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

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Not only did Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen, 1885-1962) read the works of her fellow-countryman, the Danish philosopher Soren 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.

Mads Bunch is an Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen.