Date post: | 07-Jul-2018 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | debramorgan123 |
View: | 213 times |
Download: | 0 times |
of 165
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
1/424
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
2/424
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
ABSTRACT i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DEDICATION
INTRODUCTION Frauenliteratur and autobiography 1-47
CHAPTER ONE Death of a father: start of a story 48-132
CHAPTER TWO My mother lives on in me 133-208
CHAPTER THREE Twice born: the adopted daughter 209-283
CHAPTER FOUR Death of a daughter: end of a story 284-338
CHAPTER FIVE Narrative strategies 339-372
CONCLUSION Nobody s daughter?373-390
BIBLIOGRAPHY 391-419
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
3/424
i
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this thesis s to examine he complexities f daughterhood s portrayed by
nine contemporary omen writers: from former West Germany Gabriele Wohmann,
Elisabeth Plessen), rom former East Germany Hedda Zinner, Helga M. Novak), from
Switzerland Margrit Schriber) and from Austria (Brigitte Schwaiger, Jutta Schutting,
Waltraud Anna Mitgutsch, Christine Haidegger). Ten prose-works which span a period of
approximately en years, rom the mid-1970s o the mid-1980s, are analysed ccording o
theme and character.
In the ntroduction we trace he historical development f women s writing in German,
focusing on the most significant emale authors rom the Romantic period through o the
rise of the New Women s Movement n the ate sixties. We then consider a definition of
Trauenliteratur and he extent o which autobiography as become typical eature of such
women9s writing. In the ensuing four chapters we highlight in psychological and
sociological erms he mourning process daughter ndergoes fter her father s death; he
identification process between daughter and mother; the daughter s reaction to being
adopted; and the daughter s decision o commit suicide. We see to what extent the
environment n which each of these daughters s brought up as well as past events n
German history shape he daughter s attitude owards her parents. Since we are studying
the way in which these elationships re portrayed, we also need o take nto account he
narrative strategies mployed by these modem women writers.
In the light of our analysis of content and form we are able to examine he possible
intentions behind such personal ortraits: he act of writing as a form of self-discovery nd
self-therapy s well as the sharing of female experience. We conclude by suggesting he
direction women s writing from German-speaking countries may be taking.
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
4/424
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
5/424
iii
DEDIC TION
To my parents and sister
With love
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
6/424
INTRODUCTION: FRAUENLITERATUR AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The intention of this introduction s to examine he term Trauenliteratur and to pinpoint
the part that autobiography as played and continues o play in prose works written by
women from German-spealdng ountries. In order to be able to recognise and understand
the way in which Trauenliteratur and autobiography ave merged and overlapped, t is
necessary o look briefly at the historical development f women s writing in German by
charting its growth during the past two centuries. We shall then be in a position to consider
the problems which nowadays urround a clear-cut definition of each of these iterary terms
and o acknowledge he extent o which contemporary omen s writing in German as been
influenced and shaped y the features o which these erms refer. Without doubt t is a
phenomenon hich, as we shall see, ypifies recent developments n German iterary trends
and s, therefore, of great nterest o writers and critics alike.
Women who write works of literary rank are not a peculiarity of contemporary ife. If
we look back at the history of women writers, a process of gradual iberation has been
evident. In the nineteenth entury, for example, he literary careers of two great authors
ran parallel. Ironically, both women hid their identities by adopting male pseudonyms. n
England, Mary Ann Evans 1819-1880) ecame George Eliot and wrote fiction which dealt
with the social and moral problems of her time, her purpose eing primarily didactic. The
popularity of works such as Mill on the Floss and Silas Marner made her one of the greatist
novelists n world literature. In France, Baroness udevant 1804-1876) sed he pen name
of George Sand o further her career, and so became one of France s iterary successes.
It is somewhat urprising o note that even oday, n spite of the Women s Movement and
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
7/424
2
feminism, some young writers do contemplate using a male pen name because "writing
novels s still not considered respectable astime or women".
Nevertheless, he ntellectual, rather han he political or social, emancipation f women
could already be noted n the Romantic period of German iterature. The wives of the
Schlegel brothers were artistically inclined: Friedrich Schlegel's wife, Dorothea Veit,
published her first novel Florentin in 1801. Brentano's sister, Bettina von Arnim, also
wrote a number of works during the 1840s and was a radical camPaigner or human rights.
Many other women such as Annette von Droste-HOIshoff, Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach,
Fanny Lewald, Ida Hahn-Hahn were searching or independence y making a career of
writing, publishing works without the help of their husbands nd making heir names as
exponents f literature, rather than writing for and about women. In cultural circles all
thesewomen
began o havesome
nfluence, butconcern
or theirsocial and political
status
was still a long way off. Only towards he end of the nineteenth entury did a new phase
in the history of women writers indicate a more radical women's literature, when the
emancipation f women became a central theme of the Naturalist movement n German
literature. The pioneers of women's iterature associated ith this movement were prose
writers and social critics such as Clara Viebig (1860-1952), whose iterary success ay in
her realistic presentation f everyday workers and their poverty; and Gabriele Reuter
(1859-1941), who belonged o the proletarian Women's Movement. In 1905 an Austrian
woman writer, Bertha von Suttner 1843-1914), was he first woman o receive he Nobel
Peace Prize for her novel Die Waffen nieder (1889), n which she portrayed he fate of
a woman who lived through he Prussian wars of 1864-1871.
For the ast century or so German-speaking women writers, amongst thers Else Lasker-
Scholer, Ricarda Huch, Gertrud von Le Fort, Isolde Kurz, have played heir roles n the
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
8/424
3
many literary trends and schools of thought, but the significance and relevance of women's
literature has only come o light with the social and political emancipation f women during
the ast few decades. This s hardly surprising when we consider hat German women were
first permitted o study at university evel at the turn of the century: 1901 n Baden, 1903
in Bavaria, 1908 n Prussia. Equality in education, especially higher education, only began
to develop n the 1920s, after the women's right to vote was introduced n Germany n
1918.
With the onset of National Socialism n the 1930s all efforts aimed at obtaining equality
between he sexes ame o an abrupt but only temporary end, when women's associations,
apart from those belonging to the National Socialists, were banned and women were once
more confined o the roles of dutiful daughters, wives and mothers. This disruption o the
progresshe Women's Movement had
made was shortlived,and only in force as long as
the National Socialists were n power, so that after the Second World War equality was
once again a bone of contention. By 1949 he matter had been partly resolved on paper n
the form of the Basic Law with the statement hat MAnner und Frauen sind
gleichberechtigt Art. 3, Abs. 3 GG). A notable change n attitude towards women's
literature was also taking place at the same ime, as women realised hat the country's
industrial and social estoration ould not, and would not, succeed without their aid. This
aspect f increasing ndependence n the field of economics ormed an mportant part of the
process of women's emancipation.
During the Third Reich many established riters, ncluding women, had gone nto exile.
One such woman writer, who was Jewish and belonged o the Communist Party, was Anna
Seghers 1900-1983). After being arrested nd questioned, heemigrated o France n 1933
and o Mexico n 1941, where she completed ne of her most well-known novels Das slebte
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
9/424
4
Kreuz (1942), in which she not only presented ascism realistically, in the shape of a
concentration amp, but was also highly critical of it. In 1947 she returned o Germany
and settled n East Berlin, where she continued o write about ife as an exile and the
uncertainty of one s identity. Her writing served as active opposition to National Socialism.
Luise Rinser (born 1911) was similarly banned rom writing during the period of Nazi
rule but she chose not to go into exile. Instead, her refusal o join the NSDAP resulted n
her imprisonment in 1944. During her captivity she kept a diary, Gefangnistagebuch,
which was published in 1946. This was Rinser s first attempt at writing an
autobiographical ext which revealed ife in a women s prison. In her later work during the
1960s nd 1970s he has shown a preference or the diary-form, which culminated with the
publication of her autobiography, en Wolf umarmen, n 1981. This development rom
diary to autobiographical ovel already anticipated he emergence f autobiographical orks
in the 1970s nd 1980s nd brings us closer o the complex elationship f women s writing
to autobiography, which will be examined hortly.
