Dissertation

THE INFLUENCE OF THE FAIRY TALE ON THE LITERARY LANGUAGE OF ERICH KAESTNER'S \FABIAN\ (GERMANY)

YAMAMOTO, JILL KESSLER

1984

Overview

In his 1931 novel, Fabian, Erich Kastner engages in the use of traditional literary devices and conventions to complement, contrast, or otherwise modify the work's contemporary themes. The interaction of these techniques and themes comprises a literary language which serves to activate the reader's skills in interpreting the text. The literary language is responsible for informing the reader of the specific contexts influencing the work, for eliciting reactions or responses from him, and for drawing him into the text. The better informed the reader regarding the various contexts and literary signifiers that Kastner structures within the Fabian text, the more complete the reader's interpretation of the novel will be. This dissertation proposes that Erich Kastner employs features of two primary elements, the modern big city (Gro(beta)stadt), and the traditional fairy tale (Marchen), upon which the foundation of Fabian is built. Through an analysis of the classical components of these two literary vehicles, it is shown that Fabian may be viewed as a modern anti-fairy tale. Each literary device is examined on its own merit, after which an in-depth textual analysis examines the synthesis of these two literary influences in Kastner's text.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Dos Passos, John (1896-1970) / German literature / Germanic literature / Grimm, Wilhelm Karl (1786-1859) / Kastner, Erich (1899-1974) / Rilke, Rainer Maria von (1875-1926)
• ISBN: 9798204468948