Tilknytning og løsrivelse i Karl Ove Knausgårds Om våren

Abstract

Karl Abstract This article reads Karl Ove Knausgård’s novel Spring (2016) in a dialogue with attachment theory , the most influential theory within contemporary child psychology and couples therapy. After a short presentation of attachment theory, I discuss how Knausgård stylistically anchors the question of attachment. I then show how the narrator describes the dynamic between two processes: attachment to his newly born daughter, and detachment from his wife. I argue that the book partly adheres to attachment theory, and partly conducts a freer and less predictable literary exploration of affective bonds. Not only does the novel describe various forms of attachment and detachment, it also points to how attachment and “blind forces of growth” operate beyond the scope of attachment theory. On those occasions when Knausgård’s formulations point in the direction of new materialism, this is indicative of how the novel describes both the relevance and limitations of attachment theory. The article discusses how psychology and literature can supple-ment each other to enlighten psychological issues.