Susanne Levin: an example of Jewish tradition represented in a literary setting

Authors

• Siv Illman Åbo akademi

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30752/nj.69563

Keywords:

Swedish literature, Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Survivors, Jewish literature, Jewish authors, Authors, Swedish, Jews -- Sweden, Fiction, Object relations (Psychoanalysis), Psychology and religion

Abstract

A literary work – a novel – is the focus of this presentation. My interest of research lies in the psychological aspects of religion and its diverse expressions in literary settings. The novel chosen is written by the Swedish author Susanne Levin. The story is about Lea born in 1950 and brought up in the tradition of Judaism in Uppsala, Sweden. We see anger and compassion at work, we encounter reaction to evil, we sense Lea’s feelings of guilt, her gratitude, love, hatred, grief, and joy: Lea’s story gives a vivid account of life in a Scandinavian Jewish family. One major influence in Lea’s life was the fact that her mother was a survivor from the Nazi death camps and had decided to keep silent about the terrible things in her past. In the novel, the expression is given that religion became an important factor in Lea’s struggle. The theoretical reasoning is developed within the framework of an integrated object relations perspective. The basic view of reality underlying this theoretical perspective holds that human issues are related rather than isolated, and that human conditions cannot be in just any fashion and still support life.