In West German theater, the decade of the seventies has been marked by growing doubts as to the efficacy of theater in adequately representing social reality and effecting social change. With their apparent faith in the transparency and changeability of existing conditions, the critical "Volksstucke" of Franz Xaver Kroetz represent an interesting phenomenon within the contemporary theatrical l and scape. By exploring the ways in which Kroetz's theater seeks to bridge the modern chasm between language and social reality, between theater and politics, the present study yields insight into the nature and function of the Kroetzian "Volksstuck," and locates it firmly within the context of contemporary aesthetic concerns. The dissertation challenges criticism which sees in Kroetz's theater an essentially mimetic approach ("Widerspiegelungsrealismus") by showing how and to what extent it both reflects and resists the linguistic and political skepticism of the contemporary avant-garde. After outlining some of the central aesthetic issues--particularly with regard to problems of intention and reception--involved in the dramaturgical conception of the critical "Volksstuck," and discussing these issues within the context of contemporary West German theater in general, the dissertation focuses on Kroetz's own particular "solutions." From a detailed analysis of the various linguistic, structural, and thematic patterns that emerge in major and representative plays from Mannersache to Furcht und Hoffnung der BRD, an aesthetic "model" is established which derives its effectiveness from the tension between naturalistic and abstract, compassion and critique, resignation and resistance. In underscoring the inner consistency of Kroetz's plays with regard to purpose and technique, the model corrects the common view that Kroetz has moved from a "descriptive" to a "socialist" realism. At the same time, it provides a critical apparatus by which to account for the relative success or failure of the various extensions Kroetz attempted throughout his career. Tracing the model through these extensions, the dissertation offers an interpretation that sees in Kroetz's development an increasingly self-reflective character which both illuminates and challenges contemporary theatrical trends.Ph.D.German literatureTheaterUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/161739/1/8801439.pd
