Of Monsters and Men. The Search for the Human in P.O. Enquist’s «Nedstörtad ängel»

Abstract

The issue of what a human being is, often connected to a more specific issue regarding the author’s own personal identity, frequently recurs in Per Olov Enquist’s oeuvre. However, the work where it is most clearly stated and amply dealt with is Nedstörtad ängel (1985), a short but dense novel with a complex structure. Drawing on contributions from Body and Disability Studies, this article analyses how the theme of human nature is handled in the novel through the lens of the human body.