Women and Death 3: Women's Representations of Death in German Culture since 1500 (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture, 57)

In Western culture, women are often linked with death, perhaps because they are traditionally constructed as an unknowable "other." The first two Women and Death volumes investigate ideas about death and the feminine as represented in German culture since 1500, focusing, respectively, on the representation of women as victims and killers and the idea of the woman warrior, and confirming that women who kill or die violent or untimely deaths exercise fascination even as they pose a threat. The traditions of representation traced in the first two volumes, however, are largely patriarchal. What happens when it is women who produce the representations? Do they debunk or reject the dominant discourses of sexual fascination around women and death? Do they replace them with more sober or "realistic" representations, with new forms, modes, and language? Or do women writers and artists, inescapably bound up in patriarchal tradition, reproduce its paradigms? This third volume in the series investigates these questions in ten essays written by an international group of expert scholars. It will be of interest to scholars and students of German literature and culture, Women's Studies, and film studies. Contributors: Judith Aikin, Barbara Becker-Cantarino, Jill Bepler, Stephanie Bird, Abigail Dunn, Stephanie Hilger, Elisabeth Krimmer, Aine McMurtry, Simon Richter, Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly. Clare Bielby is Lecturer in German at the University of Hull. Anna Richards is Lecturer in German at Birkbeck College, University of London. In Western Culture Women Are Often Linked With Death, Perhaps Because They Are Traditionally Constructed As An Unknowable Other. The First Two Women And Death Volumes Investigate Ideas About Death And The Feminine As Represented In German Culture Since 1500, Focusing, Respectively, On The Representation Of Women As Victims And Killers And The Idea Of The Woman Warrior, And Confirming That Women Who Kill Or Die Violent Or Untimely Deaths Exercise Fascination Even As They Pose A Threat. The Traditions Of Representation Traced In The First Two Volumes, However, Are Largely Patriarchal. What Happens When It Is Women Who Produce The Representations? Do They Debunk Or Reject The Dominant Discourses Of Sexual Fascination Around Women And Death? Do They Replace Them With More Sober Or Realistic Representations, With New Forms, Modes, And Language? Or Do Women Writers And Artists, Inescapably Bound Up In Patriarchal Tradition, Reproduce Its Paradigms? This Third Volume In The Series Investigates These Questions In Ten Essays Written By An International Group Of Expert Scholars. It Will Be Of Interest To Scholars And Students Of German Literature And Culture, Gender Studies, And Film Studies. --book Jacket. Practicing Piety: Representations Of Women's Dying In German Funeral Sermons Of The Early Modern Period / Jill Bepler -- Ich Sterbe: The Construction Of The Dying Self In The Advance Preparations For Death Of Lutheran Women In Early Modern Germany / Judith P. Aikin -- The New Mythology: Myth And Death In Karoline Von Günderrode's Literary Work / Barbara Becker-cantarino -- The Murderess On Stage: Christine Westphalen's Charlotte Corday (1804) / Stephanie Hilger -- Ob Im Tode Mein Ich Geboren Wird?: The Representation Of The Widow In Hedwig Dohm's Werde, Die Du Bist (1894) / Abigail Dunn -- The Figure Of Judith In Works By German Women Writers Between 1895 And 1921 / Helen Watanabe-o'kelly -- Lola Doesn't: Cinema, Jouissance, And The Avoidance Of Murder And Death / Simon Richter -- Death, Being, And The Place Of Comedy In Representations Of Death / Stephanie Bird -- Liebe Ist Ein Kunstwerk: The Appeal To Gaspara Stampa In Ingeborg Bachmann's Todesarten / Aine Mcmurtry -- Tv Nation: The Representation Of Death In Warfare In Works By Peter Handke And Elfriede Jelinek / Elisabeth Krimmer. Edited By Clare Bielby And Anna Richards. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [193]-212) And Index. The Issue Of Poe's Competence In The Field Of German Language And Literature Is Central To Understanding His Creative Method. For Over One Hundred Years Readers Have Been Intrigued By The Spate Of References To German Literature In His Works, By His Scoffs At German Scholarship, And By His Extensive Use Of Quotations In German To Embellish His Texts. Did Poe Actually Speak Or Read This Language? Did He Know Goethe And E. T. A. Hoffmann In The Original? Could He Read Schlegel And Kant In German Well Enough For These Thinkers To Have Directly Influenced His Aesthetics?