Abstract
While the dominant narrative has long been that Danish colonialism in Greenland was gentle and humane – in fact, almost not existing – increasingly, other interpretations are brought forward which put Denmark in a far from glorious and charitable position. The colonial past has, with a term from Sharon Macdonald, become difficult heritage, and a negotiation of Danish cultural memory is thus taking place. Two authors who actively participate in this process are Kim Leine and Iben Mondrup: Both have published several novels which deal with Denmark’s involvement in Greenland and which obviously seek to problematize the idea of Denmark as a benevolent colonizer. In this article, I examine how Leine’s The Colony of Good Hope (2018) and Mondrup’s Tabita (2020) contribute to destabilizing this narrative, with a particular focus on the use of multiperspectivity. Furthermore, I argue that the novels be read in a decolonial context.
Translated title of the contribution | Destabilising Voices: Negotiating Danish Cultural Memory in Kim Leine and Iben Mondrup's Greenland Trilogies |
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Original language | Danish |
Journal | Nordica |
Volume | 2023 |
Issue number | 40 |
Pages (from-to) | 91-115 |
ISSN | 0109-3967 |
Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Keywords
- Faculty of Humanities
- Kim Leine
- Iben Mondrup
- Greenland
- Kalaallit Nunaat
- Denmark
- colonialism
- postcolonialism
- cultural memory
- exceptionalism
- narratology
- difficult heritage