If we return briefly to our historical overview of Trauenliteratur , we see hat women s
literary output emerged ery gradually during the twenty years after the end of the Second
World War. Two women writers who were able to achieve critical acclaim were Ilse
Aichinger (born. 1921) and ngeborg Bachmann 1926-1973), whose iterary careers egan
to flourish with the establishment f the Gruppe 47 . This was not an organisation s
such, but a series of annual meetings at which authors ead from their new works. The
majority of those nvited to read were male writers, hence he fact that Aichinger and
Bachmann oth received he Gruppe 47 prize in 1952 and 1953 respectively, was an
indication of their determination o succeed, s well as much-needed ecognition of being
on an equal footing with their male colleagues. In fact, at one such meeting n 1967 a
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
10/424
5
sense of threat was evident in Günter Grass' comment: Diese Frauen fangen an, uns an
3die Wand zu schreiben . The women o whom he was eferring were Barbara Frischmuth,
Helga M. Novak and Renate Rasp. All three had read rom their works and were on the
brink of making heir mark on the iterary scene. n the same ear, 1967, he 'Gruppe 47'
disbanded.
A year ater the student movement dvocated n specific erms eform of the university
system and in general terms equality and fairer opportunities for all. Within the German
Socialist Student Organisation SDS) emale students began o create women's committees',
in which they addressed omen's ssues, n particular he discrepancy etween he public,
emancipatory hetoric of their male colleagues nd heir chauvinistic ehaviour n personal
relationships with women. At the same ime women's voices were not being heard at the
student allies and demonstrations, and whenever hey did manage o express heir opinions
publicly, they were not taken seriously. On the public platform these emale students
continued o be only the girlfriends or wives of SDS members nd were not looked upon
as ndependent hinkers or activists.
In the wake of such blatent discrimination seven women activists of the SDS founded
the Aktionsrat zur Befreiung der Frau' in January 1968 n West Berlin, in order to expose
the disparity between he anti-authoritarian, Marxist rhetoric of their male colleagues nd
their authoritarian ehaviour owards women on a personal evel. At the second onference
of the SDS n Hanover he 'Aktionsrat' demanded:
The abolition of the bourgeois separation f private and social
life: the task s to understand he oppression n the private
sphere not as anything private but as politically and
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
11/424
6
economically etermined. The task s to effect a qualitative
change n the private sphere nd o understand his change s
political practice. This act of cultural revolution s part of the
class struggle.
By the time of the third conference n Frankfurt in September 1968 the continuing
hypocrisy of the male delegates of the SDS resulted in the representative of the
'Aktionsrat', Helke Sander, first accusing them of being authoritarian and patriarchal and
second pelting the male dignitaries with tomatoes. Sander's action marked the onset of a
new era in the Women's Movement and heralded he birth of feminism amongst he
post-war German eft.
Initially, however, there were divisions in this New Women's Movement. Some
women9s groups, such as the West Berlin Socialist Women's League, which arose rom the
'Aktionsrat', continued o base heir convictions on the texts of Marx and Engels. Other
women9s roups urned o American eminists and writers, such as Kate Millett and Juliet
Mitchell, and ormed self-experience roups'. Noteworthy s also he fact that Simone de
Beauvoir's 7he Second Sex (1949) appeared or the first time in paperback n German n
1968. The 'Aktionskreis Frau' in Nuremberg nd he 'Aktion Emanzipation .V. ' in Ulm
concerned hemselves ith equality n the workplace: their membership onsisted ot of
students ut of working women. Two decades fter the Basic Law had promised equality,
discrimination was still rife.
The origins of the New Women's Movement can, thus, be traced back to the 1968
student movement ut of whose political context an autonomous Women's Movement egan
to stir in German-speaking ountries. In contrast o the Women's Movement at the turn of
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
12/424
7
the century, which could be divided nto the demands f women rom the bourgeoisie nd
the proletariat, his new movement ecame within three years a coherent political entity,
when t campaigned o reform the aw on abortion and remove Paragraph 18 (in Austria
Paragraph 144). All the women s groups merged o form Aktion 218, after the publication
in Stem, Nr. 24,1971 of Alice Schwarzer s article Ich habe abgetrieben , in which 375
women, some of them well-known and prominent, admitted publicly to having had an
abortion. The issue proved to be the unifying factor for the disparate strands of the
Women s Movement. Furthermore, these women had in common the desire for self-
realisation, the search or one s identity and the wish to free oneself from the constraints
of patriarchy, or, as Marlis Gerhardt pointed out in 1977, patriarchy
bedeutet ja nicht einfach Männerherrschaft, sondern
Herrschaft der Väter, die Ordnung und Gesetz symbolisch
repräsentieren nd weiblichen und männlichen Kindern ihre
spätere gesellschaftliche olle entweder als Erbe oder als
Tauschobjekt und Gebärerin zuweisen.
The propagandistic ature of documentary iterature and reportage, which became
predominant uring the ate sixties and early seventies n German writings as a result of the
writer s wish to renounce bourgeois iterature, was reflected n the titles given to works
written by women, who were aware of the anti-authoritarian movement s oncept f cultural
revolution: Erika Runge s Frauen. Versuche ur Emanzipation 1969); Frauen gegen den
§218.18 Protokolle, aufgezeichnet on Alice Schwarzer 1971); Liebe Kollegin. -Texte ur
Emanzipation der Frau in der Bundesrepublik 1973); Alice Schwarzer s Der kleine
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
13/424
8
Unterschied nd seine großen Folgen. Frauen aber sich. Beginn einer Befreiung 1975).
Such was the predominance f reportage, protocol iterature and proclamations bout he
death of literature rom the student movement hat n its review of the Frankfurt Book Fair
in 1971 Die Welt posed he ominous question: Droht das Ende der Literatur? I This state
of affairs was even referred to as a literary-theoretical Nullpunkt . 7 However, just three
years ater the Book Fair was celebrating he so-called Herbst des autobiographischen
Romans .
According to Sigrid Weigel, 1975 was the Nullpunkt for women's literature. This
conclusion s based on her charting of documentary iterature by women up to the
mid-1970s, ollowed by a chronological development f women's cultural sphere after
1975, n particular he founding of women's publishing companies nd eminist magazines.
Certainly, t cannot be denied hat women's iterature did begin to flourish in the second
half of the 1970s, yet to say that 1975 was a Nullpunkt for women's iterature seems
dubious. Weigel herself goes on to illustrate he move rom politics to literature, rom the
public to the personal, via Karin Struck's Klassenfiebe, ublished n 1973. Admittedly,
1975, which also happened o be 'International Women's Year, did see a surge n the
productionof women's iterature
as well as anincreased esire
onthe
part ofthe female
public to read women's works. Verena Stefan's Hautungen was a bestseller; Elfriede
Jelinek's Die Liebhabetinnen met with criticism on account of its satirical tone; Margot
Schr6der's book Ich stehe meine Frau was altered during its conception n order to meet
the demands of her feminist publishers. ' Thus, initially, success or women writers
depended n depicting eminist ssues which corresponded o women's experiences.
The term 'Frauenliteratur' could, therefore, be looked upon as having acquired a new
impetus with the founding of the New Women's Movement. Indeed, ts impact on the
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
14/424
9
literary scene as only come o the fore during the ast two decades. The reasons or this
increased opularity are manifold and need o be examined n detail. For the moment, t
suffices to say that we should not ignore the marketing potential of such a concept.
Feminist publishers, be they in Britain, for instance Virago', or in Germany, publishing
houses such as 'Frauenoffensive, 'Frauenbuchverlag' or 'Verlag Frauenpolitik', to name
but a few, have been able o establish hemselves s a result of a sellers' market. In fact,
feminism itself has become a marketing tool which has made women's writings
commercially more attractive. Along with the book publications came the feminist
magazines Courage and Mamas Pfirsiche, malcing heir first appearances n 1976. Not only
have the the new publishing houses been able to prosper from this literary trend, but the
established ompanies ave also hrived with publishers uch as Rowohlt' starting he series
'die neue Frau' in 1977 and'creating he general concept of 'Frauenbflcher' n 1983. The
publishers at 'Suhrkamp' recognised he value of their many women writers, past and
present, with the publication of an almanac n 1980 entitled M Jahrhundert der Frau. In
1991 he 'Fischer Taschenbuch erlag' published ts new series Trauen lesen', consisting
of numerous women writers of the twentieth century from various countries. These
male-dominated ublishing houses are continually n search f new women writers because
Trauenliteratur' has become such big business.
But what do we actually mean when we refer to 'Frauenliteratur'? There is no
hesitation over the translation: women's iterature'. Virginia Woolf had no doubts n her
mind when she wrote about Women Novelists' and 'Women and Fiction'. In America
Ellen Moer's study entitled Literary Women 1974) has become a classic of women's
literary criticism along with Elaine Showalter's A Literature of their Own (1978) and
Patricia Meyer Spacks' 7he Female magination 1976). All three books eature analyses
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
15/424
10
of works by English, American and French women writers but there are no German women
writers. Indeed, German equivalents are nowhere to be found and, what is more
remarkable, s the fact that n German iterary circles critics, and even he women writers
themselves, ave no clear-cut definition of the erm Frauenliteratur and continue o debate
its origin and implications.
