Digital resources in the Social Sciences and Humanities OpenEdition Our platforms OpenEdition Books OpenEdition Journals Hypotheses Calenda Libraries OpenEdition Freemium Follow us

Standing out vs. standing still? Children, adults and Janteloven in Thorbjørn Egner’s book People and Robbers of Cardamon Town (Folk og røvere i Kardemomme by

Roxana-Ema Dreve

Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Email: dreveroxana(at)yahoo.com

Abstract
Janteloven is a set of ten detailed laws formulated in Aksel Sandemose’s book A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks. First intended as a satire of the Scandinavian mentality and of how individuals should integrate themselves in a group, this set of rules is nowadays a cultural phenomenon in Norway that influences not only adults, but also children. The aim of this article is to analyse Thorbjørn Egner’s book People and Robbers of Cardamon Town (Folk og røvere i Kardemomme by) -1955, focusing on what children’s behaviour could look like, according to the „Jante mentality”. We argue that the message presented in the book shows how children’s behaviour is influenced by adults’ expectations regarding modesty. The self-appreciation or self-depreciation of the children’s inner „I” is therefore related to the difference between standing out and standing still.

Full article: https://balticnordic.hypotheses.org/standing-out-vs-standing-still-children-adults-and-janteloven-in-thorbjorn-egners-book-people-and-robbers-of-cardamon-town-folk-og-rovere-i-kardemomme-by


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Silviu Miloiu (October 15, 2020). Standing out vs. standing still? Children, adults and Janteloven in Thorbjørn Egner’s book People and Robbers of Cardamon Town (Folk og røvere i Kardemomme by. Baltic&Nordic Studies. Retrieved November 6, 2025 from https://balticnordic.hypotheses.org/8473


You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.