Skogen och kojan som manliga frizoner

Abstract

In this article I have investigated what meaning the forest, but above all the forest hut, has as a male place of sanctuary. It became clear that he hut should be built according to traditional rules and be equpped in a special way in order to serve as a place of refuge for someone who wants to experience both independence and nostalgia. Within the hut one also finds traditional and preserved masculinities. Despite many different behaviours and actions becoming legitimate in the remote milieu of the hut, there is still a limit to what the local culture considers permissible. To move permanently tot he hut is the equivalent to bereaving oneself of the masculinity one must present in society in order to be a proper and sound man.