Introducing the Human Mind

To understand the value of oblivion is as essential as the remembrance itself 1 .

Although the act of forgetting is preconditioned in the human mind, the process

expropriates the person’s stories of the places they have been, and the memory

gets lost in the whirlwind of the fast-pace contemporary society. The desire for a

separate space to relax in, a space to disconnect, has long been used as a concept.

For instance, the Norwegian cabin is often defined as the antithesis of the every

day, encircled by rural environments. However, the continuous growth in

population and the present-day consumerism has caused an immense demand for

luxurious second homes, including an increase in their size of 54% 2 . The cabins have

therefore been a fundamental part of the modernisation of Norway, but some are

doomed to be left behind. Erling Dokk Holm stated that there are no akin to the

country’s quantity of second homes 3 . Furthermore, Ellen Rees, the author of

Cabins in Modern Norwegian Literature, argues that approximately half of the

Norwegian population owns a cabin or uses one on a periodic basis 4 .

The Norwegian word Hytte (eng. Cabin) possess the same origins as the English

verb Hide , suggesting its function and probable course of neglection. Forgotten

structures represent an ending to a former purpose, as well as a transition to a

potential prospective definition . They are an example of the oblivious human

mind, representing the lost anecdotes they once possessed. However, the tales

of these cabins are retold through the ones who have encountered them, and the

stories that echo from mouth to mouth, preserving their history until it is no longer

of value to be told.

1 Augé, M. Oblivion. 2004, 3. 2 Statistics Norway. 2019 3 Holm, E. D. Fra hytte til hjem. 2007. 4 Rees, E. Cabins in Modern Norwegian Litterature. 2014, 1.

This paper will be discussing remembrance of the forgotten cabins, concentrating

on how the past is reimagined through its remaining traces of history. Primary rese

arch was undertaken and is illustrated through the photographs included throug

hout and the stories told in Chapter Three. Building on the last chapter of the book

Oblivion by Marc Augé: ‘a duty to forget , the title of this paper aims to explore

the forgotten cabins ‘duty to exist’. The tales will stand as a representation of an

uncertain past and an imagined future, and the paper aim to establish roots of awa

reness amongst the readers that may flourish towards self-reflection.