Was Eli always Elias?

[Klesk]

And yet from the Narrator of Hakan’s own thoughts:
But since all this with Oskar had started something had changed. A ... regression. Eli had started to behave more and more like the child her appearance gave her out to be; had started to move her body in a loose-limbed and careless way, use childish expressions, words. Wanted to play. Hide the Key. A few nights ago they had played Hide the Key. Eli had become angry when Hakan had not showed the necessary enthusiasm for the game, then tried to tickle him to get him to laugh. He had relished Eli's touch. It was attractive, naturally. This joy, this . . . life. But also frightening, since it was something so foreign to him. He was both hornier and more scared than he had ever been since meeting her.

This could maybe a translation mistake.
In the german translation Hakan refers to Eli as his beloved. The translator uses the male term for this.

By the way, in my point of view it makes more sense to ask: Was Elias always Eli (female)?
I think what a child wants most in Oscar's situation is a friend and not a girlfriend. Oscar longs almost for a male psychological parent.

[PeteMork]

Was Eli always Elias? Yes
As a result of JAL's fascinating and detailed post in his new thread About Eli´s gender I declare this thread officially closed. I've never been more happy to admit I was wrong -- indeed it appears I got it backwards: Gender first, love second.

[drakkar]

Just to fill in a bit information from a different angle:
(Oskar/John lived in Ibsengatan 73)

[Klesk]

Just to fill in a bit information from a different angle:
(Oskar lives in Ibsengatan 73)

This was my first thought when i noticed this street name in google maps: Ah, that is why Eli's name is Elias.
But I do not know if it is correct.

[babyboi102909]

I think Eli's gender is male throughout the entire book, regardless of the mannerisms or anything else. Gender is fluid. Everyone exhibits both male and female traits at times. I am a STRONG advocate for self expression---whether it be gender expression or otherwise. Eli is Eli---simple as that. Women are not always blubbering and over-emotional. As i said, Eli/Elias was ALWAYS biologically male. However, i believe Eli is transgender. I hope the tone of this post doesn't offend anyone. I think Eli's gender is an interesting think to discuss, but when one veers into assigning a sex to actions/mannerisms, that's a bit of a touchy thing for me bc I am transgender. I am an FTM, in other words, I am a female to male transperson. Getting back on the subject, i also know that JAL intended Eli?Elias to be male was bc he said we THINK Eli is a girl for most a the book. I personally do not think he would have said said that if he changed his mind at the last minute. I also want to say that there is NO definitive way to be a boy and NO definitive way to be a boy. There a re also MANY in-between genders.

[intrige]

As many times as I've reread parts of the book, I still can't shake the feeling that JAL made the decision to make Eli a boy AFTER he had written a significant portion of the book. In other words, at some point in the process, he may have changed his mind about the direction their relationship was going. I'm not sure why, although I do have a few ideas, but something about the way his 'narrator' described Eli and 'her' relationship with Oskar changed in odd ways after 'Elias' appeared on the scene. Anyone else have this feeling?

JAL have written in a post here on this site "about Eli's gender" or something like that. He decited that Eli was to be a boy from the start. And it was going to be something about that boy that put Blackeberg in dagner. After a while Eli became a vampire, and he also worked har on the name "Eli". I also wrote that during the writing of the book he became happy when he thought of the name Elias. Anyway, Eli was a boyt from the start.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1836&p=28620#p28620
It's also about that JAL wanted Eli to behave borh girlish and boyish You guys have found the right track at least

[shaggles]

I have nursed my own shaky theory that Eli actually sees Oskar as a maternal figure. Oskar shows a genuine interest in Eli's physical, as well as emotional state. He notices that Eli stinks, that Eli is not wearing a coat (Oskar even makes a sympathetic gesture towards Eli when he asks about the coat), later he frets over the way Eli picks her clothes out of the trash. These to me are all stereotypical maternal traits. "Arn't you getting enough to eat?" Elsewhere it has been point out that this solicitous attitude makes a stark contrast to Hakan. You hear about none of this from Hakan.

