Den resfärdiga. Studier i Emilia Fogelklous självbiografi

Emilia Fogelklou (1878-1972) was the first woman in Sweden to take a degree in theology (1909) and later became a Quaker. She was a teacher and writer, mainly in the fields of religious education and psychology, and an active supporter of peace and other women's movements. Her autobiographical series, Arnold (1944), Bareheaded (1950), and Ready to Travel (1954), is written in the third person, Fogelklou naming herself Mi. A stylistic characteristic is the frequent use of quotations, which tend to be entered into the text without regard for their original context. When quoting her own private documents Fogelklou keeps the original first person, which results in a split within the autobiographical self. Thus, in certain respects Mi must be regarded as a construct.

Arnold is in part the biography of her beloved husband, the Dante scholar Arnold Norlind. A liberal use of his letters and early diaries helps to convey a Franciscan ideal. In the final description of their marriage years, Arnold and Mi are seen as 3fellow-children of God2, leading a full life in the shadow of disease and death. Rich literary language contributes to making this a story of lasting love and spiritual growth.

The thesis also deals with Bareheaded, which describes Fogelklou's life before her marriage. The 19th century feminine ideal, stressing altruism and humility, left a lasting stamp on her self-image and from a gender perspective the portrait of Mi is an ambivalent one. The interaction between Mi's "paternal story", portraying her as an independent woman on the public arena, and her "maternal story", dealing with the private sphere of her life, reveals Fogelklou's marked unwillingness to voice a sense of pride in her achievements and admit her ambitious youthful dreams to play a leading role in Swedish religious life. By adopting a Christian attitude of humility, Fogelklou avoids the controversial issue of failed ambition. From a religious aspect, Mi can be seen as a role model in the tradition of medieval autohagiographies. Mi embodies Fogelklou's Christian ideal, that of "the most ordinary person", which closely resembles the 19th century model woman. The didactic aspect is reinforced by the the discourse, Fogelklou often addressing her readers in the present tense.