Marlen Haushofer: Recollections of Crime and Complicity

This essay wants to introduce readers to one of Austria\u27s most astute women writers of the immediate postwar period. Marlen Haushofer, in contrast to her contemporary Ingeborg Bachmann, has not (yet) gained international renown despite her literary craftsmanship. Looking at those works of her that most poignantly thematize the postwar reaction to the years of National Socialism and deal with the issues of guilt and responsibility, I focus on Haushofer\u27s gendered perspective on the roles of victim, perpetrator, and bystander as played out in the seemingly apolitical microcosm of the family. The essay consists of an introductory discussion of the relevant political-historical context, a brief commentary on two thematically related short stories, and an analysis of the novella Wir töten Stella. In her scathing portrait of femininity in the patriarchal order of the fifties, Haushofer condemns women as accomplices in the perpetuation of corrupt structures and strategies of domination. She points to women\u27s subordination and conspiracy of silence about evil-doing as powerful factors in the perpetuation of destruction. The metaphorical representation of Austrians\u27 collective effort to forget their participation in Nazi crimes may be regarded as a gendered writing strategy allowing Haushofer to appear harmless and thus acceptable to her contemporaries

Marlen Haushofer: Recollections of Crime and Complicity

This essay wants to introduce readers to one of Austria's most astute women writers of the immediate postwar period. Marlen Haushofer, in contrast to her contemporary Ingeborg Bachmann, has not (yet) gained international renown despite her literary craftsmanship. Looking at those works of her that most poignantly thematize the postwar reaction to the years of National Socialism and deal with the issues of guilt and responsibility, I focus on Haushofer's gendered perspective on the roles of victim, perpetrator, and bystander as played out in the seemingly apolitical microcosm of the family. The essay consists of an introductory discussion of the relevant political-historical context, a brief commentary on two thematically related short stories, and an analysis of the novella Wir töten Stella . In her scathing portrait of femininity in the patriarchal order of the fifties, Haushofer condemns women as accomplices in the perpetuation of corrupt structures and strategies of domination. She points to women's subordination and conspiracy of silence about evil-doing as powerful factors in the perpetuation of destruction. The metaphorical representation of Austrians' collective effort to forget their participation in Nazi crimes may be regarded as a gendered writing strategy allowing Haushofer to appear harmless and thus acceptable to her contemporaries

[Rezension zu:] Dirk Kemper, Aleksej Zerebin u. Iris Bäcker (Hg.): Eigen- und Fremdkulturelle Literaturwissenschaft

Rezension zu Dirk Kemper, Aleksej Zerebin u. Iris Bäcker (Hg.): Eigen- und Fremdkulturelle Literaturwissenschaft. München (Wilhelm Fink) 2011. 384 S

Ingrid Schramm and Michael Hansel, eds., Hilde Spiel und der literarische Salon

On the occasion of Hilde Spiel’s 100th birthday — she was born in Vienna on October 19, 1911 — a team of researchers working at the Literary Archive of the Austrian National Library (ÖNB) put together a volume celebrating the contributions of this highly productive and influential Austrian writer and critic. Since Hilde Spiel’s Nachlass is housed in the Literary Archive, it seems quite obvious that the current director, the scholar Bernhard Fetz, and his colleagues would want to commemorate S..

[Rezension zu:] Susanne Elpers: Autobiographische Spiele

Rezension zu Susanne Elpers: Autobiographische Spiele. Texte von Frauen der Avantgarde. Bielefeld (Aisthesis Verlag) 2008. 282 S. Der vorliegende Band zeugt von gründlicher und fleißiger Arbeit einer Komparatistin, die ihre Dissertation durch die (in Deutschland wohl notwendige) Publikation einem breiteren Publikum zugänglich machen will