1 Touch yourself, touch me, you’ll ‘see’1: exploring contact and intersubjectivity in Leontine Sagan’s ‘Mädchen in Uniform’ (1931) Jasmine Maggiori Unit: Languages, Literatures and Cultures- German Studies McGill University, Montreal August 2013 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts © Jasmine Maggiori 2013 1 Irigaray, Luce and Burke, Carolyn. “When Our Lips Speak Together.” Signs 6.1 (Part 2 Autumn 1980), 78. 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my program supervisor, Dr. Michael Cowan, for all of his guidance and support. I would also like to thank my parents, Tricia and Jerry, and my sister, Catherine, for their patience, in addition to Léa Charbonnier, Louis Fortier, Flóra Horváth, Tom Große, and Bonnie Stanway for their endless support, encouragement, and invaluable assistance throughout the research, editing, and writing process of my thesis. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................................................... 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................. 3 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................... 4 ABRÉGÉ ........................................................................................................................................... 5 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................... 6 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER 1: HAPTIC CONVEYANCES- THE BODY 1.1 INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER 1 ......................................................................... 15 1.2 THE OPENING SCENE ............................................................................................ 19 1.3 THE BEDTIME SCENE ........................................................................................... 32 1.4 CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................. 43 CHAPTER 2: ESTABLISHING AN AFFINITY- THE FACE 2.1 INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER 2 .......................................................................... 45 2.2 THE CLASSROOM SCENE AND THE RESCUE SCENE ...................................... 46 2.3 THE FACIAL SUPERIMPOSTIONS ........................................................................ 57 2.4 CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................... 80 CHAPTER 3: RECIPROCITY AND LIMINALITY- THREATENING AUTHORITARIANISM 3.1 INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER 3 .......................................................................... 82 3.2 THE GIFT SCENE AND THE DECLARATION SCENE ......................................... 84 3.3 PASSIONATE RECIPROCITY AND LIMINALITY ................................................ 93 3.4 CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................. 112 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 114 LIST OF REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 118 4 ABSTRACT Through a series of close readings, this thesis examines the role played by intersubjectivity and contact in Leontine Sagan’s Mädchen in Uniform (1931). The goal of this discussion is to demonstrate this film’s rejection of hierarchal relationships in favour of dynamic affinities between desiring subjects. Using theories of haptic cinema, the first chapter conveys the possibility of ontological dynamism between otherwise separate entities via tactile corporeal encounters. The second chapter analyzes the cinematic facial superimposition, which codifies the face as a revelatory site upon which the interiority of a subject’s mind (soul) can be observed. By demonstrating an affinity between mind (soul) and body, the face can be understood as anti-dualistic and, by extension, anti-hierarchal. Then, finally, the third chapter examines the breaking-down of the authoritarianism central to the film’s narrative by exploring the power of expressing reciprocal desire and affinity in providing a structural critique. 5 ABRÉGÉ Ce mémoire examine le rôle que jouent l’intersubjectivité et le contact dans le film de Leontine Sagan Mädchen in Uniform (1931). Le but de cette discussion est de démontrer que dans le film se révèle le rejet de relations hiérarchiques en faveur d’affinités dynamiques. En s’appuyant sur les théories du cinéma haptique, le premier chapitre traite de la possibilité d’un dynamisme ontologique entre des entités, d’autre part séparées, au travers de rencontres corporelles. Le deuxième chapitre se consacre à l’analyse de la superposition faciale cinématographique qui codifie le visage en tant que site révélateur à travers duquel on peut observer « l’interiorité » de l’esprit (âme) d’un sujet. En démontrant une affinité entre l’esprit (l’âme) et le corps, le visage peut être compris comme antidualiste et par conséquent antihiérarchique. Enfin, le troisième chapitre examine l’effondrement de l'autoritarisme qui joue un rôle essentiel dans la trame narratrice du film, en explorant la puissance de l’expression d’un désir ou d’une affinité réciproque en fournissant une critique structurale. 6 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1. Statue of Soldier Wearing Armour ................................................................................ 21 Figure 1.2. Large Columns .............................................................................................................. 21 Figure 1.3. Soldiers Wrestling in Pairs ........................................................................................... 22 Figure 1.4. Soldier Holding Large Gun ......................................................................................... 23 Figure 1.5. First Image of Girls ...................................................................................................... 26 Figure 1.6.Ilse Warns Manuela ...................................................................................................... 33 Figure 1.7. Manuela Rises to Kneel ............................................................................................... 37 Figure 1.8. The Girls Kneel ............................................................................................................ 37 Figure 1.9. Manuela and Bernburg Gaze at One Another .............................................................. 38 Figure 1.10. Manuela Embraces Bernburg before the Kiss ............................................................ 39 Figure 1.11. Close-up of the Kiss ................................................................................................... 39 Figure 1.12. Medium-shot of the Kiss ............................................................................................ 40 Figure 1.13. Manuela Looks Into the Camera ................................................................................ 43 Figure 2.1.Edelgard Speaking ........................................................................................................ 47 Figure 2.2. Bernburg’s Face in Medium Close-up ......................................................................... 48 Figure 2.3. Manuela’s Face in Extreme Close-up .......................................................................... 49 Figure 2.4. Manuela’s Face Superimposed Over Bernburg’s ......................................................... 50 Figure 2.5. Second Extreme Close-up of Manuela’s Face .............................................................. 51 Figure 2.6. Bernburg Looks Nervous ............................................................................................. 52 Figure 2.7. Bernburg Faces the Headmistress ................................................................................ 53 Figure 2.8. Bernburg’s Emotional Disturbance .............................................................................. 55 Figure 2.9. Final Close-up of Manuela’s Face ............................................................................... 56 Figure 2.10. Second Image of Manuela and Bernburg’s Superimposed Faces .............................. 57 Figure 2.11.Ilse’s Shrine ................................................................................................................. 63 Figure 2.12. Girls Looking at a Magazine ...................................................................................... 64 Figure 2.13. Image of Man Assaulting his Wife ............................................................................. 66 Figure 2.14. ‘Masculine’ Woman ................................................................................................... 70 Figure 2.15. Intersex Individual ..................................................................................................... 71 Figure 2.16. Queer Gathering ......................................................................................................... 72 Figure 3.1.