It is probable hat some ambivalence rises as a result of a difference n perception f
the terms women s literature and Trauenliteratur . Generally, both terms refer to
literature by women and in recent years have become predominant in the literary market
on account of their association with feminist culture. In Germany, however, the term
Trauenliteratur has been tarnished with a somewhat negative aspect, namely
Trivialliteratur , since the majority of women s novels which appeared n the late
nineteenth entury were often serialised nd sold cheaply. The reasons or their popularity
were hus questionable, nd, moreover, such iterature has never been egarded s meriting
significant iterary status:
Im deutschen prachraum at der Terminus Trauenliteratur
mit einer umgangssprachlichen edeutungseinschränkung u
kämpfen - man versteht hier unter Frauenliteratur häufig
epigonale, systemstablisierende nterhaltungsliteratur ür
Frauen; unter diesem Gesichtspunkt indet sie sich schon seit
längerem als ein Gebiet der Trivialliteraturforschung. Diese
Art von Literatur spielt im deutschen Sprachraum eit der
Jahrhundertwende Stichwort Courths-Mahler) ine wichtige
Rolle, in der Gegenwart indet man diese Art von Literatur
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
16/424
11
primär auf dem Gebiet des llustrierten- und des Heftromans,
aber auch bei den programmierten Bestsellem (Danella,
Parretti). 11
From the outset contemporary German women writers have had to battle against this
inherited negative oncept, not to mention he fact that
especially n women's media, a critique of women's literature
is largely tabu. Women's fear of criticizing one another
ultimately allows them to leave criticism to the men, where
it is not uncommon or 'Literaturlcritik' to degenerate nto a
festival of slaughter.
It is no wonder, herefore, hat when aced with such a vulnerable position he German
woman writer of today s forced to defend her work, even o the extent of denying any
links, however enuous, with Trauenliteratur'. Some writers, namely West Germany's
Gabriele Wohmann and Austria's Jutta Schutting, would prefer to dismiss the term
Trauenliteratur' completely, ather han have heir works associated ith a term which for
them conjures up feminism and all its socio-political trappings. Austria's Brigitte
Schwaiger, oo, points out that at the time of writing her first novel Wie kommt das Sak
ins Meer (1977) she was unaware of the term 'Frauenliteratur' and the New Women's
Movement. Moreover, she did not want anything o do with words ending n '-ist'.
Other writers, such as the Swiss writer Gertrud Leutenegger, re quick to point out the
non-existence f 'Mdnnerliteratur'. And this is the starting-point or the complexity
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
17/424
12
surrounding Frauenliteratur' because eference s never made to men writers or men
novelists. For this reason t is not surprising o discover hat Trauenliteratur' can be easily
dismissed r ridiculed, even by the very women writers whose works are published and
sold under his term:
Intimidated by the ill-repute of women's literature and
dependent upon the feuilleton - but also shaken by the market
success f confessional iterature and ts enthusiastic eception
by many women readers - women authors increasingly
distance themselves rom women's literature, instead of
openly criticizing regressive endencies nd using productive
literary strategies o create esistance nd counter-offensive.
Furthermore, as Sigrid Weigel suggests, women authors fear identification with and
relegation o the social periphery hat comes with special status . It seems hat whilst this
argument may ring true of some women writers, this particular critic is playing her part in
perpetuating he myth that women are in some way weaker han men when it comes o
expressing heir point of view in writing. It is quite possible hat some women writers
would enjoy the exclusivity and attention, as long as this did not imply conformity. The
East German author Irmtraud Morgner, for example, regards the parallel expression
'Mdnnerliteratur' as absurd:
Was ich ablehne, das ist lediglich der Ausdruck Trauen-
literatur , weil der parallele Ausdruck Männerliteratur mit
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
18/424
13
Recht als absurd empfunden wird. Es gibt eine Literatur von
Frauen geschrieben und es gibt eine Literatur von Männern
geschrieben. Die von Männern geschrieben st ungeheuer
vielfältig, man könnte sie auf keinen Fall unter irgendeinen
Nenner bringen.
We must recognise, though, that Morgner was brought up in a socialist country where, in
Marxist theory, men and women are equal, so that she cannot even begin to accept the
notion of a Trauenliteratur'. She avoids, or perhaps even solves, the problem by
advocating a 'Menschenliteratur', which either has the viewpoint of a woman or of a man.
In any event, her explanation highlights that there is a difference between the two.
The suggestion s that women, compared o men, write about different things and have
a language nd style of their own. And yet the following questions ontinue o be posed:
Is there such a thing as a woman writer ? Is women's
writing qualitatively different rom men's? Are the style and
subject matter of women's iterature radically different from
those of male writers, and can we generalize bout women's
language nd style? These are vexed questions, otly debated
by linguists, psychoanalysts, ritics and writers themselves.
Works on 'female aesthetics, such as Silvia Bovenschen's rticle 'Gibt es eine weibliche
Asthetik? of 1976, have emerged o engender nd foster such a literary trend. Women
critics are able to present heir opinions on the basis of a feminist perspective, although
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
19/424
14
there s a tendency n Germany or feminist research o be content-based, ather than a
distinct analysis of aesthetic heory, which is indicative of a weaknes n the development
of German eminism .20 Nevertheless, he whole issue of the existence of a women's
literature has become a critic's nightmare:
Enthält der Begriff Trauenliteratur» den Hinweis auf
Autorschaft, Adressatenkreis, Darstellungsgegenstand, der
geht er darüber hinaus und deutet eine spezifische Weise des
Wahmehmens nd der Ausdrucksformen n7 Wenn von
Itschreibenden rauen die Rede st, steckt darin nicht der
Versuch, den ästhetischen Fragestellungen zunächst
auszuweichen?
A most basic nterpretation of Trauenliteratur', one which is seen as applicable o the
women9s writing analysed n this study, is that it is a literature by women which is
explicitly about and speaks o women's ives and maginations. As will become evident,
contemporary women's writing focuses on female experience to the extent that
'Frauenliteratur' evokes olidarity amongst sisterhood f writers and eaders. This brings
us to the relationship between women's iterature and feminist writings.
The fact that contemporary German women's iterature coincided with the development
of the New Women's Movement n the 1970s should not come as a surpise, but what is
surprising s that the Women's Movement did not pay any attention o these women's
works. This may be partly due to the fact that many of these iterary works were not
sufficiently concerned about politics and emancipation o be of any significance o
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
20/424
15
feminism. It is intersting to note that response o the publication n 1971 of Ingeborg
Bachmann's ovel Malina was unremarkable, et today the same book has almost a cult
following amongst eminists. Such was and is the dependency f women writers upon
women eaders. Another actor was he poor reception of the novel by critics at the time,
who failed or did not want to appreciate Bachmann's sensitivity in her portrayal of the
female dentity within the iterary world, as well as her radical style of writing, the use of
T and total subjectivity. The work itself underlines reasons for the dearth of German
women9s iterature during the early 1970s, n particular the woman writer's unsuccessful
struggle to articulate herself in a world of male-dominated raditions and culture.
