N r mor eller far svikter – om tillit og tillitsrelasjoner i to norske ungdomsromaner

The aim of this article is to examine how relations of trust between parent and youngster are expressed in two Norwegian novels written for teenage audiences, namely Tidleg p v ren (“Early in Spring”) by Halldis Moren Vesaas (1949) and Bittet (“The Bite”) by Hilde Hagerup (2007). Using the theories of the Danish theologian and moral philosopher Knud E. L gstrup and the English sociologist Anthony Giddens, two analytic categories of trust and trust relations are established: spontaneous trust, which expresses a fundamental trust that is not concerned with utility values or risk, and reflexive trust, which takes into consideration utility and risk. An analysis of the novels based on these two categories shows that in both books trust relations between parent and child are seen as fundamental for human existence, much in accordance with the way they are presented in the works of Knud E. L gstrup.