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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2012 Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit through the Medium of Myth in Heinrich Böll's Short Stories Der Mann mit den Messern and Nicht nur zur Weihnachtszeit Marcus James Cardarelli The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Cardarelli, Marcus James, "Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit through the Medium of Myth in Heinrich Böll's Short Stories Der Mann mit den Messern and Nicht nur zur Weihnachtszeit" (2012). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 83. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/83 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. VERGANGENHEITSBEWÄLTIGUNG THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF MYTH IN HEINRICH BÖLL’S SHORT STORIES DER MANN MIT DEN MESSERN AND NICHT NUR ZUR WEIHNACHTSZEIT by Marcus James Cardarelli B.A., the University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 2006 Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Modern Languages and Literatures The University of Montana Missoula, MT May 2012 Approved by: Sandy Ross, Associate Dean of The Graduate School Graduate School ____________________________________________ Dr. Marton Marko, Chair Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures (German) ____________________________________________ Dr. Hiltrud Arens Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures (German) ____________________________________________ Dr. Michel Valentin Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures (French) ______________________________________________ Cardarelli, Marcus, M.A., May 2012 German Language and Literature Vergangenheitsbewältigung through the Medium of Myth in Heinrich Böll’s Short Stories Der Mann mit den Messern and Nicht nur zur Weihnachtszeit Chairperson: Marton Marko German history of the 20th century was marked with unimaginable horrors and hardship. Both the First and Second World Wars left an indelible mark on the German psyche. Most specifically, the consequences of the Second World War were a turning point in German notions of cultural identity. The objective of this thesis is to analyze the various manners by which Heinrich Böll deals with the emerging cultural crisis in the post‐war period of the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. I have chosen two of his short stories, Der Mann mit den Messern (1948) and Nicht nur zur Weihnacthszeit (1951), for the purpose of providing a structuralist discussion of Böll’s observations of the rise of Germany’s National Socialism and the Second World War. The structuralist activity emphasizes the use of myth as a social tool for dealing with baneful experiences (i.e. especially in terms of war). Through an examination of these two texts, I call attention to Böll’s use of symbolic meanings, by which he provides the means for understanding how language, individuals, and society can be manipulated in order to correspond to authoritarian aspirations. For Böll, these three elements can create spectacle on the order of mythic connotations. I highlight Böll’s concern with spectacle as an abstract entity that accommodates the development of purposeful ignorance, especially in light of the roles certain individuals played in the rise of German Fascism. I posit that Böll uses myth in its most ancient sense – a medium of dissemination through which cultural identity and knowledge can be passed on for posterity’s sake. As a writer, this is the position in which Böll saw himself, for writing functions as myth once had in that it provides a glimpse at the awful realities of war for contemporary and future societies. The lessons, both good and bad, learned in social upheaval can provide future generations with the means to lessen the blow of traumatic experiences, so long as those lessons are passed on. ii Preface Throughout Heinrich Böll’s long literary career, he firmly placed himself in the role of the citoyen engagé. He left a legacy in post‐war German literature by which the humorist and author became united into one. Böll ushered castigations against society as a whole. However, he realized that his role as a member of his society required him to take part in daily activities of social interaction. He saw his role as a writer was not to chastise from the safe distance of an ivory tower, but to write about his experiences in dealing with people in their daily lives. He viewed himself as a member of society amongst which he felt the need to actively participate. Böll’s experience in the post‐First World War era, the Nazi years, and post‐Second World War period helped to form his perceptions of society and his sense that individuals need to be actively involved in society. One may call this a moral obligation or an ethical duty, which are valid points in consideration of Böll and his literary works. But aside from such noble philosophical pursuits, there is an altogether simpler consideration: Böll cared for people. And the chaos and disruption to society caused by the Second World War was a great concern for him. Elements which deal either directly or indirectly with the war can be found throughout most of his writings. Even in his later literary works, one is able to clearly see the indelible impression the war and the Nazi years left on his psyche. Böll sought to commit those experiences into writing in order that future generations may have some notion of the war, its aftermath, and the means by which it came into being, for his writings deal largely with symptoms which gave rise to the Second World War and its effects years after the war’s end. This thesis focuses on the symbolic forms of Böll’s two disparate, yet similar short stories Der Mann mit den Messern (1948) and Nicht nur zur Weihnachtszeit (1951). I offer an analysis of their structures which I feel best suits their meanings. Images, symbols, and signs play an important part within the parameters of the thesis. These “systems” of communication change from generation to 1 generation, yet they constitute a language that holds the meanings to the time in which they were used, and thus are transcendental by their nature. For instance, in Der Mann mit den Messern the main figure Jupp comments on the need to make his knife‐throwing act like “im römischen Zirkus –, sie wollen wenigstens wissen, daß Blut fließen könnte […].”1 The image of the Roman Coliseum still evokes notions of bloodlust and violence for the purpose of entertainment. Symbols are languages with compounded meanings, but they still hold an original meaning‐value, even if perceptions and tastes of later generations have changed. Symbols and signs send messages, but how that message is interpreted simply depends on the changes of a particular time, culture, or society. New interpretations are institutionalized, while old meanings are displaced or forgotten in favor of new ones. Throughout the thesis, I argue that Böll was aware of such a process and purposefully played with symbols in order to extract meanings that can be understood for generations to come. Most poignant is Böll’s use of original meanings of a symbol and their manipulation by individuals and machines alike. Capitalism’s mechanized ability to change the meaning of signs represents for Böll a serious inhibitor in terms of dealing with the war. This can be seen in Nicht nur zur Weihnachtszeit where the symbol of the Christmas tree has become infused with notions of capitalism by which the war years are topically covered over, as the narrator states: “Wir hätten früher auf die Idee kommen können, es stimme etwas nicht.”2 Böll demonstrates how easily it can be to overlook the significance of a symbol’s meaning. It is for this reason that I have chosen to highlight and provide an analysis of the symbols I feel best demonstrates Böll’s purpose in having written both short stories. This approach to elucidate a text’s structure through the significance of its symbols is structural in manner and may be considered 1 Böll, Heinrich. “Mann mit den Messern.” Herausgegeben von Viktor Böll. Das Heinrich Böll Lesebuch. Originalausgabe. Deutscher Taschenbuch. München: 5. Auflage, 1987. 11‐20. (Subsequent references indicated throughout the thesis as MM). 2 ‐‐‐. “Nicht nur zur Weihnachtszeit.” Das Heinrich Böll Lesebuch. Originalausgabe. Deutscher Taschenbuch. München: 5. Auflage, 1987. 65‐88. (Subsequent references indicated throughout the thesis as NW). 2 impressionistic, and thus lacking a critical eye. The argument that art without a critical approach reduces the overall value of the artistic piece is a fine one, but the critic is also bound by the impressions of what it means to be a critic. There is, indeed, a check‐and‐balance within the function of the critic vis‐à‐vis the author. However, an important point of writing is that the author does not bear in mind his critics’ notion of literature while writing, but writes with the purpose of situating issues and social phenomena of the day as they occur in their own time and place. Böll best illustrates this concept: Leser, Kritiker, Germanisten neigen dazu, diese Chronologie nur innerhalb der verschiedenen literarischen Kategorien zu suchen (dann auch zu finden), was bedeutet: eine Chronologie der Romane, Essays, Horspiele als getrennte Kategorien; das sogenannte “erzählerische Werk” vom jeweils anderen getrennt zu sehen, und auch nur innerhalb dieser Kategorien, jenen Prozeß festzustellen, den man möglicherweise “Entwicklung” nennen kann. Ich halte nichts von dieser Trennung, denke, daß sie in die Irre führen kann.

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