Isak Dinesen Reading Søren Kierkegaard: On Christianity, Seduction, Gender, and Repetition

Mads Bunch

Abstract

Not only did Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen, 1885-1962) read the works of her fellow-countryman, the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), closely, she also created a surprisingly large number of tales that critically engage Kierkegaard’s works. In this thorough comparative study, Mads Bunch uncovers Dinesen’s exploration of Kierkegaard and shows how Dinesen in her tales subverts major ideas from Kierkegaard’s works concerning Christianity, seduction, gender and repetition. Bunch also shows how Dinesen’s critical engagement with the ideas of Kierkegaard runs throughout her oeuvre and develops from the early tale ‘Carnival’ (1926-27) to ‘The Dreamers’ (1934), ‘The Pearls’ (1942), ‘Babette’s Feast’ (1950) and her last tale ‘Ehrengard’ (1963). Bunch’s close readings reveal that Dinesen’s ironical counter-tales concerning Kierkegaard border at times on sheer parody.

Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationCambridge, UK
PublisherManey Publishing
Number of pages198
ISBN (Print)978-1-781884-93-5
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-781884-95-9 , 978-1-781884-96-6
Publication statusPublished - 3 Apr 2017

Keywords

  • Faculty of Humanities
  • Karen Blixen
  • Søren Kierkegaard
  • Gender
  • Christianity
  • repetition
  • seduction
  • Isak Dinesen
  • Babettes gæstebud
  • Drømmerne
  • Karneval
  • En Historie om en Perle
  • Ehrengard
  • Forførerens Dagbog
  • Gjentagelsen
  • In vino veritas
  • Enten-Eller
  • Either/Or
  • The Pearls
  • The Dreamers
  • Babette's Feast
  • Carnival

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