CONTEMPORARY AUSTRIAN WOMEN'S LITERATURE: FEMINIST STEREOTYPING AND LITERARY SELF -EXPRESSION by Irene Hoetzer B.A. (Hons.), University of Newcastle A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy GERMAN SECTION UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE December 1993 I hereby certify that the work embodied in this thesis is the result of original research and has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. I I T ABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents IV Abstract vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 The History of Women's Literature and the Struggle for Emancipation 1.1. The Origins of Patriarchy 4 1.2. Restoring Women's History to Women 8 1.3. Feminism in Austria 10 1.4. Feminism Today 14 1.5. Women's Literary History in German-Speaking Countries 19 1.6. Austrian Women's Literature 22 1.7. A Brief Overview of the Literary Background of Frischmuth, Jelinek and Schwaiger 26 Chapter 2 The Images of Women in the Literary World and in the Media: Theory and Practice 2.1. The Problems Confronting Women Writers 41 2.2. In Search of a Common Trademark in Women's Literary Style 45 2.3. Definitions and Functions of Stereotypes 48 2.4. The Images of Women as Wife, Mother and Homemaker 52 2.5. The Media Image of the Ideal Woman 55 2.6. The Feminist Perspective of Fellin'Iil); \): its Socio­ Political Implications 58 2.7. Literature as a Political Tool 62 2.8. The Concept of Patriarchal Capitalism from a Marxist­ Feminist's Perspective: Elfriede Jelinek's Michael. Ein lugendbuchfilr die Infantilgesellschaft andLust 65 IV Chapter 3 The Role of Women's Stereotypes in the Works of Elfriede Jelinek, Brigitte Schwaiger and Barbara Frischmuth 3.1. Introduction 81 3.2.1. Elfriede Jelinek 82 3.2.2. Brigitte Schwaiger 90 3.2.3. Barbara Frischmuth 93 Chapter 4 An Analysis of Women's Roles in the Works of Jelinek, Frischmuth and Schwaiger 4.1. Women's Roles in the Family, Society and the Church 101 4.2. The Process of Socialisation of Young Girls: Barbara Frischmuth's Die KIosterschuIe 104 4.3.1. Destroying the Myths of Love and Marriage: Brigitte Schwaiger's Wie Kommt das SaIz ins Meer 109 4.3.2. Jelinek's Consumerist View of Love and Marriage: Women as Wares - Die Liebhaberinnen 129 4.3.3. Women as Objects: Elfriede Jelinek's Lust 141 4.4.1. Alternative Partnerships: The Single Parent and the SingleWoman 147 4.4.2. The Single Parent 148 4.4.3. The Single Woman: Barbara Frischmuth's Bindungen 159 4.4.4. The Single Woman: Brigitte Schwaiger's Schones Licht 164 4.5.1. Women as Mothers 174 4.5.2. Debunking the Myth of the Middle-Class Mother 174 4.5.3. Elfriede Jelinek's Mothers in Die Klavierspielerin and Lust 179 4.5.4. Barbara Frischmu th' s Alternative Mothers 184 4.6.1. Women as Daughters 190 4.6.2. Elfriede Jelinek's Die KIavierspieIerin 192 4.6.3. Brigitte Schwaiger's Lange Abwesenheit 201 4.7. Radical Alternative Images: Krankheit oder M oderne Frauen 210 v CONCLUSION 229 BIBLIOGRAPHY 231 vi ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to examine the images of women in selected texts written by the Austrian authors Elfriede Jelinek, Barbara Frischmuth and Brigitte Schwaiger and to illustrate the relevance of gender stereotyping in their works with regard to bring about social change. The study begins with an examination of the images of women throughout patriarchal history and shows that these images are generated by men to ensure their subjugation and reinforced by women through their largely unconscious collaboration with partriarchal norms. It then proposes the necessity to arouse women's awareness to this situation and suggests that literature is an effective way of doing this. The study then investigates the stereotypes the authors employ to highlight the myths attached to them and to challenge the status quo. The different styles and perspectives of the authors are examined and implicit and explicit criticism is identified. The nature and function of the stereotypes portrayed in the texts are evaluated and the reactions of the central characters analysed in order to ascertain the degrees to which the effects of gender stereotyping are detrimental to women's sense of self. VII INTRODUCTION Although the terms 'man' and 'woman' possess no transhistorical or transcultural meaning or stability, gender differentiation is at the core of all world views and social formations. Yet, in Germanistik, it is not widely employed as a category of literary analysis, despite the fact, that it constitutes the core of much of contemporary feminist literature. Women writers have succeeded in penetrating the intricate network of women's social and private lives and to exhibit, in an authentic and expositional manner, the extent to which women are being oppressed, ranging. from the most subtle to the most poignantly obvious. As the relation between the sexes is a social and not a natural one and since women are products of social conditioning, the texts to be