This paper analyzes the narratively depicted character called “hemvändare” in Swedish
and asks the question: in what way can the “hemvändare” as it is depicted in the
Swedish television channels Sveriges Television be identified? The analysis is based on
three television shows produced for the Swedish Public Service. The shows are Hem till
Byn, Skärgårdsdoktorn and Möbelhandlarens Dotter, all three are based on fiction.
The examination of this character through the lens of the Public Service and how
society’s view of Sweden’s rural areas has affected it is the summation of the papers
meaning. This is achieved through qualitative methods, as well with elements of
cultural and social historical perspectives.
The term “hemvändare” in this text will be defined as a character who returns to the
rural area in which the character grew up in, or had a previously strong connection to,
after a move or a long trip away from there. The analysis is accomplished through
examining the connotative meanings in the pictures through which they are depicted,
inspecting how the media channels they are communicated through affect the end result,
studying how the hegemonic ideal of masculinity has an influence on the character,
examining what the “hemvändare” actually returns to, and finally ask what this
narrative trend says about how Swedish society really feels about is rural origins.
The result achieved tells that the “hemvändare” is seen as someone deviant by those
who stayed in the rural area. The community the character returns to is in all of the
examined series always a rural one with differently respected cultural statuses. In the
end however the goal of the analyzed character is to no longer be a “hemvändare”.