It is at this stage hat we are confronted by the dilemma of distinguishing etween he
literature of a feminist and hat of a female writer. Of course, he feminist and he female
writer could be one and the same. It is safe to say, however, that although here is a
marked difference between he sociological writings of feminists and the artistic work of
women writers, they are not beyond separability. The one can quite easily efer to, or even
influence, he other. Rita FelsId argues hat there are notable overlaps between he two:
Although not all women-centered exts are feminist, however,
it is certainly rue that most eminist iterary texts have until
now been centered around a female protagonist, a
consequence f the key status of subjectivity o second-wave
feminism, n which the notion of female experience, whatever
its theoretical imitations, has been a guiding one. It is
precisely because resent-day eminism has emphasized hose
realms of experience which are traditionally considered o lie
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
21/424
16
outside he political (that s, public) domain, hat he novel,
as a medium historically suited o exploring he complexities
of personal relations, has been so prominent in the
development of feminist culture. 23
According o Manfred Jurgensen, we are able to differentiate between eminist iterature
and literature which is influenced by feminist ideas:
Eine Frau, die bewußt als Frau über sich selbst schreibt
(womit sie zugleich, geschlechtsbezogen, in geteiltes
Schicksal zeichnet), schafft Frauenliteratur. Eine Frau, die
sich als Ergebnis ines Bewußtseinsprozesses ntschieden at,
kämpferisch ür die Sache der Frau zu wirken, leistet beim
Schreiben inenBeitrag zur feministischen iteratur. Es gibt,
wie gesagt, überschneidungen: grundlegend leibt edoch das
agitatorisch ausgerichtete Anliegen aller feministischen
Literatur. 4
Moreover, women writers are not automatically eminist writers of literary rank. There
are those emale writers who consciously write as feminists and wish to be thus understood
(Verena Stefan, or example). On the other hand, there are those women writers who,
as wehave said, disassociate hemselves rom 'Frauenliteratur'
andeminist
aesthetics.We
must not be misled, however, nto thinking that we can categorise he one group nto a
modem phenomenon nd describe t as politically-orientated; nd place he other group n
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
22/424
17
a higher literary realm and suggest hat it has no social or political message. Whilst
feminism n West Germany ecame rominent n the ate 1960s, ts roots were o be found
elsewhere, specially n America and France, n the nfluential works of Germaine Greer,
Alice Schwarzer, Kate Millett, Simone de Beauvoir, Luce Irigaray and H&ne CiXOUS.9
There is no doubt that the New Women's Movement in West Germany has over the years
gained strength in social and political areas. Yet the relationship of women writers to
ideologically-orientated eminism remains problematic. Their interests may correspond, but
many women writers are reluctant to commit themselves o the radical aims of feminist
politics. It is more often the case hat they share similar intentions, but they use a different
approach modelled on works by writers such as Virginia Woolf, Anals Nin, Erica Jong and
Doris Lessing. 11
Certainly, modem works subsumed under the term 'Frauenliteratur' would never have
come about f it were not for feminism. Such erminology s bound o the socio-political
emancipation f women. A change n the political status of women paved he way for
literary independence ased on a new self-appreciation. At the same ime literary criticism
underwent ignificant changes:
The ways in which we now raise questions of gender and
sexuality, reading and writing, subjectivity and enunciation,
voice and performance re unthinkable without the mpact of
feminism, even though many of these activities may take
place on the margin or even outside he movement roper. 30
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
23/424
18
Just as feminism s a modem-day henomenon, rauenliteratur s a new rend n German
literature. What is new about t is not the fact that German women have suddenly,
during the last ten years or so, put pen to paper n an artistic form. On the contrary, as
has been shown, women have been producing iterary works for at least he ast 150 years.
The innovation of Trauenliteratur is a direct result of the number of women writers who
have looded he book market and the number of women writers whose works have been
rediscovered . The fact is that they, more than ever, are representing o a greater extent
contemporary iterature in German. The quality and quantity of their works is such that
these women writers have become worthy of a literary study based on their own merits.
It is there hat the newness of Trauenliteratur ies, for only recently have he works of
writers such as Brigitte Schwaiger, Barbara Frischmuth, and Gertrud Leutenegger chieved
critical appraisal. A new generation f women s discovering hat the mass consumption
of their works s liberating both the woman and he writer, for modem works of literature
have undoubtedly ecome onsumer oods. At the same ime we should not underrate he
contribution of women s iterature owards giving clearer nsight nto the roles of women
and men n society.
As the number ofliterary
works by women has rapidlyincreased,
so toohave
the
themes and styles of writing. It was already noted when we looked at the origins of the
New Women s Movement and ts influence on women s writing that the female activists of
1968 were intent upon politicising private matters, n order to remove any discrepancy
between he anti-authoritarianism f their male-colleagues n public and their chauvinism
in private .31 The self-experience roups, women9s entres and newspapers, ll contributed
to women s efforts to speak about and make public their individual experiences, nd, n so
doing, recognise he extent o which their personal oncerns were n fact common o many
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
24/424
19
women. The slogan das Private ist politisch became one of the most fundamental
principles of modem feminism, whereby the political was no longer restricted to
male-dominated arty politics, government nd class struggle. Whatever happened n the
domestic sphere was not just a private matter, but a topic for collective discussion.
Similarly, writing about oneself became a popular mode of publicising what at first
appeared o be personal houghts, worries, nterests, but to which other women did relate.
A turning towards the personal sphere n writing also indicated a reaction against the
documentary iterature of the early 1970s. Furthermore, writers of both sexes esponded
in a similar way with introverted perspectives. Das Private ist politisch could, therefore,
be deemed ppropriate or bridging two literary styles and at the same ime imbuing the
personal sphere with political relevance:
Indem n dem Satz das Private st politisch der Familie, der
Erziehung, der Liebe und Sexualität inepolitische Bedeutung
zugewiesen ird, ist damit zugleich auch die Rede über diese
Themen aufgewertet?
An exploration of one's life could not be considered a private matter because once
committed o paper and published, t became public property. Moreover, readers were able
to identify with many of the author's emotions and turmoils in such a way that what
appeared o be a personal account acquired representative significance, hence its
'politicisation'. It was not always clear, therefore, whether he writer was ntending his/her
personal ife to pertain o politics in a wider context, or whether he process f publication
and the role of the reader politicised' private ssues. Sigrid Weigel suggests wo further
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
25/424
20
considerations hen nterpreting his slogan with reference o women writers. First, that
it verbalises he refusal of many women o tolerate he existing divisions any longer .
This rings true of women writers, such as Brigitte Schwaiger, whose autobiographical
accounts are often highly critical of the subservient ole women play, in particular n
marriage. If we take this concern a step further, we can see the link with the Women's
Movement and feminist works which depict personal elations and sexual politics rather
than socio-political questions - the traditional domain of male writers. Second, Weigel
points to the fact that such a slogan is misleading if it promises a political solution to
personal suffering . The likelihood of a female author writing with this in mind seems
far from credible or, as we shall see ater, any attempt o solve problems of Personal ain
and anguish ies in the act of writing itself and ts possible herapeutic ffect and not in the
reception of the published work. As Weigel herself comments:
There can, thank goodness, be no political - that is,
organised, ormal - solution to the reallY personal, or that
would mean he suspension f individual self-determination.6
The politicisation of the personal ealm, although primarily a concern of female writers,
could also be related to the German literary trend of the 1970s, namely the phenomenon
of 'Neue SubjektivitAt', whereby male writers, too, were revealing their innermost selves,
overcoming personal conflicts and baring their souls to the reading publiC. 37 At the first
meeting of writing women, organised by the publishing company Frauenoffensive' in 1976
in Munich, the participants called for 'radical subjectivity' in their writing to illustrate the
ways in which the female identity was undergoing a process of change. 9 This move
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
26/424
21
towardsan expression f personalexperience, ndividualityand authenticitygave auto-
biographya new easeof life, since t appeared o be thepredominant hoiceof writersfor
making he privatepublic. It shouldnot be overlooked,however, hat autobiography as
just one of a number of selected orms during this new trend. Lyric poetry as well as
belletristicpublications underwenta boom. Whatever the literary form, all had n common:
Spontaneität, anti-institutionelle bzw. alternative
Lebensformen, Ungezwungenheit, Natürlichkeit, eine neue
Konkretheit von Beobachtung und Ausdruck, die Wendung
zum Phantastischen nd Irrationalen, zu Gefühlen und
psychischen Vorgängen - all diese Merkmale sind
Äußerungsformender Neuen Sensibilität?
Throughouthe 1970s he author salmostobsessive reoccupation ith himself/herself
dominated he German book market. Amongstothers: Peter Handke s Wunschloses
Unglack(1972), Max Frisch s Montauk (1975), Wolfgang Koeppen s Jugend (1976),
ChristaWolfs Kindheitsmuster1976)andEliasCanettis Diegerettete unge 1977). For
both men and womenwriters autobiography rovidedthe medium or discoveringone s
identity, especially n terms of psychology,whereby the author attempted o interpret
himselfas well as thosearoundhim. This was an apparent hift from the classicalorigins
of autobiography,where he author, requentlysomeone nownto the public,had reached
a stage n his life whenhe felt it was timeto capturehis memories n paper and reflecton
his past. A general, all-embracing definition of autobiography might, thus, be:
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
27/424
22
Lebensbeschreibung ines Menschen durch ihn selbst , which at the same time
presupposes nowledge and/or ecognition of the dentity of the person depicting his HWO
Any such clear-cut definition causes problems for an interpretation of the auto-
biographical writings flooding the German book market during the seventies because or the
most part the identity of the narrator/protagonist, who usually speaks n the first person,
occasionally n the third person, s elusive. According to Philippe Lejeune, here s a
distinct, unequivocal dividing-line between autobiography and fiction, which is made known
to the reader, either through a title or introduction or through the identity of names. If
none of these criteria are met by the author, then even if there are certain parallels, the
text, so Lejeune believes, cannot be regarded as an autobiographical ork. If this were
applied o the prose writings of 'Neue Subjektivitdt', many would no onger be termed auto-X-K
biographical. Yet literary critics of this period constantly efer to the authenticity of these
narratives, which suggests hat another aspect has o be considered n defining these modem
9autobiographies', nd that is one of reception. Many of these writers, in particular he
women, as we shall see, are encouraging he reader's dentification with his or her life, be
it similar or different, because f the subjective and revelatory nature of what they are
writing. For women writers it has also been mportant that their works are read as
representative n such a way that female readers are able to identify and empathise. For
this reason ome ritics view writings such as Verena Stefan's Hilutungen 1975) and Kann
Struck's Kindheits Ende (1982) primarily as acts of confession . 2This interpretation will
be deemed appropriate or a number of the works selected or analysis here and will,
therefore, be considered more ully at a later stage. For now it should be recognised hat,
in order to make heir works as representative nd exemplary as possible, here has been
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
28/424
23
a tendency on the part of women writers to deliberately omit proper names, whilst
remaining rue to their emotions as well as to socio-historical acts.
