, the article introduces and explores the end of life-novel: a distinct literary form portraying older protagonists facing the inevitable end of human existence. As such, the end of life-novel offers insights into the cultural imaginary of the last years of life. Crucially, it portrays the protagonists as engaged in activities of telling and evaluating their life-stories and is, thus, characterized by a narrative structure highly suggestive of a conclu- sive, unifying ending. The article, however, demonstrates that the end of life-novel undermines this expectation of narrative closure via the mobilization of ambivalent ending-strategies. Consequently, the end of life-novel challenges its readers to make sense of and find value and meaning in endings – and forms of aging – that are dif- ferent from or even less than ideal.

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Publiceret

2023-01-24

Citation/Eksport

Freisleben Lund, N. (2023). Sidste kapitler, porøse punktummer: Livsafslutningsromanens ambivalente closure(s). Passage - Tidsskrift for Litteratur Og Kritik, 37(88), 33–50. https://doi.org/10.7146/pas.v37i88.135733

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