Landscape, identity and literature

Abstract

Summary The article discusses the landscape as initially being part and parcel of God's creation, and also territory within boundaries defined by law. This subsequently led to the development of a national identity firmly rooted in the soil. The author regards the functions of the national landscape as providing a common unity to people and place, promoting their common origin, and finally naturalizing both unity and origin. Special reference is made to Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa and Winter's Tales as furnishing examples of the meaning of the landscape, and the meaning in the landscape. Structures in the landscape such as the social structure, the sexual structure and the structure of symbolic values are scrutinized. In conclusion, the author poses the question as to whether a national identity is indeed possible without a national landscape.

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