A Study and Assessment of Friedrich Ch. Zauner's Tetralogy Das Ende Der Ewigkeit

'Eben mehr als eine Dorfgeschichte': A Study and Assessment of Friedrich Ch. Zauner's Tetralogy Das Ende der Ewigkeit. By Meinir Edmunds Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Bangor University January 2010 Synopsis Friedrich Ch. Zauner has won fulsome praise from all quarters for his tetralogy Das Ende der E",rigkeit. This is in addition to many prestigious prizes during his literary career. However, national and international recognition of him as a major Austrian writer remains understated. Zauner is neither a 'High Priest' nor a 'desecrator', to borrow the terminology used by editors Ricarda Schmidt and Moray McGowan in the title of their book From High Priests to Desecrators. Zauner is not among the ten contemporary Austrian writers featured in this particular book. Unlike them, Zauner does not expound extreme or provocative views. Consequently, he does not generate such a high degree of pUblicity. As this thesis aims to show, Zauner does not withhold praise for his native land and fellow inhabitants, neither does he hesitate to criticise where he deems necessary. However, his moderate stance often precludes him from appearing in the spotlight. His chosen position is firmly in the middle of the literary spectrum. While focusing on the tetralogy, this study offers the first comprehensive overview of Zauner's fiction in English. Consequently, it is intended to contribute to a greater awareness among English-speakers of the literary achievements of Friedrich Ch. Zauner. In addition, the thesis aims to illustrate how Zauner's measured descriptions and conservative writing style have misled some literary commentators into labelling the tetralogy as a provincial village tale, Doifgeschichte. Although Das Ende der Ewigkeit tells the tale of a specific period in the history of its author's Heimat, this study aims to show how Zauner has succeeded in transcending temporal and spatial boundaries to produce a work that is also of universal relevance in the twenty-first century. This aspect of his work has been largely overlooked by critics. The present study also includes, in the Appendix, interviews conducted with Herr Zauner during the period March 2007 and March 2008. They offer a valuable insight into his aims in writing the tetralogy. Table of Contents Introduction 1-5 Chapter One: 6-60 The Scope and Reception of Friedrich Ch. Zauner's 'Opus Magnum': An introduction to Das Ende der Ewigkeit. Chapter Two: 61-114 Zauner and Fiction: The thematic range of Das Ende der EI-rigkeit. Chapter Three: 115-174 The 'many' Austrias of Zauner: The evocation of Austria's history in Das Ende der Ewigkeit. Chapter Four: 175-214 The Dramatist turned Novelist: A comparative assessment of Zauner's reuvre. Chapter Five: 215-279 Literary Representations of Heimat. Chapter Six: 280-344 Author and Storyteller: Zauner and Narratology. Conclusion 345-352 Appendix: 353-381 Friedrich Ch. Zauner im Gespdich: Antworten auf gestellte Fragen im Zeitraum Marz 2007 bis Marz 2008. Bibliography 382-398 Abbreviations Page references to Zauner's four novels comprising the tetralogy Das Ende der Ewigkeit will be given in the body of the text in the following format: (I, p. 10). The abbreviations detailed below will be used: I 1m Schatten der Maulwurfshiigel II Und die Fische sind stumm III Friichte vom Taubenbaum IV Heiser wie Dahlen 1 Introduction To the best of its author's knowledge, the present thesis comprises the first book-length English-language study of Friedrich Ch. Zauner's tetralogy Das Ende der Ewigkeit. While a recent English article by academic and literary critic Jorg Thunecke has appeared in a collection of writings on provincial Austrian authors entitled Beyond Vienna, its focus is Zauner's treatment of the Heimat. To a great extent, it is a reworking of a previous German article of Thunecke's, entitled 'Weder Idylle noch Holle: Friedrich Ch. Zauners Heimatroman-Zyklus "Das Ende der Ewigkeit"'. Extracts from the German article have been quoted in this thesis. Zauner is well-known and highly respected in his native Austria and this study is intended as a contribution towards a greater awareness of his literature among English-speakers. The research has focused on Zauner's tetralogy, but has also investigated connections between the four novels and Zauner's earlier works. The process of research has explored the tendency among certain critics to label the series as Dorfgeschichte. In so doing, it has examined the role occupied by Zauner's tetralogy in the German phenomenon of Heimatliteratur. Consequently, a number of themes have been uncovered and discussed, which, it is hoped, illustrate the wider context of the series and its relevance to contemporary society. The title of this thesis includes the assertion, made by critic Alexander Giese, that Das Ende der Ewigkeit amounts to: 'Eben mehr als eine Dorfgeschichte.' 