UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE (Re)Constructions of German Culture: How Folktales (Re)Create the Past through Oral Storytelling, Text and Fan Fiction DISSERTATION submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILSOPHY in German Studies by Jaime Whitney Roots Dissertation Committee: Professor Gail K. Hart, Chair Professor Glenn S. Levine Professor Kai Evers 2016 © 2016 Jaime Whitney Roots Table of Contents List of Figures iv Acknowledgements v Curriculum Vitae vi Abstract of the Dissertation ix Introduction: Situating Storytelling 1 Setting the Scene 4 “Versuch einer Deutung”: The Studies of Orality, Literacy, and Storytelling 7 The Great Divide 16 Storytelling in the Democratic Spirit 17 Liedertheorie and the National Epic 19 Folktales and the Influence of the Writing Elite 28 Folktales with Multiple Sources 34 The Changing Concept of Fidelity 39 Chapter 1: The Race to (Re)Construct an Imagined Germanic Past 45 Clemens Brentano (1778-1842) and Ludwig Achim von Arnim (1781-1831) 57 Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859) 59 Franz Xaver von Schönwerth (1810-1886) 61 From the Idealization of the Past to Its (Re)Creation 64 (Re)Constructing German Heritage to Literary Taste 72 Conclusion 84 Chapter 2: (Re)Constructing Memory 86 Instauration or Restoration: How to Properly Portray the Past 94 Boundary Formation and Identity 103 The Processes of Updating and Forgetting 108 ii Conclusion 113 Chapter 3: The Event of Storytelling 115 Audience and Performance with Folklore 117 Changes that Take Place with Storytelling and Writing 121 How the Tales Were Collected or Collectors as Audience 124 (Re)Constructing Simulations of Oral Storytelling and the Intentions of the Collectors 130 Market Demands and Reception 135 Conclusion 149 Chapter 4: Orality and Literacy (Re)Imagined: Contemporary German Fan Fiction Versions of Germanic Folktales 151 Digital Storytelling and Internet Fan Fiction 154 Definition of Key Terms 155 Description of Site 161 Fan Fiction and Audience 165 Fan Fiction and German Collective Memory 175 Conclusion 188 Bibliography 191 iii List of Figures Figure 1 Reinhard Döhl “Apfel” 13 Figure 2 Dorothea Viehmann 68 Figure 3 Charlotte Ramus 70 Figure 4 Philipp Otto Runge 70 Figure 5 Jenny von Droste-Hülshoff 70 Figure 6 Image of Viehmann around 1890 71 iv Acknowledgements I gratefully acknowledge the many people who have contributed to this dissertation by either reading the entire manuscript, offering comments on various sections, or helping me develop ideas into full-fledged chapters. I want to acknowledge specifically Gail Hart for reading through many iterations of the manuscript and offering excellent feedback which helped produce the dissertation in its present form. The suggestions and comments of Glenn Levine and Kai Evers were also an invaluable part of shaping and revising the manuscript. I am grateful as well to the support of my husband, Mike Roots, and his patience in listening to and helping me work through all of my arguments before they were developed enough to be committed to paper and my colleagues Mo Rafi, Patrick Carlson, Dave Lamme, and Matt Cooper for listening to my ideas. I must also thank the DAAD for funding my trip to Germany which was an invaluable experience in the final stages of my dissertation. v Curriculum Vitae Jaime Whitney Roots University of California, Irvine Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Department of European Languages and Studies University of California, Irvine Master of Arts, 2012 Department of European Languages and Studies University of Idaho Bachelor of Arts, 2010 Majors: English Literature, German Publications “’Märchen mal anders’: Blood and Family in Fan Fiction Versions of Classic Folktales.” Colloquia Germanica, 2016 “Autorität und Authentizität: Frauen als Märchensammlerinnen am Beispiel von Laura Gonzenbach.“ Hörendes Lesen und Sehen von Märchen: Kommunikationsebenen zwischen Mündlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit. Heidelberg: Synchron Verlag, 2016 “Performing Poetry in the Foreign Language Classroom: Curricular and Language Program Issues.” Co-authored with Glenn S. Levine. Integrating the Arts: Creative Thinking about FL Curricula and Language Program Direction. Eds. Lisa Parkes and Colleen Ryan. Boston: Cengage, 2016 Invited Presentation “Autorität und Authentizität: Frauen als Märchensammlerinnen am Beispiel von Laura Gonzenbach.“ Hörendes Lesen und Sehen von Märchen: Synergien von Mündlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit. Berlin, March 2016 vi Teaching Guest Instructor. Intro to German Linguistics (German, upper-division). University of California, Irvine 2016 Guest Instructor. Jewish History and Culture (English, upper-division). University of California, Irvine 2016 Teaching Associate, Humanities Core. University of California, Irvine 2015-2016 Literature, film, music, and art to teach students academic, critical reading and writing practices as well as examine and analyze major documents of world civilization and historical processes Teaching Assistant, German 1ABC (introductory) and 2ABC (intermediate). University of California, Irvine. 