The Sacifice of Vitality: Devitalisation and Melancholy in the Narrative Works of Theodor Storm, Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka by Christian Neumann (review)
Das Opfer der Lebendigkeit: Devitalisierung und Melancholie im Erzählwerk Theodor Storms, Thomas Manns und Franz Kafkas by Christian Neumann (review)
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:
Reviewed by:
Das Opfer der Lebendigkeit: Devitalisierung und Melancholie im Erzählwerk Theodor Storms, Thomas Manns und Franz Kafkas by Christian Neumann
Pamela S. Saur
Christian Neumann, Das Opfer der Lebendigkeit: Devitalisierung und Melancholie im Erzählwerk Theodor Storms, Thomas Manns und Franz Kafkas. Würzburg: Königshausen und Neumann, 2023. 362 pp.
Christian Neumann's detailed and extensively researched 2023 study Das Opfer der Lebendigkeit addresses "devitalization" and "melancholy" in literary characters created by the three canonical German-language authors Theodor Storm (1817–1888), Thomas Mann (1875–1955), and Franz Kafka (1883–1924); of the three, the latter author is of primary interest to readers of this journal. Neumann discusses the passivity of several of Storm's male protagonists, asserting that they "verlieren meist mit dem Scheitern ihrer Lebensentwürfe ihre innere Lebendigkeit und haben zugleich entscheidenden Anteil an der Devitalisierung" (10). In another key sentence Neumann writes, "Auch im Erzählwerk Thomas Manns ist der Verlust innerer Lebendigkeit ein zentrales Thema, insbesondere in den Romanen und Erzählungen, die das Schicksal von Künstlerfiguren in den Blick nehmen" (11). Neumann draws Kafka into the discussion in this passage: "Auch an Kafka fühlt man sich erinnert, wenn [sociologist Hans Rosa] von der Taubheit in der Beziehung zwischen Selbst und Welt spricht: 'Die Vorstellung, daβ wir in die Welt hinausrufen und auf eine Antwort warten, die wir vielleicht niemals erhalten werden', ist nicht nur eine Kernidee moderner Entfremdungstheorien, sondern charakterisiert Kafkas literarisches Universum ebenso wie existentialistische Konzeptionen des Absurden" (20). Of course, researchers must use their own judgment in evaluating Neumann's and other references, including many interpretations grouping or comparing Kafka's works with others, a technique seen here in Neumann's productive associations of Kafka and the two non-Austrian German-language writers.
The segment on Kafka is about a hundred pages long, certainly a small fraction of the many thousands dedicated to his life and writings over the decades. Here, Neumann discusses what are perhaps Kafka's best-known literary [End Page 113] creations, namely Der Brief an den Vater, Das Urteil, Die Verwandlung, and Der Prozess. This selection would provide students or book clubs with a fine sampling of important works by Kafka, whether viewed as Austrian, German, European, modernist, or simply "Kafkaesque." The vast field of Kafka studies seems to be generally accepted and appreciated, although at times one might question the originality, occasional triviality, and possibly repetitious nature of so many interpretations. Apparently, the extraordinary appeal of Kafka's literature also attracts generation after generation of readers drawn to write about Kafka and to read and analyze the responses of others. No doubt repetition could be unearthed, but it would typically be accompanied by some original touches.
The chapter on Die Verwandlung, titled "Agonie des Lebendigen," is particularly intriguing, offering five interpretive directions or discussion questions. Sub-chapters with titles phrased as "Die Verwandlung als …" present the topics "Ausbruchsversuch," "Ausgrenzung," "Durchbruch sexueller Triebhaftigkeit," and "Ausdruck eines Schuldgefühls." The last section is titled "Selbstaufgabe und Wiederherstellung der Familie."
Neumann's final chapter, "In der Sache K. gegen K.," an explication of Kafka's best-known novel, Der Prozess, explores varied experiences of haunting guilt and victimization at the hands of a bewildering justice system. The other major psychological and emotional concepts of the book, devitalization and melancholia, also appear. Neumann asserts that conflicts within K. lead to his eventual suicide, "der bei schweren Melancholikern bzw. Depressiven am Ende des Krankheitsverlauf stehen kann, wenn das Ich keinen Ausweg mehr findet, um der selbstzerstörerischen Kritik eines Über-Ichs zu entrinnen" (334).
Neumann introduces the book's conclusion ("Schluss") with this summary of its scope and content: „Die Analysen der Werke, die zwischen der bürgerlichen Revolution von 1848 und dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges in einem Zeitraum von hundert Jahren entstanden sind, zeigen, dass der Verlust an innerer Lebendigkeit ein Grundthema der Werke Theodor Storms, Thomas Manns, und Franz Kafka ist. Fast immer ist die Devitalisierung der Charaktere mit dem zugleich individualpsychologischen und gesellschaftlichen Phänomen der Melancholie verknüpft" (343). [End Page 114]
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Austrian Studies is an interdisciplinary quarterly that publishes scholarly articles and book reviews on all aspects of the history and culture of Austria, Austro-Hungary, and the Habsburg territory. It is the flagship publication of the Austrian Studies Association and contains contributions in German and English from the world''s premiere scholars in the field of Austrian studies. The journal highlights scholarly work that draws on innovative methodologies and new ways of viewing Austrian history and culture. Although the journal was renamed in 2012 to reflect the increasing scope and diversity of its scholarship, it has a long lineage dating back over a half century as Modern Austrian Literature and, prior to that, The Journal of the International Arthur Schnitzler Research Association.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
