Sjukdom, litteratur och värde

Mottagandet av samtida sjukdomsberättelser om cancer

Abstract

Illness, Literature, and Value: The Reception of Contemporary Illness Narratives About Cancer

This article examines how contemporary autobiographical illness narratives about cancer are received and valued in Swedish literary criticism. Drawing on a discourse analysis of 75 newspaper reviews published over the past decade, it explores the norms, expectations, and evaluative strategies that guide critics’ responses to such works, particularly those written by established authors.

The analysis is informed by Barbara Herrnstein Smith’s theory of value as a negotiated and dynamic process. Four interrelated value categories—stylistic and formal value, knowledge value, emotional value, and social value—are used to trace how critics articulate and combine different forms of literary worth. These values rarely appear in isolation; rather, they form “chains of value” where one dimension supports or enables another.

The study reveals a recurring tension in the reviews: while critics often express skepticism toward the illness narrative genre as a whole, they simultaneously celebrate individual works that are perceived to transcend its presumed limitations. Emotional intensity, narrative authenticity, and existential insight are commonly praised, but only when accompanied by stylistic refinement. Gendered patterns also emerge. Women’s narratives are often valued for their emotional rawness and political resonance, while men’s narratives are praised for their intellectual reflection and emotional restraint.

In conclusion, the article argues that Swedish literary criticism oscillates between suspicious and reparative modes of reading, ultimately revealing broader cultural assumptions about literature, illness, and value. By mapping these critical negotiations, the study sheds new light on the cultural positioning of illness narratives and the conditions under which they are granted cultural and literary legitimacy.