The aim of this thesis study is to examine questions regarding truth in fiction, the term literarytruth. The study is based on the two works of fiction, Märit by Ing-Marie Eriksson (1965) and Eufori by Elin Cullhed (2021). Märit and Eufori both enable interesting approaches to thequestion of truth in fictional literature from different perspectives. Märit, being the only bookin Sweden to be sentenced for defamation, and Eufori being a fictive story about the historicalperson Sylvia Plath. The research questions will be explored through the theory of the readers'contract and the term faction and be discussed in a wider perspective regarding both readingand writing.
We can claim to write truth, we can claim to write untruth. We can seek inspiration for ourcharacters both from within and without. But literary truth is not only found in the text itself. Itis also about paratexts, media presence and the author's own statements about the novel. It is onthis basis that the author's intention is visible, and the reader's contract is established. Literarytruth can thus be found both inside and outside the text.