In the classical sense of autobiography women writers are not reflecting on a long,
public career of significance. nstead, aged between hirty and orty, they are writing about
themselves n order to come to terms with their lives, their losses and love. The impression
should not be given, however, that all modem German literature by women is
autobiographical. But autobiography oes offer these writers the possibility of discovering
their identity and, above all, of communicating with themselves: It is as if the written
text has acquired he function of guaranteeing he author's dentity: 'I write, therefore
I am'. Sylvia Schwab stresses hat it is the actual search or, or path towards, one's
identity which typifies these new autobiographies, he fact that during this process of
discovery he author develops a new self-awareness:
Der Schriftsteller wird frei, weil er nicht als Objektp ondem
als Sub ekt agiert, weil er Ort, Zeit und Handlung auch n
autobiographischen Schriften selbständig bestimmt, auswählt
und reflektiert,statt von
ihnen dirigiertzu werden.
4
Whilst we shall see hat a number of the women writers, particularly in the works
concerned with bereavement, o undergo a process of self-discovery, he prospect of
achieving reedom hrough heir autobiographical riting seems oubtful. It is more ikely
a case of Schreiben ls Rettungsaktion .45 They may be able o convince hemselves hat
they are fully in control but, more often than not, emotions un high and amily ties prove
so strong hat one might question o what extent heir choice of material s influenced by
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
29/424
24
wishful thinking and high expectations. However honest he writer thinks she s, years of
learning and experience re bound o have coloured her perspective n life:
Die behauptete Realitätsnähe des Dargestellten wird damit
jedoch zur Fiktion, denn Ereignisse wie das Scheitern einer
Beziehung der eine ungewollte Schwangerschaft erliem in
der Retrospektive ihre ursprüngliche Bedrohlichkeit und
können dann, durch die Erinnerung neutralisiert, zu wichtigen
Erfahrungen werden, die die eigene Persönlichkeits-
46entwicklung geprägt haben.
in addition, the creative magination will prove difficult to curb, since hese writers are,
17after all, aiming to have their works published. Thus, the label of autobiography
appears o become ess appropriate nd ess purposeful. Furthermore, he reader can be
confronted with a variety of subtitles which suggest hat a work might be autobiographical:
memoirs , autobiographical novel , 9reminiscences , self-portrait , journal . There are
also many imes when a work of fiction contains arallels o the writer s life. This is, then,
justified by saying hat the writer s choice of material s based on his/her own experiences.
Gabriele Wohmann explains he merging of reality and imagination n her works in the
following way:
Allerdings gibt es wohl kaum einen Schriftsteller, der alle
Erfahrungen seiner Protagonisten atsächlich selbst gemacht
hat. Auch sitze ich nicht in einem Sozialbüro und sammle
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
30/424
25
dort meine Erfahrungen. Die Realität in meinen Büchern
erschaffe ich mit Hilfe meiner Phantasie, durch mein
Einfühlungsvermögen n die Menschen nd mein nteresse n
ihnen, durch meine Neugier auf sie und durch meinen nstinkt
für die Kniffligkeiten zwischen den Menschen. Schließlich
kommt noch meine Selbstbeobachtung azu. ( ... ) Alles, was
man über den Menschen zu schreiben vermag, kann man in
48sich selbst inden.
Waltraud Anna Mitgutsch does not consider her novel Die Zilchtigung, analysed n Chapter
Three, to be autobiographical, ince his would mply that every detail could be proved as
fact. Nevertheless, he admits, ike many authors, hat she borrows' from her experiences
because his makes he story more plausible:
Die Mutter beispielsweise esteht aus Frauen von denen mir
erzählt wurde, aus Frauen, die ich selber kenne, aus der
eigenenMutter
und aus mir selbst.Daher
würdeich
esablehnen, en Roman als autobiographisch u bezeichnen, a
ich Mißverständnisse verhindern will. Selbstverständlich abe
auch ch als Kind hin und wieder Schläge bekommen, aber
ich kann mich daran nicht mehr erinnern. Alle diese Szenen
habe ch erfunden. Es wäre aber andererseits uch falsch,
wenn ich behaupten würde, der Roman trüge keine
autobiographischen Oge.
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
31/424
26
A wish to combine both fact and fiction is evident n Karin Struck's Kindhelts Ende,
subtitled Journal einer Krise", which for the most part documents he break-up of Struck's
marriage and her painful development f self-understanding uring the years 1977-1981.
The crisis refers o the dangers woman may ace n all areas f society and he difficulties
incurred by the woman writer who is also a wife and mother. Thus, this work does achieve
representative ignificance, ven hough t is an ntensely ersonal ocumentary f Struck's
own experiences. The author integrates many dreams nto her work, which are critical of
society in that they illustrate the possible extent to which the artistic imagination of a
woman may be repressed, ince t can only find expression n dreams:
Nur in den Träumen probiere ch Handlungsmöglichkeiten.
In den Träumen spiegeln sich meine Fehler. Die Träume
warnen mich. Die Träume schreien: Handle , handle doch
endlich , wann handelst u?
It is noticeable hat dreams and fantasies do feature fairly frequently n contemporary
women9s iterature in German, for example, in Barbara Frischmuth's novels Die
Mystifikationen er Sophie Silber (1976), Amy oder Die Metamorphose 1978) and Kai und
die Liebe zu den Modellen (1979). The three works form a trilogy, in which Frischmuth
combines airy-tale and reality to relate he story of a fairy who has become a real person
-a writer and a mother. Interestingly, he itle of Struck's autobiographical ork Kindhelts
Ende is taken from the lyrics of a Pink Floyd song which highlights a certain inter-
dependence f fact and iction: "childhood's end: your fantasies merging harsh ealities".
Throughout he book Struck s conscious f the fact that what she s writing falls between
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
32/424
27
the categories f documentary and fiction: Dokumentarisches iktionalisiert sich, so wie
sich die Fiktion dokumentiert . 1 In her journal she openly comments upon the writing
process, he choice between autobiography nd iction. She s prepared o scrutinise erself
and even change o meet he requirements f modem autobiography, ut an underlying one
of doubt s evident:
Autobiographisches Schreiben, sagt man behelfsweise. Sich
selber zum Objekt seiner Kunst machen: sich selbst
bearbeiten, a verarbeiten u etwas anderem.
Struck s quite definite, however, about her reluctance o write fiction only, preferring o
remain rue to herself and ace he challenge f discovering er identity, not wanting o be
as objective as a male writer:
Ich denke an das Wort Fiktion und sehe sofort eine Milch-
glasscheibe or mir, hinter der ein Kind liegt, das man nicht
berühren, nicht besuchen darf. Fiktion ist Entfernung,
Distanz, Abstand.
The association f the child with the iterary product n terms of creation s a familiar one.
The parallel here, hough, s that the child (the work of fiction) is separated rom its mother
(the author). In other words fiction would not be a true part of the writer, since
imagination would have played ts role in the creation of the work-. Manfred Jurgensen
similarly comments bout Struck:
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
33/424
28
Sie will es nicht erlauben, daß sich zwischen hr und ihrem
Werk ein Abstand auftut. Die eigene Schöpfung oll wie das
Kind Bestandteil hrer Selbst bleiben. Es kann auch bei
seiner eigenständigen xistenz nichts Subjektiveres eben. 4
Evidently, n her ournal, Struck has every ntention of undergoing er own rebirth, hence
theikelihood
of an end oher
childhood emains emote: childhoods both her
past andfuture.
