Jul 26, 2008

The Sailor-Boy's Tale | Rites of Passage

In the following essay, the author discusses Dinesen’s story in terms of rites of passage.

Isak Dinesen’s ‘‘The Sailor-Boy’s Tale’’ is a coming-of-age story, told in the style of a fairy tale, in which a young man, Simon, must go through a rite of passage to make the transition from boyhood to manhood. This rite of passage involves the psychological themes of Eros (love) and of relationships with mother figures and father figures.

Simon’s transition into manhood is marked by a symbolic transition from homosocial to heterosexual encounters. The term ‘‘homosocial’’ refers to a situation in which members of the same sex are primarily inclined to socialize...