Att forma ett minne : Förändrade framställningar av Carl Axel Gottlund i tre dagboksutgåvor

Sammanfattning

The aim of this study is to analyse and compare three published editions of Carl Axel Gottlund’s (1796–1875) diary written in 1821. Gottlund is known among the Forest Finns – a minority group in Sweden – as their “apostle” after his travels in the early 1800s. The purpose of his travels was to map out the population, gather information about the people, their buildings and their stories. The diary that he wrote during his travels to Värmland and Solør has been published 1931–1932, 1986 and 2021. The main purpose of this study is to analyse the choices made for each publication of the diary and how these show how Gottlund was perceived during this period, and how these choices changed the way he was perceived. The focus of the study is partly the forewords and how they tell the story of Gottlund and his travels, partly the edits made to the original source. The editors of the first edition chose to remove some of the parts that they deemed not interesting from a cultural-historical perspective. These parts included hunting stories, hurtful descriptions of people and crude descriptions of sexual encounters – some of them bordering assault. In 1986 the editors chose to include these parts but put them in their own chapter at the end of the book. In the 2021 edition, the editors reinstated most of the previously excluded passages to their original context; yet notably kept the descriptions of the sexual encounters to a separate section at the end of the volume. This editorial framing invites the reader to view Gottlund primarily as a committed advocate for the minority group, while simultaneously obscuring aspects of his character and actions that complicate this portrayal. Between the first and the latest edition of Gottlund’s diary, 90 years have passed, during which contemporary ideas about cultural heritage and gender have changed the picture of Gottlund. This comparison shows how his actions have been perceived during different time periods: from being excluded in 1931–1932, to included and used as a selling point in 1986, and then in 2021 being questioned in the press. The study uses Jan Assman’s theories on cultural memory to highlight the different ways the memory after Gottlund is produced and perceived. Theories from critical heritage studies are used to showcase the layers of power in play in forming this memory. Theories from gender studies are employed, most notably Raewyn Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity, to illustrate how Gottlund embodies a form of masculinity centered on adventure, hunting, and the pursuit of beautiful women.