Vägen till den grönare sidan leder över forsen : En tematisk analys av destruktivitet och strävan efter konstnärskap i August Strindbergs Röda rummet

The aim of the essay is to analyze destructivity and the aspiration of artistry in August Strindberg´s debut novel Röda rummet. By the method of close reading the thematic analysis is performed. The method is also based on an hermeneutic way of looking at literature. A historical context is adapted and the characters are compared to historical descriptions of artists such as bohemians, decadents and dandys. The artists of the novel prove to be, like the bohemians of the 19th century, standing outside and against society, although the presence of relations and cultural exchange seem to be just as important. There is also an ambivalence to be found in their relationship with the city and it´s lifestyle. The question at issue is how the development of the characters´ artistry come about, and in what ways the characters are influenced. The essay focuses on the downward heading movement that leads the characters from positions of elevated status to alienation, to poverty, to drunkenness, bitterness, death, madness or reversion to the upper or middleclass. The thesis of the essay and the initial interpretation is that the aspirations of artistry lead the characters into a destructive way of living. Although the analysis shows that it is rather the society and its conventions, and the artists dependence on the bourgeoisie to purchase the art, that creates the destructive pattern