Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

2006

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Germanic Languages & Literatures

Advisor

Tamara S. Evans

Committee Members

Gita Rajan

Dagmar Herzog

Subject Categories

German Language and Literature

Keywords

German Literature, Women's Studies

Abstract

This dissertation is a study of certain contradictions in texts written by three authors of the nineteenth century, Ida von Hahn-Hahn (1805-1880), Fanny Lewald (1811-1889) and Ottilie Assing (1819-1884). The seeming discrepancy between the general enlightenment principles of their work and their position vis-a-vis the racial Other is at the center of my exploration. My position in this dissertation is that it is not possible to discuss their emancipatory ideas separate from their racializing metaphors. In fact, such metaphors are vital to their articulation of progress and emancipation. The discursive context of precolonial Germany can in part explain the relationship between these two seemingly contradictory strands.

I assert that previous theoretical perspectives fall short in assessing the contribution of emancipatory women authors of the nineteenth century, such as Hahn-Hahn, Lewald and Assing, either because they do not engage with women authors at all or because they tend to view women authors as "feminist" or "masculinist." If even considered, then, women authors are either deemed resistant to a dominant, patriarchal discourse or as complicit in such discourse. In both cases, the discursive exercise of power is defined as "masculinist," and neither case allows for an active assertion or textual articulation of female autonomy.

It is the assertion of this dissertation that in order to fully appreciate the contribution of nineteenth-century German women's writing, one needs a more comprehensive theory that combines aspects of both approaches. The fact that Hahn-Hahn, Lewald, and Assing strive to live up to enlightened ideals while at the same time participate in a racializing discourse, demands that such a perspective be utilized.

For a theoretical starting point, I rely on the discussions of "colonial fantasies" advanced by both Susanne Zantop and Meyda Yegenoglu. Such a foundation allows me to examine the works of these nineteenth-century women authors for the subjugation of a variety of "Others," such as the Oriental, the African-American, the Chinese American and the Native American. At the same time, however, the definition of precolonial needs to be expanded: the very existence of the works under consideration here demonstrates that the scope of what has previously been understood as "precolonial" has been too narrow.

Comments

Digital reproduction from the UMI microform.

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