Krise, kærlighed og katastrofe. Den knap så opbyggelige rejses erotik i Jan Sonnergaards roman Frysende våde vejbaner

Abstract

In Jan Sonnergaard’s novel Frysende våde vejbaner (2015) the interconnection between travelling and eroticism constitutes a crucial element of the text’s structure. On his journey the novel’s main protagonist, Jesper, a middle-aged man, experiences liberation and relief from his everyday frustrations through erotic indulgence. The journey, the indulgence as well as the erotic love are capable of healing Jesper from his severe existential crisis. Nevertheless, Jesper is heading towards disaster, as his new life eventually turns out to be based on his girlfriend’s well-thought-out lies and her deception. Consequently, Jesper’s regained optimism falls apart again.

From a narrative point-of-view the article focuses on, how the aspects of travelling and erotic love are interconnected. The obsersations regarding the implications of eroticism in the novel are primarily based on Plato’s discussions of eros (vs. logos), as presented by the Greek philosopher in his Symposion. Furthermore, the significance of the space defined by travel for the experience of eroticism is examined. A number of significant contrasts inherent in the novel (logos and eros, home and abroad, the private and the public space) is also made part of the close-reading-analysis.