Feminist Awakening: Ida Von Hahn-Hahn's
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“Feminist Awakening: Ida von Hahn-Hahn’s Gräfin Faustine and Luise Mühlbach’s Aphra Behn” Herlinde Cayzer A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in December 2007 School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the General Award Rules of The University of Queensland, immediately made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Statement of Contributions to Jointly Authored Works Contained in the Thesis “No jointly-authored works.” Statement of Contributions by Others to the Thesis as a Whole “No contributions by others.” Statement of Parts of the Thesis Submitted to Qualify for the Award of Another Degree “None.” Published Works by the Author Incorporated into the Thesis Cayzer, Herlinde. "Man Must Rule and Woman Must Obey." Campus Review (2-8 July) (2003): 6. – Partially incorporated as paragraphs in Chapter 4. ---. "Self-determination versus Death: Forms of Social Criticism in Gräfin Ida von Hahn-Hahn's Gräfin Faustine." Alchemies: Community Exchanges. Eds. Glenn Pass and Denise Woods. Perth: Black Swan, 2004. 125-37. – Partially incorporated as paragraphs in Chapter 6. Additional Published Works by the Author Relevant to the Thesis but not Forming Part of it “None.” ii Acknowledgements I wish to express my sincere gratitude to those who encouraged and helped me complete my thesis, first and foremost, my advisors, Dr Stephan Atzert, Dr Bronwen Levy and Associate Professor Alan Corkhill for their support. I am extremely fortunate to have benefited from their expert direction and guidance. I appreciate the financial assistance given to me by the Australian Government (an Australian Postgraduate Award) to embark on my PhD. I am also grateful for the grants and funding from the Graduate School, the School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies and the School of LCCS Postgraduate Research Committee at the University of Queensland: for research in interstate libraries, to attend conferences, for thesis editing and for research in Germany. This research in Germany was recommended by Associate Professor Alan Corkhill and proved to be invaluable. To Associate Professor Helen Creese, a special thank you for much appreciated encouragement. I value the assistance of Mrs Joanne Hopper and the administrative team of my School who, ever obligingly, provided me with the environment and facilities to work in. I would also like to thank Ms Birgit Culloty, and the staff of Document Delivery in the Social Sciences and Humanities Library of the University of Queensland, for their friendly assistance. I thank Ms Juliette Guistozzi for supporting me at the Barr Smith Library at the University of Adelaide. Finally, I appreciate the friendship, support and editing of Dr David Lake and Dr Annabel Temple-Smith. My thanks extend overseas to Dr Beate Borowka-Clausberg and Mrs Rosmarie Schöder, who provided me with important material about Ida Hahn-Hahn that led to inspiring discussions and friendship. I am indebted to Mr Hans-Joachim Griephan for his introductions and supply of his personal archival copies and I appreciate the dialogue held with Professor Ulla Wischermann. A big hug for encouragement goes to Ildika, Markus and Kate. I am forever grateful to Geoff for untiring patience, support and belief throughout. iii Abstract I propose that the nineteenth-century German novels Gräfin Faustine by Ida von Hahn-Hahn and Aphra Behn by Luise Mühlbach contribute in a valuable manner to the genealogy of feminist Vormärz writing. The novels offer not only a reflection of society but views that were resistant of oppression. At a time when women were subject to marginalisation, and when voicing ideas critical in the authoritarian Prussian state was fraught with danger, they raised several issues that were contentious. My analysis and exploration of a topic by Hahn-Hahn, which was avoided by social custom, and the veiled contemporary political criticism by Mühlbach, reveal the authors’ progressive perspective. Due to their popularity they were able to submit their ideas to the public and thereby contribute to shape social attitudes. The authors were ahead of their time in depicting an occurrence that has only in the late twentieth century been addressed by the legal systems of Western society. The social criticism of the, to a great extent, autobiographical Gräfin Faustine is uttered from the psychological point of view of its eponymous protagonist. Aphra Behn offers a broader socio- political analysis that includes the corruption of government and clergy. Through the example of the heroines’ actions the writers rendered material from which “women can learn” (Weigel, “Double” 60). While scholars have evaluated these two works, to my knowledge no comparative study of Gräfin Faustine and Aphra Behn has yet been undertaken. In a close reading I discuss, first, the two writers’ use of narrative to voice their objections to injustice that, in a manner not unlike twentieth- century feminist ‘consciousness-raising,’ represents an early feminist awakening. Second, I analyse the themes of personal, social and institutional power relationships drawing on an interdisciplinary understanding of historical, gender, social, political and legal concepts. Third, I aim to make these texts more accessible to an English-speaking readership and create a wider understanding of the early feminism in these novels by translating and extrapolating key passages. Keywords Hahn-Hahn Faustine, Mühlbach Aphra, social criticism, early German feminist writing. Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) 200512 Literature in German 50%, 210307 European History (excl. British, Classical Greek and Roman) 25%, 200205 Culture, Gender, Sexuality 25%. iv Table of Contents Declaration by author.......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................ iii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents................................................................................................................................ v List of Abbreviations of used in the thesis........................................................................................ vii Chapter 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Methodology for analysis of the novels.............................................................................. 7 Chapter 2 The two writers Ida von Hahn-Hahn and Luise Mühlbach........................................... 13 2.1 Persuasion through popular literature ............................................................................... 13 2.2 Positioning the two writers in relation to their peers ........................................................ 17 2.3 Ida von Hahn-Hahn........................................................................................................... 21 2.3.1 Life............................................................................................................................ 21 2.3.2 Literary work............................................................................................................. 25 2.3.3 Reception .................................................................................................................. 30 2.4 Luise Mühlbach................................................................................................................. 33 2.4.1 Life............................................................................................................................ 33 2.4.2 Literary work............................................................................................................. 34 2.4.3 Reception .................................................................................................................. 38 Chapter 3 Historical and Literary Background.............................................................................. 39 3.1 Historical