A másság keltette zavarpillanatok elemzése Pirkko Saisio Legkisebb közös többszörös című regényében
Moments of Disorientation Caused by Otherness in Pirkko Saisio’s Novel The Least Common Multiple

Summary/Abstract: This study analyses the representation of alterity and gender identity in Pirkko Saisio’s novel The Least Common Multiple, the first volume of the author’s Helsinki trilogy. Situating the narrative within the social and political context of Finland in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the article examines how the text portrays experiences of difference in relation to sexuality, gender roles, and ideological belonging. Particular attention is devoted to the novel’s narrative techniques, including the alternation between first- and third-person narration and the resulting “bilingual” narrative structure that allows the protagonist to observe her childhood self from a reflective distance. Through close readings of key scenes – such as those involving clothing, childhood memories, and family interactions – the study demonstrates how moments of confusion or disorientation destabilise rigid gender binaries and social expectations. The analysis argues that Saisio’s novel foregrounds a form of alterity that exceeds conventional social categories and reveals the limitations of normative frameworks in mid-twentieth-century Finnish society.

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