Susanne Ådahl GOOD LIVES, HIDDEN MISERIES An Ethnography of Uncertainty in a Finnish Village Academic Dissertation to be publicly discussed, by due permission of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki, In Auditorium XIII in the Main Building, on the 2nd of February, 2007 at 12 pm Research Reports no. 250, Department of Sociology 1 Copyright: Susanne Ådahl 2007, all photographs by author. Cover & Layout: Teemu Matinpuro Printed in Helsinki University Printing House, Helsinki 2007 ISBN 978-952-10-3672-9 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-10-3673-6 (PDF) Helsingin yliopiston sosiologian laitoksen tutkimuksia ISSN 0438-9948 2 CONTENTS ABSTRACT 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 9 1. SOCIAL CHANGE IN A FINNISH VILLAGE 13 CHANGE IN A RURAL SETTING 16 STUDYING SOCIAL CHANGE IN MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 17 Suff ering and uncertainty 17 Communicating illness 20 PLACING THE STUDY 22 AIMS 24 2. DOING ETHNOGRAPHY 27 THE ANTHROPOLOGIST AS RESEARCH INSTRUMENT 28 ENTERING FAMILY AND VILLAGE LIFE 33 Rapport: Access through manual work 34 Life on a stage: the visibility of work 35 Roles: “Adopted” daughter, wife’s accomplice, “horse girl” 36 COLLECTING DATA 38 Starting out 39 Focus on farmers 39 T e study village 41 Events and other data 43 ANALYSIS OF DATA 43 TERMS 44 ETHICS 44 A FINN DOING FIELDWORK AMONG FINNS 45 Anthropology in a familiar place 45 Speaking two languages 47 A beginner among farmers 47 DOING IT DIFFERENTLY 49 3. UNCERTAINTY AND SUFFERING IN ANTHROPOLOGY: 51 – A THEORETICAL DISCUSSION BOURDIEU AND ORDINARY SUFFERING 53 MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON SUFFERING 57 THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SUFFERING 58 UNCERTAINTY IN MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 60 AGENCY 62 SUFFERING AND CREATIVE AGENCY 64 MEANINGFUL AND FRAGMENTING SUFFERING 66 HOW TO STUDY SUFFERING 68 Seeing suff ering 69 Metaphors and narratives 72 3 4. FARMING IN FINLAND 75 FARMING IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD 78 HISTORY OF FARMING ON KOPPARS 82 FARMING TODAY ON KOPPARS 88 New masters 91 A new way of working 93 Inspection of farms 98 5. PEOPLE OF KOPPARS 103 Forefathers and local heroes 105 Farmers, workers and sailors 105 Language diff erences 109 Locals and others 109 6. CONTINUITY AND WHOLENESS 121 CONTINUITY 123 Keep on working 124 Skills passed on 127 Deciding your future 129 Staying on the land 130 WHOLENESS 131 Good food 133 Strong bodies 135 Minimalistic, mundane pleasures 137 A PLACE CALLED HOME 138 Neat is good 140 A safe haven 141 Tools, trotters, tractors, televisions 142 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION 143 7. FRAGMENTATION OF WHOLENESS 151 MODERN LIFE PULLS US APART 153 Loneliness and dark villages 153 Broken farms, broken farmers 156 Families changing 158 More work, less play 160 BROKEN LIFELINES 163 Violence and death 165 Talking and silence on misfortune 168 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION 170 4 8. CANCER: CONCEALED DISTRESS 173 TALKING CANCER ON KOPPARS 175 EVERYDAY THEORIES AND METAPHORS OF CANCER 177 T e “it” of cancer 178 Grounded in work and farming 181 LOCATIONS AND STRATEGIES 184 Rooted in place 185 Concealed and silenced 188 AVOIDING DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES 189 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION 191 9. ENGAGING WITH UNCERTAINTY 197 HOPE AND DISTRESS 198 BELIEF IN FARMING 200 WE ARE A COMMUNITY 207 RECLAIMING THE BODY 211 Lack of trust 215 Purifi cation and Control 217 Salvation 218 ALTERNATIVE ARENAS OF CONTROL 219 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION 222 10. GOOD LIVES, HIDDEN MISERIES 225 SOCIAL CHANGE 225 A GOOD, SENSIBLE LIFE 229 AGENTS AS CHANGE MAKERS 230 DEALING WITH SUFFERING 233 EAST-WEST DIFFERENCES 235 ENGAGEMENT AT HOME 236 BIBLIOGRAPHY 239 5 6 ABSTRACT T is is an ethnographic study, in the fi eld of medical anthropology, of village life among farmers in south west Finland. It is based on 12 months of fi eld work conducted 2002-2003 in a coastal village. T e study discusses how social and cultural change aff ects the life of farmers, how they experience it and how they act in order to deal with the it. Using social suff ering as a methodological approach the study seeks to investigate how change is related to lived experiences, idioms of distress, and narratives. Its aim has been to draw a locally specifi c picture of what matters are at stake in the local moral world that these farmers inhabit, and how they emerge as creative actors within it. A central assumption made about change is that it is two-fold; both a constructive force which gives birth to something new, and also a process that brings about uncertainty regarding the future. Uncertainty is understood as an existential condition of human life that demands a response, both causing suff ering and transforming it. T e possibility for positive outcomes in the future enables one to understand this ”small suff ering” of everyday life both as a consequence of social change, which fragments and destroys, and as an answer to it - as something that is positively meaningful. Suff ering is seen to engage individuals to ensure continuity, in spite of the odds, and to sustain hope regarding the future. When the fi eldwork was initiated Finland had been a member of the European Union for seven years and farmers felt it had substantially impacted on their working conditions. T ey complained about the restrictions placed on their autonomy and that their knowledge was neither recognised, nor respected by the bureaucrats of the EU system. New regulations require them to work in a manner that is morally unacceptable to them and fi nancial insecurity has become more prominent. All these changes indicate the potential loss of the home and of the ability to ensure continuity of the family farm. Although the study initially focused on getting a general picture of working