The Representation of Nature as a Symbol of National Identity in Folk Literature. The Case of The Norwegian Folktales

Abstract

The Norwegian Folktales, collected, transcribed and re-written by Per Christian Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe from 1841 onwards, had a pivotal role in the shaping of a cultural and linguistic identity in the emerging nation-state of Norway. After four centuries of ‘union’ where Denmark and Sweden were the dominant partners, Norway was finally declared an independent nation state in 1914. As such, the tales were an important feature in the struggle for an independent post-colonial cultural identity. The folktales, handed down orally through the generations across the country, embodied important symbolical, cultural and linguistic characteristics from the rural environment. At the peak of the Romantic Nationalist movement, deeply inspired by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the tales came to symbolize core features specific to Norway and distinct from the colonial powers of Denmark and Sweden. This was played out at the level of plot, characters, themes and values, and also through the representation of Nature and the bond between Norwegians and Nature as a distinguishing feature of the emerging nation-state. This paper describes the role that oral narrative had in the development of national identity and how the portrayal of nature played a hugely important part both in those narratives, in the presentation of the narratives through book illustrations and painting (a key feature of the National Romantic artistic expression), and in the promotion of the narratives as an expression of a Norwegian identity that recognizes the value of Nature for which it nurtures a deep respect.