Journal Issues 6 (2025) Begär mellan män: En queerläsning av den erotiska triangeln i Viktor Rydbergs Singoalla Begär mellan män: En queerläsning av den erotiska triangeln i Viktor Rydbergs Singoalla
Desire between Men: A Queer Reading of the Erotic Triangle in Viktor Rydbergs Singoalla

Summary/Abstract: This analysis of Viktor Rydberg’s Singoalla uses Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s theory of male homosocial desire to highlight how the homoerotic tension between Erland and Assim is expressed through a triangular structure, with Singoalla functioning as the heteroerotic link that initially mediates their bond. Key textual signals – such as narrative shift, affective transfer, bodily substitution, and rhetorical or thematic parallels – reveal homoeroticism embedded within the novel’s homosocial and violent scenes. As desire circulates through this triangle, Erland’s violent fantasies and physical conflicts with Assim blur the lines between aggression and eroticism, showing that homoerotic desire is socially mediated through violence. The study argues that heteroeroticism and homoeroticism coexist in a dynamic interplay, with desire shifting but maintaining its intensity. Assim thus emerges as a crucial figure in understanding this circulation of desire, challenging earlier research that has often marginalized him or overlooked his relationship with Erland.

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