conditions and the nature of farming life, during the course of the fi eldwork there was repeated mention of a perceived high prevalence of cancer in the area. T is ”cancer talk” is replete with metaphors that reveal cultural meanings tied to the farming life and the core values of autonomy, endurance and permanence. It also forms the basis of a shared identity and a means of delivering a moral message about the fragmentation of the good life; the loss of control; and the invasion of the foreign. T is thesis formed part of the research project “Expressions of Suff ering. Ethnographies of Illness Experiences in Contemporary Finnish Contexts” funded by the Academy of Finland. It opens up a vital perspective on the multiplicity and variety of the experience of suff ering and that it is particularly through the use of the ethnographic method that these experiences can be brought to light. Keywords: suff ering, uncertainty, phenomenology, habitus, agency, cancer, farming 7 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Throughout the many years (2001-2006) of conducting research and writing up this thesis I have received support, guidance and encouragement from numerous people. Below I acknowledge these people for their valuable input to this process. Supervisors and advisors My principal supervisor, Marja-Liisa Honkasalo, Docent of the University of Helsinki, and guest professor of the University of Linköping and the University of Oslo has guided me through the adventurous journey of research and writing as an invaluable mentor, friend and philosophical guide. Words simply cannot express the gratitude I feel and the respect I have for her academic wisdom. Her input has been miles beyond the call of duty. She has spent countless hours reading and commenting on the different thesis chapters in spite of a very busy schedule and many other work tasks to tend to. I also express my gratefulness to the Department of Social and Cultural anthropology, professors Jukka Siikala and Karen Armstrong for providing me a place to work at the department and for other assistance extended during my years at the department. I equally thank the Director of the Department of Sociology, Professor Kari Pitkänen for the support and advice provided. Pre-examiners Professor Els van Dongen of the Medical Anthropology Unit of the University of Amsterdam and Docent Galina Lindqvist at the Department of Social Anthropology of the University of Stockholm also deserve special mention. The time they have spent reading through the thesis and commenting it has been useful and encouraging. Informants The research would not have been possible without the information, time and co-operation of the people of Koppars and particularly the villagers of Norrås. I am deeply indebted to them for sharing their joys, sorrows and future hopes with me during the year long period I lived with them. Many informants, both in Norrås and in other villages were excellent storytellers who willing shared information about their lives with me. A special place in my heart is reserved for “my family” in the fi eld, “Arja” and “Rainer,” who broad-mindedly accepted me into their home and shared their everyday life with me. Not once did I feel unwelcome in their home. They will continue to have a very central place in my life. Also their daughter “Marjukka” is a close friend who provided me a home away from my village home and an interesting outsider’s perspective on life in Norrås. 9 Colleagues and friends My research has been greatly enriched by discussions on terms and theories within the project group meetings of the project “Expressions of Suffering. Ethnographies of Illness Experiences in Contemporary Finnish Contexts” that my research formed part of. Project meetings were highly enjoyable, cosy and intellectually challenging events. I thank all of my wonderful colleagues within the group; Marja-Liisa Honkasalo, Terhi Utriainen, Juha Soivio, Marja Tiilikainen, Salome Tuomaala, Vilma Hänninen, Senni Timonen and Annika Lillrank. I particularly want to acknowledge my colleague and room-mate Juha Soivio who has patiently listened to my complaints, sorrows, frustrations, but also moments of joy and revelation fi rst in Topelia and then in our attic room on Vironkatu. He always managed to cheer me up and encourage me with his humour and positive words as well as his intellectual insights. The homely and friendly atmosphere in Vironkatu made it a pleasure to go to work each day. My Vironkatu colleagues gave me a lot of sound advice and happy moments around the coffee room table. Valuable editing support has been given by Kathleen Oldham and Mark Maher. Kathleen is one of the people, other than my tutor and myself who is truly familiar with the text of this thesis. She enthusiastically always asked for more text and really boosted my ego at a time when I was in doubt about the general interest of the thesis. Numerous friends have posed questions about my research and in this way helped me formulate my thoughts and transform abstract academic knowledge into everyday language. Nutritious and entertaining lunches and evening meals, as well as moral support, has been provided during or after busy working days by my dear friends Barbro Björkfelt and Johanna Sarjas. Funders I want to thank the numerous funders who have provided fi nancial support to this thesis; Helsingin sanomain 100-vuotissäätiö, Academy of Finland, Svenska kulturfonden (Lydia, Otto och Gretel Axelins stipendiefond), Oscar Öfl unds stiftelse, Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland, Waldemar von Frenckells stiftelse, University of Helsinki, and the Chancellors offi ce of the University of Helsinki. Family My partner Teemu Matinpuro has patiently and lovingly supported me throughout the research process. He was a voice of reason and reassurance during the numerous telephone conversations we had while I was in the fi eld and also a frequent visitor in my village home. I also thank him for completing 10