Vetenskapsmannen i Strindbergs "Inferno" : Utkast till porträtt i helfigur

A highly complex and multifarious work, the question of genre status has been central to many discussions of August Strindberg’s Inferno (1897). By focusing on the portrayal of the scientist-protagonist, this article investigates the novel as representative of the category ‘lab literature’, i.e. fiction depicting realistic scientific practice and scientists in a realistic world. I see the central character as composed of several of the stereotypical representations of literary scientists outlined by Roslynn D. Haynes in her seminal work From Faust to Strangelove. Representations of the Scientist in Western Literature (1994). The multifaceted characterization of Strindberg’s protagonist displays traits of ‘the inhuman researcher’ willing to give up love and affection in the name of science, ‘the evil alchemist’ comparable to a black magician, the arrogant ‘Dr Faustus’ who defies Christianity and is punished for this act of hubris, as well as ‘the immoral scientist’ wishing to use his scientific knowledge to gain money and fame. Haynes’ articulated grid of prototypes adds depth to a literary figure often read as a self-portrait of the author and helps unveil the nuanced portrayal of the scientist in Inferno.