Empowering Transformations

Book excerpt: Norwegian author Alf Prøysen’s feisty little old Mrs Pepperpot appeared for the first time in print in 1955. Translated into well over twenty languages, the now classic Mrs Pepperpot stories have, so far, received surprisingly little critical attention. Empowering Transformations: Mrs Pepperpot Revisited fills that long over-due gap by providing a range of essays written by experts in the field. The volume explores Prøysen’s heroine in dialogue with recent theorising in order to broaden and deepen the understanding of her enduring popularity. The study introduces Prøysen’s works and career to an international readership, but also delves deeper into the Mrs Pepperpot phenomenon. Her character is analysed in view of metamorphosis, power, gender, and queer theory, and the stories’ ethical impact is assessed through the use of cognitive literary theory. Mrs Pepperpot’s many transformations into other media (illustration, sculpture, radio, TV, and Advent Calendar) are also considered, as well as her relations to nature, animals and technology, which are approached eco- and techno-critically. The volume appeals to an academic readership interested in literature, children’s literature, media studies, cultural studies and Scandinavian studies, as well as the general public celebrating Prøysen’s 100th anniversary in 2014.