Waldlektüren. Zur Figuration und Funktionalisierung des Waldes bei Ludwig Tieck und Adalbert Stifter

Abstract

Following the impact of the so-called 'spatial turn', ‘space’ has become a central subject of investigation for literary and cultural studies. Recent theoretical research has expanded upon from, amongst others, Michel Foucault’s heterotopia, Michail Bachtin’s chronotope or Jurij Lotman’s concept of boundary. Using these narratological concepts, this thesis examines a very particular space, namely the forest and its figurations and its instrumentality in novels from the 19.th century. The literary worlds of Ludwig Tieck’s novella 'Waldeinsamkeit' and Adalbert Stifter’s novel 'Der Waldgänger' focuses, as the titles already suggest, on the idea of the forest and its relationship to the protagonists. Analyzing forest and space – the forest as space – enables a deeper insight into the protagonists’ behavior and the structure of the novels and thus provides new understandings of the texts. For an initial strategy, the thesis shall give an overview over various definitions of ‘space’, describing the current state of research and the media history of the German Forest. Following this, Tieck’s 'Waldeinsamkeit' will be interpreted with regards not only to the forest but also to factors such as ‘time’, ‘subject’ and ‘ambiguity’. Finally, Stifter’s novel will be analyzed under the aspects of ‘boundary’ and frontier resp. other spaces; with a specific focus on the relationship between ‘nature’ and ‘culture’.

Committee Chair

Paul Michael Lützeler

Committee Members

Lynne Tatlock, Gerhild Scholz Williams

Comments

Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/K73776PP

Degree

Master of Arts (AM/MA)

Author's Department

Germanic Languages and Literatures

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

Summer 8-2014

Language

German (de)

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