Litterär Kvinnokamp, anno 2014

Feminismens funktioner i receptionen av Kristina Sandbergs Maj-trilogi

Resumé

This article examines the functions of feminism in the critical reception of Kristina Sandberg’s Maj-Trilogy, published 2010-2014. Detailing the evaluative patterns of reviews, it is shown that critics’ increased attention to feminist politics and women’s history in the novels was tied to a de-aestheticizing rhetoric, exemplifying gender hierarchies on the literary field. However, the trilogy’s critical and commercial success is also shown to be based on conception of the women’s cause and feminist writing traditions. Connecting these points, the article argues that a principal function of feminism on the contemporary Swedish book market is to make varying evaluative principles visible, and to bridge the boundaries of cultural, political and social fields.