Function as identity

Function as identity is the conviction that a person is defined not only by what they say but by what they do and can do. In Ove’s life, practical usefulness is both a source of dignity and a defense against dependence; after Sonja’s death, repairing other people’s houses gives his competence a new reason to belong in the world.

Work, Selfhood, and Dignity

Ove believes that “People need a function.” He has always been functional, and regards that fact as something nobody can take away from him. The belief makes practical ability more than a skill: it is a foundation for his identity, grounded in knowing how to act, solve problems, and manage without relying on someone else.

Sonja’s account of men like Ove and Rune places that outlook in a generational context. They want a home, a quiet street, a faithful partner, a proper job, and things that break often enough to be mended. To them, dignity means having learned to manage alone while growing up and retaining control as adults. Knowing which road to take and how to screw in a screw belong to the same code of self-respect: competence is proof of independence.

Competence as a Form of Care

Ove’s practical identity also shapes how he responds when Sonja is threatened by officials. He fights the men in white shirts through documents, letters to newspapers, and appeals, and presses the case down to the concrete need for an access ramp at her school. His anger takes the form of action: he can oppose what is being done to her by making objections, pursuing remedies, and insisting on practical changes. Sonja understands that he needs labels for his nameless anger; in the end, he holds those officials personally responsible for what happened to her and to their child.

This usefulness is not limited to formal disputes. As more houses are built nearby, residents come to Ove with problems they cannot solve, including joists over partition walls. He goes to inspect them, muttering about their incompetence, and then continues helping: within a few months he has repaired this and that in almost every house within four streets. His grumbling remains part of the encounter, but so does the repeated fact that people need his knowledge and he gives it to them.

A New Use for an Old Function

At Sonja’s grave, Ove admits, “Sometimes it can be quite nice having something to get on with in the daytime.” The remark marks a shift in the meaning of function. His ability to fix things has not changed, but the work now draws him into the days and homes of neighbors rather than serving only as evidence that he can manage by himself. The admission is modest, and its contrast with his habitual complaints gives it weight: usefulness has become a reason to continue engaging with the world.

Narrative Significance

The idea links Ove’s pride in self-sufficiency with the practical help through which he becomes part of a wider community. His skill is neither an abstract virtue nor a sudden transformation; it is exercised in specific tasks, from navigating appeals on Sonja’s behalf to fixing houses for people nearby. The later work does not erase his rigidity or his standards for competence. Instead, it gives his established way of being useful a new social life, showing how a function once tied to independence can also create connection.