Devils, Serpents, Zebras: Metaphors of Illness in Contemporary Swedish Literature on Eating Disorders

In English The present paper explores the metaphors of illness in Swedish narratives on eating disorders, published between 1987 and 2005. The authors use the metaphors of powerful beings such as serpents or devils to name their illness, and these metaphors can be analysed as being part of the master metaphors of battle, territory and intruders. This paper discusses the metaphors used to envision the flesh and the self, as well as three important “intruders”: compulsive starvation, food, and the urge to eat.