Nordic Contemporary Fiction Grieving the Loss of Snow

Abstract

The article calls attention to how snow and ice are embodied as grievable entities in Nordic 21st century climate change fiction, arguing that contemporary fiction is a valuable apparatus for processing ecological mourning. The author draws theoretically on Ashlee Cunsolo’s work on ecological grief, while the overarching research question is how scientific warnings about global warming and shrinking cryosphere are dealt with emotionally and aesthetically in Nordic literature. A comparative analysis of the Scandinavian cli-fi novels Den afskyelige (»The abominable «, 2016), written by Danish Charlotte Weitze, and Steffen tar sin del av ansvaret (»Steffen takes his share of the responsibility«, 2009), by Norwegian Christian Valeur forms the backbone of the article. In both novels, the young protagonists are realizing that snow is a scarce resource, close to disappearing. Facing this fact arouses interrelated emotions of grief, guilt and confusion, but also gallows humour, gratitude and pride. From these observations, the author argues that fiction may play a crucial role for a deeper understanding of the emotional complex of climate anxiety, grief and resilience.