Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Holiday: where are you escaping to?

The idea of going on holiday is one to escape or take a break from unpleasantness and work, therefore I think it is interesting that in "Holiday" the families house is a sort of escape from reality in the desired vacation context: different language, hyper-feminine women, a plethora of food. However reality is put on hold in an almost grotesque manner with the enslavement, and sacrifice of the eldest Helga. It seems she needs to suffer and take on the burdens for the family to live happily, and one could draw the conclusion that she is a Christ like figure.

It is interesting that the narrative voice through this is not stronger, and does not seem to be particularly negative or positive, and there for the reader is placed more directly in the scenes and as we read we can experience the silences, and roaring dinners. The scenes therefor become more vivid and can't help but feel uncomfortable with the enslavement of Helga.

1 comment:

Kay Cook said...
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