Det groteska moderskapet: En analys av moderskapstematiken i Caroline Ringskog Ferrada-Nolis "Den förlorade sonen"

Sammanfattning

This essay examines the theme of motherhood in Caroline Ringskog Ferrada-Noli’s debut collection of poetry entitled "Den förlorade sonen" (2024). Through the poems the author presents a new and ambivalent image of the mother and motherhood, which can help broaden the understanding of how poetry can be used to depict the complexities of motherhood. The analysis is based on grotesque theory developed by Mikhail Bakhtin and further elaborated, for the purpose of investigating female grotesque, by Mary J. Russo, and the method used is close reading and thematic analysis. In the analysis the theme of motherhood has been divided into three sub themes, examined in one chapter each: "Motherhood and Loss", "Insufficiency of Motherly Love", and "The (Un)desirable Mother Body". A selection of two to three poems has been made for each sub theme, which have been closely read and analysed through Bakhtin’s and Russo’s theories and terminology. The result shows that Ringskog Ferrada-Noli’s poetry, through grotesque motif and rhetorical devices, provides a nuanced and ambivalent representation of motherhood, in contrary to earlier works where it has mostly been portrayed as either good or bad. Through depicting motherhood as grotesque, the author challenges norms about how mothers are expected to act and look.