Lära sig lycka

1930-talets lyckorådgivning — från Husmodern till Bertrand Russell

Abstract

You can learn to be happy — just as well as you can learn to think logically or take care of a home, young authress, miss Tyra Hagström declares in February 1935. The article deals with statements like this, characteristic examples of the firm conviction that happiness is something accessible to all and possible if only the right actions are taken. The notion of happiness is quite problematic, and no one ever really manages to put into words a comprehensive definition of its essence. Paradoxically enough, the interwar years hold many notions of how to reach happiness. They include an emphasis on exercise and bodily movement, proclaiming the benefits of fresh air and marching. But they also show how a movement within the self, into the unconscious, was perceived to be a way to happiness and away from the evil of egocentricity and self-pity.