This desire on the part of women writers to express private issues, such as the break-up
of their marriage nd he consequences, s an aspect which permeates nd characterises heir
autobiographical riting and s all the more mportant because hey are successful n doing
this. As previously mentioned, raditionally a reader of autobiography ould be expecting
a review of the writer's life, usually based on some claim to notoriety. For these young
women writing their d6but works this is not the case, as Sigrid Weigel explains:
Wenn Frauen zu schreiben beginnen, steht hnen oft kein
anderer Stoff zur Verfügung als der der eigenen Lebens-
geschichte. Deshalb st die autobiographische chreibweise
bei Erstöffentlichungen esonders äufig. Stärkere Fiktion-
alisierung und Literarisierung ist nicht selten an die
Professionalität er Verfasserin gebunden.
Autobiography s, thus, chosen y many inexperienced', new female writers, which does
contradict the traditional autobiographies y male writers with long-standing iterary
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
34/424
29
reputations. Young women, unknown at the time of writing, write about heir everyday
lives n anticipation f overcoming omepersonal onflict or crisis, or coming o terms with
the situation n which they find themselves. The motivation or writing is also o be found
in the desire o search or one s dentity and n the sense f solidarity amongst women, who
experience similar wishes, fears and suffering.
As already suggested, here are autobiographical orks by both men and women writers,
which can be categorised under the term Neue SubjektivitAt . Men writershave
alsobeen
attempting o write from a subjective erspective o that occasionally he subject-matter f
male and female writers do coincide. This is especially evident from the quantity of
IVAterbficher written by sons and daughters n the seventies and eighties and has,
therefore, warranted a separate chapter to analyse some of these works. Whilst
approximately he same number of men and women have chosen o write personal ccounts
about heir relationships with their fathers, comparisons an be drawn between he extent
to which the writer is subjective; what it is that actually interests him/her about the
relationship; what the purpose s of writing such a work. Generally speaking, n the case
of men writers, historical events play an important part as well as the acquisition of as
many acts as possible so that, although he son may be searching or his identity and may
be revealing hidden ruths, the writer still includes a certain amount of objectivity n is
work which emerges s aloofness, s f he is uninvolved:
Ich sehe Dein Alter, ich sehe Deine Krankheit, ich sehe
Deine Verzweifelung, und finde das nteressant. ch notiere
alles, was Du sagst und tust. und in meiner Erinnerung,
unterstütze mein Erinnerungsvermögen urch Tonband und
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
35/424
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
36/424
31
self-awareness. Writing with ease about ssues which concern hem and with which they
are familiar has given these women writers greater confidence. They have achieved
recognition ndividually and as a group, privately and publicly. For men writers this path
to self-discovery as been neither a comfortable xperience or an easy choice. They are
more ikely to stray off this path and ind their footing n facts rather han openly admit to
feelings. The application of subjectivity has been one of trial and error; a new venture or
the male writer which has not provided the same success, maybe on account of its
innovative stance which the reader has not been prepared o accept rom an established
writer of fiction. On the other hand, Serke s remark is questionable when we consider
individual writers and individual works. it will become evident during this analysis of
novels by women writers that only a few women will, in fact, succeed n discovering heir
true nner selves; he majority will have he courage o probe, o open up wounds and start
a painful process of recollection, but the end result will not appear n writing, the
implication being that the process s ongoing. Furthermore, not one of the works of the
women writers selected or analysis here ends on a positive note. The reader s left to
surmise about he writer s future progress. For this reason he supposed uccess f each
femalewriter
incoping with
herpersonal
ifeproves difficult to establish, unless she
chooses o write sequels Brigitte Schwaiger and Helga M. Novak, for instance).
Like Serke, Renate M6hrmann highlights he different meanings modern autobiographies
have or men and women writers:
Die plötzliche Herauskehrung es weiblichen ch hat nicht
denselben tellenwert wie die Ich-Zentriertheit n den Werken
der Männer, denn niemals n der Literaturgeschichte aren
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
37/424
32
weiblichesund männliches ch wertadäquat. ... ) Hat man
hinsichtlich der Gestaltungdes männlichen ch von einem
Rück-Zuggesprochen, o ließe sich bei der Literarisierung
des weiblichen Ich im wortwörtlichenSinn von einem
Vor-Zug reden. Denn hier ist keine nostalgische
Reprivatisierungam Werk, sondern - im Gegenteil- ein
Öffentlichmachenvonjahrhundertealten Beschädigungen, ine
Zurücknahmeder zur GewohnheitgewordenenVerstummung.
() Die Geschichte der neuen Frauenbewegung ist die
Geschichte er weiblichench-Findung.
It willbe shown n the followingchapters hat for manyof thesewomenwritersthe act of
writingfor the first timeis aldnto a formof self-therapywith the functionof rescuing he
woman rom her passive, ubordinate ole, eitheras a wife or daughter,as wellas helping
her to deal with emotionalcrises. It couldbe said, therefore, hat the subject-matter f
these modemautobiographiess determined y the genderof the writer. Moreover,we
have o take nto accountnot only what interestsand concerns he writer, but also what
purpose heseautobiographicalextsserveandwhatexpectationsheyare ntended o fulfil.
Evenwithinthe abundance f autobiographical orks by women t is possible o identify
prevalent, epresentativehemes. Examplesof childhoodwouldincludeamongstothers:
AngelikaMechtel sWirsind arm, wir sindreich(1977),MariaWimmer sDieKindheitauf
dem Lande (1978),Karin Reschke sMemoireneines Kindes(1980)and MonicaStreit s
Joschl.EineKindheitnachdemKrieg (1984). Womenwritersalso ook at theirrolewithin
history and the effect of historicaleventsupon generations f women n their families:
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
38/424
33
Ingeborg Drewitz' Gestern war heute. Hundert Jahre Gegenwart 1978), Marie-Th6rese
Kerschbaumer's chwestem 1982). Of more mmediate istorical elevance re he events
of the 1930s and ife under he Hitler regime: Helga M. Novak's two-part autobiography
Die Eisheiligen (1979) and Vogel ederlos (1982), Katja Behrens' Die dreizehnte Fee
(1983). Marital relationships, particularly separations, also come to the fore with works
such as Brigitte Schwaiger's Wie kommt das Salz ins Meer (1977), Hannelies Taschau's
LanjIftiede (1978), Karin Petersen's Das fette Mr (1978). The works selected or this
study are likewise indicative of themes about which women, above all, have something o
say, namely elationships etween arents and children.
Up until now we have viewed these ecent personal writings by women as having a
positive message, hat s, as being representative n terms of reception and herapeutic or
the writer herself. We should not overlook the fact, though, that this upsurge n self-
expression y women has not always been seen n a favourable ight. The desire, even he
need, for women to examine heir selves on paper has been met with accusations f
indulgence n self-pity and self-justification. These writings are supposedly oo personal
to be regarded as 'literary' and contain too much pathos. The sheer quantity of
'confessional' works by women during this period of development n women's iterature n
German does encourage he application of negative eneralisations, uch as self-indulgence
and achrymosity, o all contemporary omen's iterature rom German-speaking ountries:
An der selbsttherapeutischen bsicht ist meist nicht zu
zweifeln. Selbstmitleidung, Selbstrechtfertigung, ein
narzißtisches nd (oder) exhibitionistisches edürfnis können
sich n den Schreibprozeß mischen.
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
39/424
34
The obsessive ature of a number of new women writers in German o focus on the
negative spects f their ives can, hus, ead o charges f narcissistic elf-consumption . 0
Whilst the act of writing is intended o provide a cathartic experience, he final product
the published work - is a constant reminder of past turmoils. Will this woman writer,
therefore, ever be able to break free from pain and suffering and make a fresh start? The
implication s that she will learn and gain insight into her own being as she reflects. In
Kindheits Ende Karin Struck sees he relevance of pain as part of the writing process n the
following way:
Du mußt eiden, damit du schreiben annstl Sagt man dem
Schriftsteller, und keine noch so fundierte Kreativitäts-
forschung kann das Vorurteil aufheben und die Einsicht
allgemein verbreiten, daß der Schriftsteller schreibt, obwohl
er leidet. Manchmal wissen das die Schriftsteller elbst nicht,
weil sie nicht wissen, daß sie nicht schreiben, weil sie eiden,
sondern eiden, weil sie schreiben. Denn was heißt schreiben
anderes als: wahrnehmen, eobachten, enken, ühlen, und
dies mit allen Sinnen, und geht das alles, ohne zu leiden,
ohne Schmerzen? s st kein Denken möglich ohne Schmerz.