2011-2015 Designed syllabus, course websites, exams, assignments, and taught undergraduate students on beginning and intermediate levels of the German language using literature, film, music, and art Conference Presentations “Orality and the Middle Ages: Teaching the Nibelungenlied in the Intermediate-level German Classroom.” 2015 ACTFL Annual Convention. San Diego, CA, November 2015 “Oral and Traditional Arts.” Panel chair. 69th Annual RMMLA Convention. Santa Fe, NM, October 2015 “(Re)Constructing the Past: How the Stories we tell Change the World.” 69th Annual RMMLA Convention. Santa Fe, NM, October 2015 “‘Märchen mal anders’: The Importance of Blood-Relation in the Sister Relationship.” 39th Annual Conference of the German Studies Association. Washington, D.C. October 2015 “The Wortkonzert as Language Play in the German Classroom.” Co-presenter with Glenn S. Levine. 2014 ACTFL Annual Convention. San Antonio, TX, November 2014 “Translating Orality: Laura Gonzenbach and Storytelling.” 68th Annual RMMLA Convention. Boise, ID., October 2014 “A Grimm Tale: Who Cares about Snow White?”67th Annual RMMLA Convention. Vancouver, WA, October 2013 “The Emergence of Gender: Translating Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister.” 36th Annual Conference of the German Studies Association. Milwaukee, WI, October 2012 vii Other Scholarly Activities Online Materials Developer, Augenblicke: Introduction to German Language and Culture through Film, Media, and Texts. 2014-present Editor, Trans-Scripts (interdisciplinary Graduate journal). 2013-2016 Editorial Assistant, Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German. 2013 Competitive Honors and Awards Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. 2016 UC Irvine Pedagogical Fellowship. 2015-16 UC Irvine Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Assistant Award. 2015 European Languages and Studies German TA of the Year Award. 2015 DAAD Research Grant for dissertation research in Germany. Summer 2015 UC Irvine Regent’s Fellowship. 2010-11 viii Abstract of the Dissertation (Re)Constructions of German Culture: How Folktales (Re)Create the Past through Oral Storytelling, Text, and Fan Fiction By Jaime Whitney Roots Doctor of Philosophy in German Studies University of California, Irvine, 2016 Professor Gail K. Hart, Chair This dissertation investigates the effects of oral storytelling on collective memory and the influence of new media on the storytelling process. The inquiry focuses on how retelling and reinterpreting folk stories updates and changes a community’s interpretations of the past to fit with current beliefs and expectations. I illustrate this through analyzing a range of retellings of traditional tales from the nineteenth century to the present through the lenses of memory studies, folklore, and performance studies. Through this analysis I unpack some of the ways the stories we tell affect the ways we see the past—whether real or imagined—and conversely, the ways that changing interpretations of the past affect the stories we tell. ix Introduction: Situating Storytelling “Darling, everyone is a storyteller.” – Duncan Williamson, folksinger Storytelling is ever-present in our lives, and yet it is often taken so much for granted that we are scarcely aware of it. We tell stories to pass the time, for entertainment, and for sympathy, understanding, and persuasion. Stories are our means of understanding the world. Humans are so inclined to tell stories that, given the opportunity, we opt to connect events and rationalize what has taken place rather than let them sit unconnected in isolation. Take for example this simple exercise:1 The man meets the woman. I walk her dog. The boy visits with flowers. Looking at these three simple sentences, our minds quickly begin to draw connections between them. Am I walking the woman’s dog so that she may meet up with the man? Is the boy bringing flowers the man has ordered for the woman on their date? In truth, there is no inherent connection between these three sentences, they have been selected at random and yet our brains are already working to see the connections between them—to tell a story. The human brain, above all, likes to make sense of things even if, as with this example, it needs to make it up. It is also important to note here that we are often completely unaware that we are creating connections where none previously existed: our brains want to make sense of the world—to explain our surroundings—and drawing connections and conclusions (telling stories)