WAR AND LITERATURE: A GENEALOGY OF SHAME IN POSTWAR NORWAY

This paper elaborates a genealogy of shame in postwar Norway through the analysis of three literary works: Sigurd Hod's Mote ved milepelen (Meeting at the Milestone, 1947), Knut Hamsun's Paa gjengrodde stier (On Overgrown Paths, 1949), and Per Petterson's Ut og stjaele hester (Out Stealing Horses, 2003). Understanding the ways in which collective shame has shaped the Norwegian national psyche is important not only because it allows us to qualify the ethical niche currently employed by Norway in the international arena, but also because it shows how the politics and aesthetics of shame are inherently related to both the nation and social justice.