The aim of this thesis is to explore how the characters in the novel Blackwater by Kerstin Ekman are portrayed through a definition of life stances and outlooks on the human condition. The thesis uses a method of close-reading and interpretation of the novel through three analytical questions related to the aim of the thesis.
Annie Raft and Johan Brandberg are two of the main characters that both live in the surroundings of the small town Blackwater, in a mighty forest in the midst of nature when something awful happens. They are both fighting against different leaders and destructive relationships, and are both in search of their freedom - in that search they find symbols that aid them. Annie finds old documents from people who lived where she now lives, and these remnants of their life help her in her struggle against the leader of their commune that she so dislikes. Johan, thrown down a well, encounters an eel which, as a fellow prisoner, gives him perspectives that help him through many difficult events.
The thesis finds that Annie's and Johan's different outlooks on the human condition and their different life stances help them along the way through different scenarios, and that the things that happens to them can be compared to biblical scenarios. Jesus questioning the Pharisees as a parallell of struggle with leadership, and Josef of the Old Testament thrown down a well as an obvious parallell of Johan suffering the same fate. Some of the existential questions that Annie and Johan encounter are loneliness, fear and, through the help of the encountered symbols, freedom.