<i>Taklagsöl</i> di August Strindberg e <i>En kakelsättares eftermiddag</i> di Lars Gustafsson Edifici in costruzione e identità in decostruzione

According to some philosophers (e.g. Leibniz), the human mind works as an architect and represents itself in architectural forms. Memory is depicted in ancient mnemotechnics as a building divided into multitudes of rooms, halls, bedrooms, and closets. This contribution aims to highlight the connections between architecture and psyche in Taklagsöl by August Strindberg and in En kakelsättares eftermiddag by Lars Gustafsson, an author who always has the Strindbergian lesson in mind. Strindberg’s interiors open up onto near and distant perspectives, such as Taklagsöl ’s curator’s bedroom, which projects outside, onto a mysterious building under construction. It represents a mythical and timeless dimension, while the protagonist’s identity falls apart in a half-sleep full of hallucinations. The tiler in En kakelsättares eftermiddag by Gustafsson brings building materials into an empty house, where mysterious presences hover, without knowing who he is working for. As in Strindberg, Gustafsson’s building is fragile and lets hypnotic flows pass through its walls.