Solitary as an Oyster: Understanding Ephemeral Values on their Contemporary Society through the Curmudgeon Characters of Fedrick Backman’s Ove and Charles Dickens’ Scrooge

Abstract

This study is about analysing the curmudgeon personality of Ove and Scrooge and the reflection of their ephemeral values on their contemporary society, thereby highlighting the emotion of fatherhood as depicted by their characters. The study also focuses on the reasons that make these characters experience their self - inflicted loneliness. The two greying protagonists are featured in a humorous and heartwarming way. An emerging genre within this literature is the “geezer and grump lit”, as discussed by Swinnen (2019), a genre where older people are active protagonists, and while often portrayed as grumpy usually turn out to have a golden heart.

“Solitary as an Oyster”. This simile suggests the nature of a person who is tightly closed and will not open except by force. Like an oyster they don’t group. Charles Dickens uses this simile in his novel, A Christmas Carol in Stave-1. The author compares Ebenezer Scrooge to anoyster, saying that Scrooge was “Solitary as an oyster”. This comparison does not imply anything negative. Dickens uses this simile to highlight how Scrooge lived his life. On a similar platform, is the 59 year old widower and protagonist of Fredrick Backman’s A Man called Ove who bears so much resemblance. Ove is also grumpy, unfeeling and stoic is not necessarily a negative character in the story. Both Scrooge and Ove are curmudgeons in the society, the kind of people who point at people they dislike as if they were burglars caught outside their bedroom window. Both have staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse.