Vem skrev ormen och bränt barn
Varför ska man bekanta sig med Stig Dagerman? It is Dagerman's most widely read novel both in Sweden, where it has been published in ten editions, and internationally, with translations to twenty languages. The original title derives from the Swedish proverb "Bränt barn skyr elden" "A burnt child dreads the fire". An English translation of A Burnt Child was first published in Set in a working-class Stockholm neighbourhood, the novel opens with the funeral of Alma, the mother of 20 year old, sometime student, Bengt.
A sensitive and introspective young man, Bengt is profoundly affected by his mother's passing, and his grief is compounded by feelings of guilt. He blames himself for her death, believing that he failed her in some way. This sense of guilt becomes a central theme in the novel, driving much of Bengt's subsequent actions and psychological torment.
A badly-timed phone call at the funeral dinner, from an unmistakably female voice, leads Bengt to question his father's fidelity.
After his wife's death, Bengt's father, a rather pragmatic and emotionally distant man, quickly remarries. This new marriage introduces Gun, the father's young and attractive wife, into Bengt's life. Gun's presence becomes the focal point of Bengt's emotional and psychological turmoil. After discovering that his father did have a mistress and has now married this mistress, the apathetic Bengt sets out to avenge his mother's memory.
He is initially repelled by Gun, seeing her as a usurper of his mother's place and a symbol of his father's apparent callousness.
Bränt barn – Wikipedia
However, as time progresses, Bengt finds himself increasingly drawn to Gun in a way that disturbs and confuses him. Bengt's relationship with Gun is marked by a toxic and obsessive dynamic. He oscillates between trying to drive a wedge between her and his father and being irresistibly attracted to her. This obsession gradually takes over his life, affecting his relationships with others, including his girlfriend, Berit, whom he treats with a mixture of neglect and cruelty as his fixation on Gun intensifies.
It is an absorbing work. The novel absorbs the reader effortlessly The landscape round Stockholm, with its fog-bound flatlands and grey winter seas, is vividly evoked.
Stig Dagerman
This moody, death-haunted novel is well worth reading. In Dagerman adapted the novel to the stage play Ingen går fri "Nobody Walks Free" , which he directed himself. The novel has been filmed twice, the Swedish Bränt barn in and The French L'enfant brulé in This article about a s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels.
Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. Plot summary [ edit ]. Critical reception [ edit ]. Adaptations [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. The Guardian. Retrieved 9 February Penguin Books.
Evening Standard. Stig Dagerman.