Mit dem Zusammenhang will die Welt sich nicht
beschaftigen. 1
Suffering, then, according o Struck, s not the reason or writing, instead t is the actual
writing which causes he author suffering. In the case of the woman writer it would be
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
40/424
35
possible o support both sides of the argument, as Johanna W6rdemann oints out: Das
Wiedererkennen, as Anerkennen es eigenen mitgeteilten Leidens m Leiden anderer
ist sowohl Selbstaffirmation ls auch Ausweg' . The loss of a parent or a child can be
seen o be the catalyst or writing, whilst the act of coherently xpressing eelings on paper
proves equally painful, yet cathartic. The writer, perhaps subconsciously, calls on the
reader's empathy and sympathy. Although the subject-matter ould be considered
depressing, even morbid, the reader might in fact feel better about his/her own situation,
having read about someone lse's misfortunes.
It should at this point be reiterated that these women writers are appealing to other
ordinary women o acknowledge hat their problems are common, as well as to share and
understand heir position. This notion of malcing ne's writing as representative s possible
is, however, on shaky ground, when we note hat most of these writers stem rom middle-
class backgrounds nd have had a university education. t is perhaps lready a sign of their
emancipation hat hey are n the privileged position of being able o analyse hemselves n
paper. It is also more than ikely that such works will only be read by someone rom a
similar background ecause therwise empathy would be unlikely. And, in contrast o a
writer of fiction, these women writers are not providing a make-believe world where
dreams ome rue and nto which the reader can escape. Nevertheless, t is worth noting
that Schwaiger's irst autobiographical ovel Me kommt das Salz ns Meer (1977) has been
the most successful ost-1945 d6but novel by a German-spealdng uthor since GOnter
Grass' Die Blechtrommel 1959). Clearly many emale readers ave been able o identify
with Schwaiger's ortrayal of the breakdown of her middle-class marriage, he failure of
a love affair, an abortion and thoughts of suicide, which appear as central issues n
Trauenliteratur'. In an nterview n 1984 Schwaiger erself makes he following point with
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
41/424
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
42/424
37
Nowadays, Trauenliteratur' offers a varied scope f themes nd echniques hich underline
the superfluousness f a simple definition. We have to do away with the concept of
literature by women, about women and or women, and concentrate n the fact that his is
a literature written by women who are writing from a female perspective ounded on social
conditions and areas of reality, which are naturally different from those of men. Hence,
this s not a literature ighting for the rights of women, but one which portrays he everyday
existence of women in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As we have seen n this survey
of Trauenliteratur' and autobiography, women's self-definition clearly has strong ties with
her social status, as the literary critic Elaine Showalter aptly summarises or us:
Women writers should not be studied as a distinct group on
the assumption hat they write alike, or even display stylistic
resemblances, istinctively eminine. But women do have a
special iterary history susceptible o analysis, which ncludes
such complex considerations s he economics f their relation
to literary marketplace; he effects of social and political
changes in women's status upon individuals, and the
implications of stereotypes of the woman writer and
restrictions of her artistic autonomy.
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
43/424
38
NOTES TO INTRODUCTION
I Sally Emerson considers sing a male pen name o deflect criticisms hat women's
writing displays a louche disregard or housekeeping . Tersonal View', Sunday
77mes, 19 June 1988.
2 Details from Manfred Jurgensen, Deutsche Frauenautoren der Gegenwart (Bern:
Francke, 1983), p. 12.
3 Lottemi Doorman, ed. , Keiner schiebt uns weg (Weinheim and Basel: Beltz, 1979),
p. 243.
4 Rob Bums and Wilfried van der, Will, Protest and Democracy n West Germany
(London: Macmillan Press, 1988), p. 137.
5 Marlis Gerhardt, Wohin geht Nora? Auf der Suche nach der verlorenen Frau',
Kursbuch, 47 (Berlin: Rotbuch, März, 1977), pp. 77-89, p. 86.
6 H. D. Schäfer, Droht das Ende der Literatur? Die Welt, 13 October 1971.
7 Peter Uwe Hohendahl, Tolitisierung der Kunsttheorie: ur ästhetischen iskussion
nach 1965', in Deutsche Literatur in der Bundesrepublik eli 1965, ed. by P. M.
Liltzeler and E. Schwarz K6nigstein/Ts.: thendum, 1980), pp. 282-299 p. 290).
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
44/424
39
8 Sylvia Schwab, Autobiographik und Lebenserfahrung: Versuch einer 7ýpologie
deutschsprachigerautobiographischer chriften wischen 965 und 1975 Würzburg:
K6nigshausen nd Neumann, 1981), p.9.
9 Weigel refers to the year only in the footnotes. Sigrid Weigel, 'Woman Begins
Relating to Herself : Contemporary German Women's Literature (Part One)', New
German Critique, 31 (1984), 53-94 (p. 59).
10 For further details see Weigel, p. 65.
11 'Frauenoffensive' was the first women's press founded n Munich in 1976 by a
group of women who had been publishing a series of feminist works since 1974 or
the 'Trikont Verlag. In the same year (1976) the 'Verlag Frauenpolitik' was
founded n Monster, ollowed by Trauenbuchverlag ntje Kunstmann' n Munich,
'Frauenselbstverlag' n Berlin and Amazonenverlag' lso n Berlin.
12 Sigrid Schmid-Bortenschlager, Beiträge österreichischer Schriftstellerinnen zur
Literatur seit 1945', Modema Sprdk, 2 (1981), 149-162 p. 149). During the period
1905-1948 Hedwig Courths-Mahler produced over 207 novels of which over 40
million copies have been sold world-wide n various anguages. She wrote her first
novel Scheinehe t the age of seventeen nd was known to have written up to
fourteen books, each over three hundred pages ong, in one year, that year being
1920. She is just one example of a woman writer whose works are today
categorised nder he term 'Trivialliteratur'.
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
45/424
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
46/424
41
20 See or example Silvia Bovenschen, ie imaginlerte Weiblichkeit Frankfurt a.M.:
Suhrkamp, 1979); nge Stephan nd Sigrid Weigel, Die verborgene rau (Berlin:
Argument, 1985).
21 Magdelene Heuser, Trauen-Literatur-Sprache', Diskussion Deutsch, 12 (1981),
383-405 p.393).
22 Malina (1971) was the first novel in Bachmann's rilogy, entitled Todesarten. Only
fragments remain of the two sequels, Der Fall Franza and Requiem ar Fanny
Goldman. Malina was, in fact, her only novel to be published whilst Bachmann
was ive.
23 Rita Felsld, Beyond Feminist Aesthetics London: Hutchinson Radius, 1989), p. 14.
24 Manfred Jurgensen, Was st Frauenliteratur? , p. 19.
25 Manfred Jurgensen, eutsche rauenautoren er Gegenwart Bern: Francke, 1983),
p. 311.
26 Verena Stefan's Hautungen 1975) s frequently cited as a symbol or the break-
through of women's literature (Weigel, p. 61). Stefan herself was an active
member of the Women's Movement and intentionally wrotein
such a way that
readers could identify with her experiences nd at the same ime she would speak
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
47/424
42
27
28
29
on behalf of women. By the mid-80s over 250,000 copies of her first book had
been sold.
In her book about he narrative trategies f twentieth-century omen writers Rachel
Blau Du Plessis remarks that while hardly all of the writers would describe
themselves s feminists, and some, ndeed, esist hat erm, one may assert hat any
female cultural practice that makes he 'meaning production process' itself 'the site
of struggle' may be considered feminist . Wifting Beyond the Ending
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985), p. 34.
Significant eminist works include Germaine Greer's Yhe Female Eunuch (1970),
Simone de Beauvoir's 7he Second Sex (trans. and ed. by H. M. Parshley, 1953).
Kate Millett's Sexual Politics (1977), Luce Ifigaray's Et Pune ne bouge pas sans
Pautre (1979), H616ne ixous' 'The Laugh of the Medusa' (trans. by Keith Cohen
and Paula Cohen, Signs, 1,1976).
Rosalind Cowardseparates o-called
eministnovels
nto fourcategories: novels
which make heir allegiance o the women's movement ery apparent; ovels which
have as heir central heme he aspirations f feminism; novels which are written by
female authors who have heorised bout eminism n other works; and novels which
illustrate women's oppression ut do not deal with feminism as such.
Rosalind Coward, 'This Novel Changes ives : Are Women's Novels Feminist
Novels? A Response o Rebecca O'Rourke's Article ,Summer Reading ', Feminist
Review, 5 (1980)t 53-64 (p.58).
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
48/424
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
49/424
44
39 Schwab,p.10.
40 IngridAichinger,Troblemeder Autobiographie lsSprachkunstwerk',Österreich
in Geschichte ndLiteratur, 14 (1970),418-434 p.427).
