UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title In a Red Little Cottage: Icons of Identity and Nation in Sweden Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0j25f2jn Author Blomster, Anna Jenny Katarina Publication Date 2016 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles In a Red Little Cottage: Icons of Identity and Nation in Sweden A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Germanic Languages by Anna Jenny Katarina Blomster 2016 © Copyright by Anna Jenny Katarina Blomster 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION In a Red Little Cottage: Icons of Identity and Nation in Sweden by Anna Jenny Katarina Blomster Doctor of Philosophy in Germanic Languages University of California, Los Angeles, 2016 Professor Timothy R. Tangherlini, Chair The image of a red cottage with white corners in a rural idyllic setting holds an iconic status in visual representations of Sweden, and has been produced and reproduced in commercial advertising and tourist industry as well as in the visual rhetoric of contesting political parties for over more than a century. The cottage’s conspicuous position in visual representations of Sweden speaks to the need for an in-depth analysis of the cottage as a trope of national identity. Despite this, it has not received greater attention in research on national symbols and national identity in the field of Scandinavian studies. My dissertation aims to fill this gap by a sustained, close reading of the red cottage as a continuous symbol through which national identity is manifested, and problematized. To fully understand the contemporary position of the red cottage’s position as ”key- ! ii! symbol” in visual representation of Sweden or ”Swedishness”, it is crucial to put it in its socio- historical context. In this dissertation, historical analysis is paired with semiotic visual studies. The broad use of the red cottage furthermore calls for an interdisciplinary approach. The theories used in the different sections are therefore drawn from the broad field of cultural studies, anthropology and consumer culture theory. The stereotypical picture of a red cottage in a rural idyll emerged from the dovetailing of the urgent housing situation for the working class and the quest for a new, democratic nationalism during the early twentieth century. By using examples from education, tourism, advertising and politics, the dissertation shows how the red cottage over time was transformed into a Barthesian “myth”, where all possible meanings has been condensed and naturalized to the “Swedish home.” Through this overdetermination the rural idyll attracts users from a wide spectra, and has often been used to manifest opposing interests. Despite the stereotypical representation of the Swedish countryside, the cottage-idyll is part of a dynamic process of becoming rather than being. Although the depiction of the cottage idyll has remained quite static over the century, the question of who is to inhabit this home is a matter of constant negotiation. ! iii! The dissertation of Anna Jenny Katarina Blomster is approved. Dell Upton Arne O. Lunde Timothy R. Tangherlini, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2016 ! iv! For Johanna and Lovisa ! v! Table of Contents List of figures vii Acknowledgements xi Vita xiii Introduction 1 1. Development and Destitution: Demographic Changes in the Twentieth Century 19 2. A Swedish Home 48 3. The Cottage in Education 82 4. Lilla Sverigebyn, Little Sweden Village, Das Kleine Schwedendorf 118 5. Selling Sausage and Swedish Values: Cottage in Advertising 149 6. Vote for Sweden! The Cottage in Political Campaigns 186 7. Det nya landet—Negotiating the Rural Idyll 213 Conclusion: A Cottage to the moon 237 Notes 247 Bibliography 251 ! vi! List of Figures 1. House of Sweden, and Cottage on the Potomac 2 2. Cottage on the Potomac 2 3. Map of Dalarna. Grundskolans kartbok. 1981 3 4. Greetings from Sweden! 5 5. Distribution of male farmers and landless 1830-1900. 24 6. Distribution of male landless 1830-1900. 26 7. Cover of Carl Larsson’s Ett hem, 24 målningar. 1899 60 8. Cover of Karl-Erik Forslund’s Storgården: En bok om ett hem. 1900. 62 9. Ragnar Östberg’s drawing of a home with a livingroom and two bedrooms. In Ett hem, dess byggnad och inredning. 1905 72 10. Carl Güttler’s winning contribution in Svenska Slöjdföreningen’s competition. ”En enklare träbyggnad på landet.” 74 11. Axel H Forsberg and CA Andersson. Enskedestugan, 1908. 75 12. Illustration of ”Sörgården” by Brita Ellström. In Anna Maria Roos Hem och Hembygd. 1912 83 13. Cover of Läsebok för Folkskolan, by Olle Hjortzberg, 1911. 90 14. Nils Kreuger. Brunte hämtas på söndagsmorgonen, 1910. Educational poster. 97 15. Poster 10 in Handledning vid undervisningen i Hembygdskunskap Andra skolåret. Gottfrid L. Sjöholm and Axel Goës. 1920. 102 16. Illustration of “Fars och Mors dag”, by Elsa Beskow. In Elsa Beskow and Herman Siegvald Vill du läsa? Första skolåret. 