--book Jacket. Definitive Answers To Such Questions Are Long Overdue And Will Lay To Rest Much Speculation About Poe's Relationship To German Sources. This Study Sorts Through Poe's Germanic References To Understand His Complex Connection With German Language, Literature And Culture. It Examines His Quotations And His Statements About German Writers, While Viewing Poe Within The Discourse Of Germanism That Surrounded Writers Of The Gothic Fantastic In The 1830s And 1840s. Although Evidence Is Scattered And Complex, The Conclusions Are Straightforward: Poe's Knowledge Of The German Language And Its Culture Represented A Second-hand Familiarity Of Phrases And Opinions That He Found Entirely In English-language Sources. The Conclusions Of This Study Are Significant, For They Correct A Tradition Of Time-worn Assumptions Within Poe Scholarship.--book Jacket. Introduction: The Debate About Poe And German -- Poe's Reputation For Germanism -- Poe's Formal Training In Foreign Languages -- Poe And The German Language: Testimony By Contemporaries -- Poe And The German Language: The Scholarly Opinion -- German Elements In Poe's Literary Texts -- German Culture In Poe's Reviews And Notices -- Poe's Reception Of German Writers. Thomas S. Hansen With Burton R. Pollin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. ) And Index. Studies representations of women and death by women to see whether and how they differ from patriarchal versions. In Western culture, women are often linked with death, perhaps because they are traditionally constructed as an unknowable "other." The first two Women and Death volumes investigate ideas about death and the feminine as represented in German culture since 1500, focusing, respectively, on the representation of women as victims and killers and the idea of the woman warrior, and confirming that women who kill or die violent or untimely deaths exercisefascination even as they pose a threat. The traditions of representation traced in the first two volumes, however, are largely patriarchal. What happens when it is women who produce the representations? Do they debunk or reject the dominant discourses of sexual fascination around women and death? Do they replace them with more sober or "realistic" representations, with new forms, modes, and language? Or do women writers and artists, inescapably bound up in patriarchal tradition, reproduce its paradigms? This third volume in the series investigates these questions in ten essays written by an international group of expert scholars. It will be of interest to scholars and students of German literature and culture, gender studies, and film studies. Contributors: Judith Aikin, Barbara Becker-Cantarino, Jill Bepler, Stephanie Bird, Abigail Dunn, Stephanie Hilger, Elisabeth Krimmer, Aine McMurtry, Simon Richter, Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly. Clare Bielby is Lecturer in German at the University of Hull. Anna Richards is Lecturer in German at Birkbeck College, University of London. CONTENTS 6 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 8 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 10 Introduction 12 1: Practicing Piety: Representations of Women’s Dying in German Funeral Sermons of the Early Modern Period 23 2: “Ich sterbe”: The Construction of the Dying Self in the Advance Preparations for Death of Lutheran Women in EarlyModern Germany 42 3: The “New Mythology”: Myth and Death in Karoline von Günderrode’s Literary Work 62 4: The Murderess on Stage: Christine Westphalen’s Charlotte Corday (1804) 82 5: “Ob im Tode mein Ich geboren wird?”: The Representation of the Widow in Hedwig Dohm’s “Werde, die du bist” (1894) 99 6: The Figure of Judith in Works by German Women Writers between 1895 and 1921 112 7: Lola Doesn’t: Cinema, Jouissance, and the Avoidance of Murder and Death 127 8: Death, Being, and the Place of Comedy in Representations of Death 145 9: “Liebe ist ein Kunstwerk”: The Appeal to Gaspara Stampa in Ingeborg Bachmann’s Todesarten 163 10: TV Nation: The Representation of Death in Warfare in Works by Peter Handke and Elfriede Jelinek 185 WORKS CITED 204 CONTRIBUTORS 224 INDEX 228 1571130691,9781571130693,1571134395,978-1571134394 The question of Poe's competence in the field of German language and literature is central to an understanding of his creative method; critics and readers have always been intrigued by the numerous references to German literature in his works, and his extensive use of German quotations. Did he speak or read the language? Did he know Goethe and Hoffmann in the original? Could he have read Schlegel or Kant in German and been directly influenced by their thinking? This study aims to answer such questions about Poe's relationship to German sources. It examines Poe's Germanic references, quotations and criticism of German writers to trace his complex relationship with German language, literature, and culture, viewing Poe within the discourse of Germanism that surrounded a writer of the Gothic fantastic in the 1830s and '40s. The authors argue that Poe's knowledge of German language and culture consisted largely of second-hand reception of pharases and opinions which he found in English language sources.