41 Philippe Lejeune, 'The AutobiographicalContract', in French Literary Theory
Toddy: A Reader, ed. by Tzvetan Todorov (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1982), p.202.
42 See Rita Felski's chapter On Confession, BeyondFeministAesthetics, London:
HutchinsonRadius, 1989), pp.86-121.
43 Felski,p.112.
44 Schwab,p.248.
45 Albertvon Schimding, Schreiben lsRettungsaktion. abrieleWohmanns usflugmit der Mutter', Süddeutsche eitung, 11 November1976.
46 Karin Richter-Schröder, rauenliteraturund weibliche dentität (Frankfurta.M.:
Hain, 1986),p. 155.
47 SallyEmersonmakes he nterestingpointthat a novelistoftenwriteshis firstbook
better than his subsequent nes because e does not believe that his first will be
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
50/424
45
published. He can therefore write freely of his emotions, his friends, his lovers.
He does not believe hat anyone he knows will be studying his work .
Sally Emerson, Personal View', Sunday 77mes, 9 June 1988.
48 Adelbert Reif, 'Ohne Todesangst würde ich keine Romane schreiben. Gespräch mit
Gabriele Wohmann', Die Welt, 6 July 1992.
49 Birgit Leonhardt, 'Interview mit Waltraud Anna Mitgutsch', Buchreport, Nr. 23,5
June 1985.
50 Karin Struck, Kindheits Ende (Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1982), p. 188.
51 Manfred Jurgensen, as Ende der Sucht? Zu Karin Strucks Uournal einer Krise
Kindheits Ende', in Frauenliteratur, ed. by M. Jurgensen München: dtv, 1985),
pp. 171-186 p. 173).
52 Struck, Kindheits Ende, p. 444.
53 Struck, Kindhelts Ende, p. 497.
54 Jurgensen, . 185.
55 Weigel, Die Stimme der Medusa, p. 154.
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
51/424
46
56 Peter Henisch, Die kleine Figur meines Vaters (Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1980),
p.76.
57 Jürgen Serke, Frauen Schreiben Frankfurt a. M.: Fischer, 1982), p. 10.
58 Renate Möhrmann, Feministische rends n der deutschen egenwartsliteratur , n
Deutsche Gegenwartsliteratur, ed. by Manfred Durzak (Stuttgart: Reclam. 1981),
pp. 337-358 pp. 340-342).
59 Paul Konrad Kurz, Zwischen Widerstand nd Wohlstand Frankfurt a. M.: Knecht,
1986), p. 16.
60 Sandra Frieden, Autobiography: Sey nto Fonn (Bern: P. Lang, 1983), p. 107.
61 Struck, Kindheits Ende, p. 14.
62 JohannaWördemann, Schreiben
um zu überleben oderSchreiben
alsArbeit.
Notizen zum Treffen schreibender rauen n München, Mai 1976 , Alternative, 5
(1976), 115-118, p. 116).
63 Details from Christa Gürtler, Schreiben Frauen anders? Stuttgart: Akademischer
verlag Hans-Dieter Heinz, 1985), p. 74.
64 Eva Koch-Klenske, . 156.
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
52/424
47
65 Susan . Cocalis and Kay Goodman, d., Beyond he Eternal Feminine Stuttgart:
Akademischer erlag Hans-Dieter Heinz, 1982), pp. 35-36.
66 Josephine Donovan, ed., Feminist Literary Criticism Lexington: University Press
of Kentucky, 1975), p. 13.
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
53/424
48
CHAPTER ONE: DEATH OF A FATHER: START OF A STORY
A comparison f Elisabeth Plessen s Mitteflung an den Adel (1976), Brigitte Schwaiger s
Lange Abwesenheit 1980) and Jutta Schutting s Der Vater (1980) llustrates he ways n
which three daughters write about their fathers death and try to come to terms with the loss
of this parent. These hree books have been selected or a number of reasons: irst, they
present he daughter-father elationship, about which little has been written, either in
primary or secondaryiterature;
second, all threehave in
common thefact
that thefather
has recently died prior to the opening of the narrative. Clearly the immediacy of death
does have a significant nfluence on the thoughts of these daughters nd, as will be shown,
the loss of the father plays a crucial part in each daughter s search or her own identity.
The three works and their authors are also representative f the literature being
published n Germany nd Austria oday by writers, who are analysing hemselves nd heir
relationships with their families n order to understand who they are. In contrast o the
IVergangenheitsbewdltigung nd he collective esponsibility f the German eople depicted
in the works of GOnter Grass, Heinrich B611 nd Siegfried Lenz, amongst others, these
younger writers turn to the personal sphere, exploring intimate relationships as well as
highlighting he generation ap between arents nd children. Plessen s emale protagonist,
on hearing of her father s sudden death, ravels home or the funeral, which she ends up
not attending. The story is of her four-day ourney by car from Munich to Schleswig-
Holstein, during which the daughter reflects on her relationship with her father: the
conflict between conservative, uthoritarian andowner rom the aristocracy nd a radical,
politically-motivated student, who participates n the student demonstrations f 1968.
Conflicts of opinions between daughter and father is also evident n Schwaiger s work,
where he daughter, n trying to come o terms with her father s death, ecalls her father s
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
54/424
49
antisemitism nd her affair with a Jew, Peter Birer, who is old enough o be her father.
Whilst both Plessen s and Schwaiger s works do suggest that the politics of a
German/Austrian ast nfluence he attitude and behaviour of daughter nd ather, here s
no such political impetus in Schutting s Der Vater. Once again the narrative opens with
the daughter having ust heard of her father s death and describes her reaction to this news
and her ensuing efforts over the next three days o organise he funeral service, which she
attends with the rest of the family. Naturally, she, too, considers he extent to which her
father influenced her upbringing and meditates on their relationship. As in the two other
works featured here, lovelhatred of the authoritarian father is presented n graphic terms
by the writer.
In this chapter we shall explore he relationship etween ather and daughter y looking
at the development f the father s authority within the German home since 1945 and the
psychoanalytical heory surrounding he daughter-father elationship. We will look briefly
at the international iterary scene o recent works by Elaine Feinstein, Sylvia Fraser and
Germaine Greer to recognise hat the daughter-father elationship s not just a trend in
modem literature from German-spealcing countries, but is of global interest and
significance. We shall also reflect on the possible similarities hat these ather-portrayals
by daughters rom German-speaking ountries have with those written by sons, such as the
Abrechnung with the Nazi past. We will then be in a position o consider he extent o
which psychoanalytical nd historical traits are evident n the relationships ortrayed by
Plessen, Schwaiger nd Schutting. In order to be able to understand he possible effect of
a father s death on his daughter, he role of the father should be considered irst, before
analysing hese iterary texts.
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
55/424
50
The word father conjures p several nalogies, uchas God, the Father , fatherland ,
Idngdom and patriarchy . Indeed, the head of the family (pater familias) can trace his
roots back to the chief of the clan, to representing is wife and children in public, to
commanding ver them but also o carrying he responsibility or them. He had he right
as well as the duty to educate his children. His control was total, as indicated by the fact
that his family name became he name of his own family. Up until as ate as 1977 and he
implementation of the new marriage laws this had still been the case n West Germany.
In Christianity (including Judaism and Islam) God has always been a father-figure. Any
attempt, therefore, to do away with patriarchy might suggest a renunciation of religion in
particular and security n general. Yet, as a result of women s demands or equality, he
state of patriarchy s in the process f gradually disintegrating. The role of the father s
likewise changing nd a new ather mage s emerging. As mothers o out to work and he
size of the family shrinks, he father no longer rules the clan.
The period after World War Two and up until the 1970s heralded he end of a German
father s supremacy n the home. He had been defeated n war and had o carry the blame.
Within the family he initially attempted o assert his authority in order to compensate or
his sense f public humiliation:
Gerade weil die Werte und Ideale, für die sie gekämpft
hatten, zerstört waren, suchten ie heimgekehrten äter um
so verzweifelter Haft und Lebenssinn n ihren Familien zu
finden; als Erzieher wenigstens ie Autorität zu behaupten,
die sie als Staatsbürger uf lange Zeit verloren hatten.
8/19/2019 Bagley (1993) - Somebody's Daughter - The Portrayal of Daughter-Parent Relationships by Contemporary Women…
56/424
51
The father believed that he could redeem himself by continuing to bring up his children
according o strict Prussian standards. He was certainly not prepared o tolerate any
questions r criticism rom his children. With the rebuilding of West Germany is thoughts
turned o work, to creating prosperity and achieving uccess. As Jessica enjamin