1 The present study aims to show that the label of Dorfgeschichte presumes a certain provincialism, which ignores the universal themes inherent in the tetralogy. This thesis sets out to demonstrate that Zauner's work reaches beyond Austria's national boundaries to touch humanity in general. In the following statement, Zauner appears to mount his own challenge to the label of Dorfgeschichte: 'Wenn ThaI nur fUr die Thaler geschrieben ware, hatte das Buch seinen Zweck nicht erftillt.,2 Moreover, his stated impetus in writing the tetralogy was the desire to record the changes that had taken place in Austria in the space of a single generation: 'Das Hauptthema ist in der Tat der Zeitenwandel. ,3 The chapters comprising this thesis have been thematically structured in the main, to reflect the consistent thematic connections between the four novels. However, the third chapter, which deals with Zauner's portrayal of Austrian history, has been arranged chronologically, to highlight the traumatic changes that took place between 1900 (the start of the first novel) and 1938 (the end of the final novel). As regards the methodology used to critically examine Zauner's tetralogy, the author of this thesis recognises that there are several conflicting schools of literary criticism and theory. However, it was felt that the content of the tetralogy lent itself to a study of the relationship between the work and both national and social history. Consequently a historical approach has been employed in the main. Moreover, this historical approach has demonstrated consistently the continued relevance of Zauner's work to the present time. This interlinking of historical time and present time has been a feature of the theoretical analysis. In addition, the author of this study has found it impossible to ignore certain biographical elements present in the work. These have been referred to where deemed necessary. 3 This study has been subdivided into six chapters. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the tetralogy. Chapter One offers the reader an introduction to Das Ende der Ewigkeit. At the same time it offers a succinct overview of Zauner's earlier work and how it has influenced his writing of the tetralogy. It also places him in an Austrian context and provides information about his literary career, detailing the many prestigious awards he has received. In addition, it includes biographical information that is reflected in his tetralogy. Chapter Two explores the various themes inherent in the series, such as: the role of Fate; the presence of the eternal outsider; the father/son relationship; generational conflict; gender conflict; and Heimkehr, the return of the defeated soldier to the Heimat. It aims to illustrate the connections between Zauner's literature and that of other German-language literature, including a discussion of the Bildungsroman element in Zauner's work. Zauner's evocation of Austrian history is the subject of the third chapter, in which the four novels of the tetralogy are discussed under separate headings. This structure is intended to reflect the enormous differences between the Austria of the first novel and the Austria of the final novel. The Austria of the first novel is discussed under the title Timeless Austria, while the title Infiltration of the Heimat has been chosen to discuss the depiction of Austria in the second novel. The third novel describes the Collapse of Traditional Certainties, which became the title under which this is discussed. The Austria of the final novel is explored under the title Growing Politicisation. In Chapter Four, the connection is made, and comparisons drawn, between Zauner's earlier works and the tetralogy. His drama and early influences are 4 discussed in relation to his later prose and, more specifically, to Das Ende der Ewigkeit. Chapter Five explores the concept of the Heimat as understood by German speakers. It focuses on aspects of the Heimat portrayed by Zauner in his tetralogy, but also provides a comparative assessment with the Welsh word cynefin. Among Welsh speakers, cynefin evokes similar nationalistic sentiments to the German word Heimat. At first glance, there are many similarities between Wales and Austria. Both are relatively small in size and struggle to maintain a separate identity from a larger, more powerful and dominant neighbour, with which they have well-established historical ties. With the single exception of Vienna, both have a distinct lack of urban tradition. Towns and cities are few and comparatively small. They are often separated from each other by mountains and valleys, which have rendered communication difficult historically. It has been interesting to compare the notions of identity and nationhood as portrayed in both Welsh and Austrian literature. Chapter Six examines contemporary studies of narratology and uses them to place Zauner's tetralogy in a literary context. The writer of this study was fortunate enough to visit Friedrich Ch. Zauner 10 June 2007 and again in June 2008 and to attend performances of his Evangelienspiele in Rainbach.

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