Description
Book SynopsisBrings to light unsuspectedly rich sources of humor in the works of prominent nineteenth-century women writers. Nineteenth-century German literature is seldom seen as rich in humor and irony, and women's writing from that period is perhaps even less likely to be seen as possessing those qualities. Yet since comedy is bound to societal norms, and humor and irony are recognized weapons of the weak against authority, what this innovative study reveals should not be surprising: women writers found much to laugh at in a bourgeois age when social constraints, particularlyon women, were tight. Helen Chambers analyzes prose fiction by leading female writers of the day who prominently employ humor and irony. Arguing that humor and irony involve cognitive and rational processes, she highlights the inadequacy of binary theories of gender that classify the female as emotional and the male as rational. Chambers focuses on nine women writers: Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Ida Hahn-Hahn, Ottilie Wildermuth, Helene Böhlau, Marie vonEbner-Eschenbach, Ada Christen, Clara Viebig, Isolde Kurz, and Ricarda Huch. She uncovers a rich seam of unsuspected or forgotten variety, identifies fresh avenues of approach, and suggests a range of works that merit a place onuniversity reading lists and attention in scholarly studies. Helen Chambers is Professor of German at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK.
Trade Review[T]his well-researched study, which includes an extensive list of 'works cited,' is an important step in reevaluating a topic typically ignored in nineteenth-century German-language literature ... and uses a solid methodological approach to do so. * MONATSHEFTE *
Students . often bemoan the dearth of comic characters and plots in canonical German literature. Heroines, in particular, appear destined for death. A very different picture emerges, however, from Helen Chambers' new book.. [The] study is an important contribution to nineteenth-century women's literature.. * GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW *
For scholars and students of nineteenth-century German and Austrian women's writings, this volume is a 'must have.' . In each of four chapters we meet two writers whose intent and strategy bear commonality: Annette von Droste-Hülshoff and Ida Hahn-Hahn, Ottilie Wildermuth and Helene Böhlau, Ada Christen and Clara Viebig, Isolde Kurz and Ricarda Huch. For example, the chapter on Christen and Viebig steers us to 'Laughter and Pain in the World of Work,' that on Kurz and Huch to 'The Humor of Skeptical Idealism.' Maria von Ebner-Eschenbach alone is accorded an entire chapter due to her singular use of satire and physical comedy. . It is hoped that this study will serve as inducement to expand the project of translating these writers' works. * H-NET *
Table of ContentsIntroduction Annette von Droste-Hülshoff and Ida Hahn-Hahn: Overcoming Seriousness? Ottilie Wildermuth and Helene Böhlau: Harmless Humor or Subtle Psychology? Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach: Satire, Physical Comedy, Irony, and Deeper Meaning Ada Christen and Clara Viebig: Laughter and Pain in the World of Work Isolde Kurz and Ricarda Huch: The Humor of Skeptical Idealism Conclusion Works Cited Index