1935. 106 17. Maj Lindman, F. Educational poster. 1946. 108 ! vii! 18. Elisabeth Schwerin, Jag är så glad att jag är svensk [I am so happy to be Swedish]. Educational poster 1950s. 109 19. Cover of Sverige! En Fakta- och Målarbok. Sara Bang Melchior and Kenneth Hamberg. 2013. 115 20. Cover of På Svenska! Svenska som främmande språk. Lärobok. Ulla Göransson, Annika Helander and Mai Parada. 2002. 115 21. Map of Småland. Grundskolans kartbok. 1981. 119 22. Reception. Lilla Sverigebyn. 124 23. Momors stuga (Grandma’s Cottage). Lilla Sverigebyn. 125 24. Hus Norrland. Lilla Sverigebyn. 125 25. Hus Götaland. Lilla Sverigebyn. 126 26. Friggebodar. Lilla Sverigebyn. 126 27. Children and animals on the road. Lilla Sverigebyn. 139 28. Jumping sack race and goat at Lilla Sverigebyn. 139 29. Midsummer celebration at Lilla Sverigebyn. 140 30. Children playing at Lilla Sverigebyn. 140 31. Cover of Några ord i egna-hems-saken. Alex Lagerman. 1906. 156 32. Cover of Svenska Varuhuset’s catalog. Fall/Winter 1923-24. 161 33. Cover of Svenska Varuhuset’s catalog. Summer 1924. 162 34. Så ska vi ha´t, 1927. 164 35. Advertisement for shoe polish “Viking Special,” with a high rise building in the background. 1948. 168 36. Advertisement for garden fence, with villas in the background. 1959. 168 ! viii! 37. Advertisement for “Jör” laundry detergent, with a high rise building in the background. 1965. 169 38. Advertisment for potatoes. ”Av potatis blir man varken tjock eller fattig” [Potatoes does neither make you fat nor poor] 1982. 172 39. Campaign picture for condoms/AIDS-delegation. 1990. 172 40. Commercial for Grumme Tvättsåpa. 1993. 174 41. Package of Scan’s Isterband. “Välkommen hem till svenska gårdar.” 180 42. Cat and cottage. Sverigedemokraterna’s campaign film 2006. 187 43. Old red cottage. Sverigedemokraterna’s campaign film 2006. 187 44. Campaign poster for Bondeförbundet 1924. “Rösta med bondeförbundet!” [Vote for the farmers party!] 194 45. Campaign poster for Allmäna Valmansförbundet 1920. “Främja ett fritt näringsliv och allmänt välstånd”. [Support a free economy and universal prosperity] 197 46. Campaign poster for Socialdemokratern 1960. “med socialdemokratin för 4 veckors semester” [With Socialdemocracy. For 4 Weeks of Vacation]. 202 47. Campaign poster for Folkpartiet 1973. “Mänskligare Miljö” [A more humane milieu]. 203 48. Campaign poster for Moderata Samlingspartiet 1973. “Höghus eller småhus? Det går att öka valfriheten – om bara viljan finns” [High rise or villa? Freedom of choice can be increased—if the willpower is there]. 204 49. Campaign poster for Vänsterpartiet 1991. [For peace. Against Militarism]. 205 50. Abandoned Cottage. Screenshot from Det nya landet. 2000. 222 51. Falu-car. Screenshot from Det nya landet. 2000. 225 52. The cottage, the Falu-car, and Ali. Screenshot from Det nya landet. 2000 228 ! ix! 53. Driving away from the pedophiles. Screenshot from Det nya landet. 2000. 231 54. Sara Medina. The moonhouse. 238 55. Sweden Hills, Hokkaido, Japan. 245 ! ! x! Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to thank the members of my committee. The comments and ideas given by Dell Upton and Arne Lunde considerably improved this dissertation. My deepest thanks to my graduate advisor and committee chair Timothy Tangherlini for always making time to discuss ideas, read drafts and making sure the espresso machine works. In addition to being an outstanding advisor Timothy is an incredible editor, and at times the only one who has been able to read my ”Swenglish.” I could not have done this without his sharp eyes, fruitful comments, and kind words. Above all, I would like to thank the Scandinavian Section at UCLA. The relaxed, welcoming attitude that permeates the section, and the friendliness of its faculty and students has made the office a home far away from home. Not only did they make the years at UCLA tremendously stimulating, but also enjoyable and fun. My time at UCLA would not have been as rewarding without my graduate peers. Besides fruitful conversations, their company gave me necessary breaks from writing. A special thanks to Kimberly La Palm who, besides being a supporting and honest colleague, also became one of my closest friends. Although busy with their own work, Kimberly, and Marcus Cederström at University of Wisconsin, Madison, made time to read and comment on several chapters of this dissertation. This dissertation would have been impossible to write without the support from friends and colleagues in Sweden. I am grateful for the friendship of Caroline Sturman. Besides listening to my rambling thoughts about the dissertation for hours, I often interrupted Caroline’s work with linguistic questions. Thanks to Ulf Palmenfelt, for convincing me to apply for graduate school and for always having a kind word and good advice up his sleeve, and to my ”academic mother” ! xi! Åsa Ljungström, who still has me under her wing.