studied provide the basis of a detailed investigation into the female life cycle: childhood, education, socialisation, courtship, marriage, sexuality and motherhood with regard to physical and emotional exploitation and abuse; they also highlight the extent to which women have internalised patriarchal norms and the difficulties they encounter, when attempting to break free. Chapter One traces the historical and political origins of women's loss of power over the past two thousand years and the various attempts by women to challenge both the external and internal contraints imposed upon them. As the authors subject of this study are Austrian and Austria (like Switzerland) is extremely conservative and ignores feminist issues to a greater extent than any other liberal or social democracy within the Western world, it is essential to recognise, that some of the most radical and intellectual feminist writers are Austrian. In contrast to mainstream feminist literature, Austrian women writers, such as Elfriede Jelinek, Barbara 1 Frischmuth and Brigitte Schwaiger have managed to create works of literature, which neither ideologise womanhoood nor exculpate women for their compliance with patriarchal norms. Because of the increasing recognition of their literary achievements, their works are being translated and read internationally, having aroused the interest of feminist scholars all over the world. This dissertation will show that gender stereotyping is an essential aspect in their work, which aims at heightening the awareness of the reader in order to bring about social change. Chapter Two concentrates upon the images of women in literature and the media. It shows that women are still governed by patriarchal norms and that equality of the sexes remains a myth. In the case of women writers, they are still being discriminated against in the literary industry and do not have the same freedom to publish as men, despite their increasing popularity amongst the reading public. The same can be said with the media portrayal of women. Women are still reduced to their bodies for the purpose of exploitation. Some feminists claim that a successful redefinition of 'femininity' can restore women's power and status and that to achieve this, women must be made aware of their power and the way, in which it is being controlled by men. Chapter Three provides an overview of the texts to be studied in Chapter Four. It examines the stereotypes each author employs to dismantle the myths attached to them and ends with a brief summary of the stereotypes in their works. Chapter Four examines the style and perspective of each author, which differs considerably. All three challenge the status quo in order to heighten the reader's perception with regard to the social and political ramifications of gender stereotyping. Of the texts studied, explicit as well as implicit criticim is identified, so that the emancipatory nature and function of the stereotypes applied can become transparent. In the case of Frischmuth and Schwaiger, the criticism is 2 psychologically subtle, in the case of Jelinek, it is aggressively direct and politically motivated and deals with topics generally regarded as 'taboo'. 3 CHAPTER ONE THE HISTORY OF WOMEN'S LITERATURE AND THE STRUGGLE FOR EMANCIPATION 1.1. THE ORIGINS OF PATRIARCHY When patriarchy dethroned woman and divested her of power, goddesses (Gi5ttinnen ) became goodwives (Gattinnen ) and womankind was subdivided into good and bad; a venerable, asexual, self-sacrificing Mary and an Eve who perpetrated deadly sin as a result of her being knowledgeable (1). Thereafter, the myths of female sacrifice and subordination have been a product of patriarchal definition, strategically rearranged to suit the socio-political climate of each historical era. Since there are no written records prior to 4000 B.C., it is difficult to accurately separate historical facts from folkloric myths and legends, which have been passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, modified somewhat to suit historical change. Thanks to the research undergone by folkloric scholars, historiographers, archeologists, paleo-linguists, and so forth, the pre­ history of mankind has been significantly restored. Both the written accounts of early historical figures such as Aristotle, Euripides, Herodot, Livius, Ramses II, etc., and the pictures and engravings on the walls of ancient ruins (following excavations of entire civilisations, such as the Minoans, the Etruscans, and the city of Catal Hiiyiik in Turkey (2)), testisfy to the existence of 4 pre- and early historic cultures, in which women were both revered and feared for their unity with nature, just as man himself stood in awe of her mystical powers. Ancient earth-cult rituals centered upon Goddess worship, the moon, animals and the female reproductive system and celebrated the relationship between women and nature with all of their mystical life-giving and life-taking powers (3).