But of course Haka knows she's a vampire and doesn't need a coat and why she's not getting enough to eat.

[kaonto]

And yet from the Narrator of Hakan’s own thoughts:
But since all this with Oskar had started something had changed. A ... regression. Eli had started to behave more and more like the child her appearance gave her out to be; had started to move her body in a loose-limbed and careless way, use childish expressions, words. Wanted to play. Hide the Key. A few nights ago they had played Hide the Key. Eli had become angry when Hakan had not showed the necessary enthusiasm for the game, then tried to tickle him to get him to laugh. He had relished Eli's touch. It was attractive, naturally. This joy, this . . . life. But also frightening, since it was something so foreign to him. He was both hornier and more scared than he had ever been since meeting her.

This could maybe a translation mistake.

YES! This was the exact passage I was referring to in my post viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2568. There are no, and I mean zero, Hints about Eli's gender from his/her own or Håkan's point of view. Even if JAL hadn't told us so himself, this would've been reason enough for me to believe that Eli had always been a boy in his mind.

[kaonto]

And yet from the Narrator of Hakan’s own thoughts:
But since all this with Oskar had started something had changed. A ... regression. Eli had started to behave more and more like the child her appearance gave her out to be; had started to move her body in a loose-limbed and careless way, use childish expressions, words. Wanted to play. Hide the Key. A few nights ago they had played Hide the Key. Eli had become angry when Hakan had not showed the necessary enthusiasm for the game, then tried to tickle him to get him to laugh. He had relished Eli's touch. It was attractive, naturally. This joy, this . . . life. But also frightening, since it was something so foreign to him. He was both hornier and more scared than he had ever been since meeting her.

Original text: "Eli betedde sig alltmer som det barn utseendet angav; hade börjat slänga med kroppen, använda barnsliga uttryck, ord. Ville leka. Gömma nyckeln. Häromkvällen hade de lekt gömma nyckeln. Eli hade blivit arg när Håkan inte visade den entusiasm som leken krävde, sedan försökt kittla honom för att få honom att skratta. Han hade njutit av beröringen. Det var attraherande, naturligtvis. Denna glädje, detta...liv. Samtidigt skrämmande, eftersom det låg så långt ifrån honom. Han var kåtare och räddare än han varit sedan de träffades."

[Angelmaker]

And yet from the Narrator of Hakan’s own thoughts:
But since all this with Oskar had started something had changed. A ... regression. Eli had started to behave more and more like the child her appearance gave her out to be; had started to move her body in a loose-limbed and careless way, use childish expressions, words. Wanted to play. Hide the Key. A few nights ago they had played Hide the Key. Eli had become angry when Hakan had not showed the necessary enthusiasm for the game, then tried to tickle him to get him to laugh. He had relished Eli's touch. It was attractive, naturally. This joy, this . . . life. But also frightening, since it was something so foreign to him. He was both hornier and more scared than he had ever been since meeting her.

This could maybe a translation mistake.

YES! This was the exact passage I was referring to in my post viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2568. There are no, and I mean zero, Hints about Eli's gender from his/her own or Håkan's point of view. Even if JAL hadn't told us so himself, this would've been reason enough for me to believe that Eli had always been a boy in his mind.

I think there is a hint in that part too that Eli is a boy in as much as we already know Hakan is a peado and that he likes young boys and there are no young girls mentioned in his past. I thought that side of it was one of the biggest hints. No sign of breasts, the voice and Eli actually saying "I'm not a girl" were also big ones though.

I heard before that JAL always intended Eli to be a boy. I do believe though that Eli although knows he isn't a girl feels more comfortable being perceived as a girl and maybe prefers that himself too. When at Oskars Eli chooses to wear a dress and after when tommy sees Eli he thinks it's a girl. Maybe Elias always felt that way. We are told that he was 'a beautiful child'. Not a handsome boy