Emotions Connected with Winter in Everyday Life in the Archipelago: Letters and Diaries from among the Ice

Authors

• Riina Haanpää University of Turku https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6630-0572
• Laura Seesmeri University of Turku https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8488-8390

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30666/elore.148087

Keywords:

archipelagoes, diaries, letters, ice, affectivity, winter

Abstract

In this article, we examine the feelings and effects of winter, and especially ice, on the daily lives of the inhabitants of two eras and island communities. We ask what similarities and differences do conditions of ice bring to the lives of the two islanders we study. We use the diaries of Urho Saralehto, who lived in Reposaari island in Pori between 1897 and 1953, and the correspondence of Erna Andersson, who lived on the island of Borstö in southern Nauvo between 1917 and 1979, to her friend.

We will focus on presenting the potential of personal biographical sources to delve into affective content and research questions. What kind of emotions are conveyed by diaries and letters and how do we read these materials with an effective approach? How do they situate the winter weather and the ice conditions? In what ways does insularity take shape through writing about ice and the writers’ own lives?

Our sources show that ice and winter conditions have had a significant impact on everyday life in the archipelago, on more than just practical work, livelihoods and subsistence. The narrative of ice has been highly affective, linking different island communities at different times. Ice conditions have shaped the emotional register with which people have related to their immediate environment. Ice has been hoped for, praised or feared. Ice conditions have also shaped social life. Ice conditions may have isolated or facilitated movement in the archipelago, especially for children and women. Ice has thus become part of a meaningful environmental relationship and is an integral part of various island landscapes. Ice can be interpreted as an important unifying factor in the affective and experiential nature of 'islandness'.