Human Perceptions of Natural Spaces in Nils and Surfacing Amanda Abere College

Human relationships to space are perceived through memory, language, and emotional ties. Because Selma Lagerlöf’s Nils: The Wonderful Adventures of Nils and The Further Adventures of Nils Holgersson and Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing and both deal with non-human identifying protagonists, these methods of perception are questioned. The surfacer makes judgements based off the faults of humanity through denying her past experiences and emotional ties. Her struggle with language restricts her from actualizing and articulating them. Nils reconstructs his idea of nature after his adventures with the geese. He can communicate with animals and appreciate nature as a “thumbietot.” Even though these characters are physically or mentally non-human, their reliance or resistance of human perceptions, such as family, memory, and language, show that relationships to natural space matters.

Past experiences and relationships play important roles in configuring space. Both Nils and the surfacer have strained relationships with their parents, yet are closely intertwined with mothers. Nils runs away from his parents, but on his journey, he learns how much he really cares about them. The cow recalls memories of the old peasant woman, saying once her...