Isak Dinesen’s subversion by tradition: animism, witches and storytelling in “The Deluge at Norderney”

Abstract

This article intends to investigate in what ways Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen’spseudonym and living character) employs certain features to invoke thememory of the European pagan traditions. Among them is animism,in which nature, specially the sea, has agency and intention, interfering with and manipulating the plot – reminding us of the animist ontologicalsystem that characterizes the pagan worldview. There is also storytelling,which is used to pass on knowledge among different generations in thesepopulations, and the constant presence of the witch figure. By employingthese elements in her writing, Dinesen creates a peculiar type of modernismthat subverts the laws of classical literary composition through the revivalof another kind of tradition that has been questioning and resisting the status quo for centuries.