Between National Fantasies and Regional Realities: The Paradox of Identity in Nineteenth-century German Literature

Between National Fantasies and Regional Realities: The Paradox of Identity in Nineteenth-century German Literature
ISBN-10
3039109391
ISBN-13
9783039109395
Category
German literature
Pages
266
Language
English
Published
2006
Publisher
Peter Lang
Author
Arne Koch

Description

Despite its popularity during the nineteenth century, regional literature has often been overlooked with regard to its role in the development of German national consciousness. By exploring various illustrations of geographic-historical landscapes in texts written before the 1848 revolutions and after the 1871 unification, this book investigates the vital polyphony generated by unique regional voices throughout the age of nationalism. Close readings of texts by Berthold Auerbach, Theodor Storm, Wilhelm Raabe, Fritz Reuter, Theodor Fontane, Gottfried Keller, and Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach examine recognizable and unfamiliar regions. Although this study concentrates on provincial writings, literary regionalism's fictionality and simultaneous referentiality raise broader questions for the programmatic aesthetics of Poetic Realism and for inquiries into identity formation.

Similar books