'There is a trace of you in the air of that room'*: Practices of coping with separation from friends in late-19th-century Finland




Kaartinen Marjo, Vuoksenranta Miira

Katie Barclay, Elaine Chalus, Deborah Simonton

PublisherTaylor and Francis Inc.

2023

The Routledge History of Loneliness

The Routledge History of Loneliness

978-0-367-35508-1

978-0-429-33184-8

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4324/9780429331848-31

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429331848-31/trace-air-room-marjo-kaartinen-miira-vuoksenranta

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2023031632164



This chapter delves into the ways remembering an absent friend served as a method of coping with separation. Practices of remembering can be teased out through close reading of correspondence. In their letters, friends often used episodic memory as means to alleviate the pain of separation. Remembering was a practice of mediated contacts. For example, a present or a photograph received from the longed-for friend could be used to remember the absent friend. Any object or an act could be used as a way of remembrance. This chapter draws from the correspondences of several Finnish women. All were self-supporting, and most worked as teachers. Most friendships discussed in this chapter were formed during early schooling or in teacher seminaries.



Last updated on 2025-27-06 at 15:06