Inhabiting oneself: a reading of Nora Dåsnes's graphic novel Cross My Heart and Hope to Die

Abstract

In this article, we take an analytical look at Nora Dåsnes's graphic novel Cross My Heart and Hope to Die, originally published as Ti kniver i hjertet (2020). Through the analysis, we investigate how the modes of expression in the novel presents the theme of identity to young readers. The graphic novel's various verbal and visual expressions are discussed, as well as its thematic aspects. The analysis uses picture book theory, cartoon theory, social semiotic theory and perspectives on identity formation. The reading is an attempt to shed light on how the various modes of expression in Dåsnes's novel form part of and constitute a unified narrative, an identity narrative in which friendship, falling in love and conflicts relate to each other, and in which Tuva's diary becomes a home for her thoughts, somewhere identity formation can take place. As we see it, there is a close connection in Dåsnes's novel between form and content. The graphic novel both shows and tells its story. This means that the form is the content and the content is the form.