Copyright © by Den danske historiske Forening. SUMMARY: ANDREAS MARKLUND The Buck, the Fox & the Virtuous Lady (105:1, 125)
The article examines the metaphorical
imagery of the suffering maiden in domestic war
propaganda during the Great Northern War (1700-1721). The source
material is made up by ballads and royal decrees of Swedish and Danish origin,
primarily stemming from the winter of 1709-1710 when the Swedish province
of Scania (Skåne) served as the main theatre of war. Although the figure
of the maiden had a feminine exterior, the imagery was to all intents and
purposes a matter of masculinity. The texts were fashioned
by men primarily addressing other men. And the
suffering maiden belonged to a larger metaphorical
repertoire that served to render meaning and legitimacy to the war
in general and male soldiering in particular. By deconstructing the maiden
and associated images, the analysis aims to expose the
contemporaneous myths of manliness exploited by the
propaganda makers. During the war in Scania, Swedish
propaganda depicted the whole province as well as individual towns in the
form of virtuous yet endangered ladies. These metaphorical women fulfilled
two important objectives. To begin with, the imagery aimed
at a disreputable portrayal of the Danish enemy
through the manliness of the rival prince. The references
to helpless women and the associated language of rape made Frederic IV
and his military commanders into ugly examples of a debauched and dishonourable
masculinity. In the case of Scania, these treacherous forms of masculinity
were epitomised by the figure of the fox (räv): a linguistic pun on
the name of the Danish commander-in-chief - Christian Reventlow - and
a popular metaphor for people with ominous intentions.
Secondly, the maiden's agony functioned as a call
to manly deeds. Her cries were crafted to stir up aggressive
and combative forms of manliness amongst the king's subjects. Also in
this regard, the propaganda makers made use of various animal metaphors. For
instance, the lady of Scania prompted her defenders to fight as he-goats or
bucks (bockar)- a Biblical metaphor for force and authority as well as a
reference to the prominent Swedish general Magnus Stenbock.
Through this carefully gendered imagery, the
propaganda addressed the »common man« in his
capacity as husband or husband-in-waiting. It played upon the duty of the
Lutheran husband to guarantee and if necessary die for the
safety and wellbeing of wife and children. Close
links were thus construed between marital and
martial manliness. And the mythical notion of male sacrifice for endangered
femininity was elevated as the very essence of
masculinity. Thereby, the imagery of the suffering
maiden contributed to a male ideal based on furious violence
and martial sacrifice. During the Great Northern War, death on the battlefield
was made to appear as the highest form of manliness any loyal subject
ever could achieve. |