University of Kentucky UKnowledge German Literature European Languages and Literatures 1974 A Mythic Journey: Gunter Grass's Tin Drum Edward Diller University of Oregon Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, this book is freely available to current faculty, students, and staff at the University of Kentucky. Find other University of Kentucky Books at uknowledge.uky.edu/upk. For more information, please contact UKnowledge at [email protected]. Recommended Citation Diller, Edward, "A Mythic Journey: Gunter Grass's Tin Drum" (1974). German Literature. 2. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_german_literature/2 A Mythic Journey Bhavani-Trimurti-Mother A Mythic Ganter Grass's journey Tin Drum Edward Diller The University Press of Kentucky for Lois & the three little drummers, Arnie, Kevin & Steve The drum is beaten-for each family has its own drum-and attempts are made to incarnate the spirits .... Mircea Eliade, Shamanism Frontispiece from Niklas MUller, Glauben, Wissen und Kunst der a/ten Hindus (Mainz, 1922). ISBN: 978-0-8131-5208-0 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 73-86402 Copyright © 1974 by The University Press of Kentucky A statewide cooperative scholarly publishing agency serving Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky State College, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. Editorial and Sales Offices: Lexington, Kentucky 40506 Contents Preface vii ONE The Mythology of The Tin Drum TWO The Masquerade of the Great Earth Mother 8 THREE Mythic Birth & Supernatural Aids 37 FOUR The Education & Early Adventures of the Hero 47 FIVE From Timeless Time to the Age of Iron 67 SIX Imitations of Oskar, Christ, & Satan 84 SEVEN Unrest & Resignation in the West 102 EIGHT The Descent to Trophonios 113 NINE Travel, Triumph, & Despair 128 TEN A Streetcar Ride to Folly &Misfortune 148 ELEVEN Epilegomena to a Drumming Dwarf 162 Genealogy 173 Chronology 175 German-English Concordance 179 Notes 181 Bibliography 197 Index 210 This page intentionally left blank Preface In the best and worst tradition of scholarly writing, what began as a short classroom lecture continued as running conversations in hall­ ways, as plans for an article, as a seminar on "Elements of Mythol­ ogy in Die Blechtrommel," and emerged finally, several years later, as a manuscript of more than 300 pages. In retrospect it all seems logical and inevitable enough, but the path had more bumps and difficulties than I care to remember now. Years of preliminary curiosity centered on a suspicion that there was an underlying unity in this novel somewhere below its surface confusion of people, locales, styles, and events. A peripheral interest in religion and mythology led me subsequently to interpret several chapters in terms of ritual and archetypes, but always with a wariness of the dangers of finding mythology under every stone. A survey of the secondary literature on The Tin Drum reinforced scepticism, for although a few critics mentioned the possibility of mythic elements in the novel, only one spent more than a few pages dealing with it. Eventually, however, a pattern of epic-mythic evidence estab­ lished and confirmed itself undeniably in the triadic structure of the novel, in its supernatural events, its solemn and sacrificial rites and rituals, and in the stature of the dwarf-deity and his mission. Thus, the apparent anomalies of the novel fell into the framework of a single aesthetically pleasing and artistically conceptualized mythol­ ogy, embellished with all the humor, drama, satire, distortions, and wisdom of traditional mythologies. I did not begin this study by searching for an overriding mythology in The Tin Drum, and at one point I consciously resisted the temptation to work exclusively, or even predominantly, with the attractive and easy generalizations of Jungian psychology. Rather, I chose to align myself more with the traditional practices of literary criticism; learning, borrowing, and applying the tools of classical criticism and finally deciding to conclude this total study from the perspective of classical authority and criticism. viii I Preface Many mythological parallels and allusions were difficult to pin down in the vast arena of classical studies, and for help in that direction I am indebted to Cecil B. Pascal, professor of classics at the University of Oregon, whose constant flow of suggestions, refer­ ences, corrections, and bibliography contributed so much to the progress and completion of this study. My thanks also to Professor Wolfgang A. Leppmann of the Department of German and Russian for several useful suggestions in the initial organization of this material and for his evaluation of the fmal manuscript. Most fortu­ nate for me was the discovery, as I began my study, that Professor Jean M. Woods, also of the Department of German and Russian at the University of Oregon, was in the process of compiling a bibliog­ raphy on GUnter Grass, to be published in the West Coast Review in 1971. As her work progressed, she was generous in providing me with source material as needed; and indeed I must be doubly beholden to her for her careful reading of the semifinal manuscript and her suggestions for improvement. Part of my research began while on a Fulbright grant in Germany in 1967-1968, and I am most grateful to the Fulbright Commission for its assistance. I also want to acknowledge the support I received from the Office of Scientific and Scholarly Research of the Univer­ sity of Oregon in the form of two summer research awards and several smaller grants for materials and the preparation of the manu­ script. Although I have worked primarily with the German version of the novel and have made my own translations, I have occasionally compared and evaluated passages of the English edition of The Tin Drum (tr. Ralph Manheim, Pantheon Books, 1963), pointing out at times where the literal meaning has been altered for the sake of readability. The page citations in the text of this study refer the scholarly critic to the German version of Die Blechtrommel (Luchterhand Verlag, 1968), but for those who have little or no knowledge of German and wish help in locating passages in the English translations, I have included in the appendix a German­ English concordance of chapter titles and page numbers. ONE The Mythology of The Tin Drum If I deal in falsehood, let it be such as may persuade the ears of the reader. Pin dar The hero of the classical epic is distinguished at birth by the gods, educated in trial and ritual, and eventually singled out for a special mission of sacred importance. With time he travels over vast stretches of land or water and into the distant reaches of the cosmos, to Olympus or Hades, heaven or hell. After having passed through a number of trials and adventures in which he has proven his superior­ ity over common men and uncommon monsters, he completes his special mission or quest (knowingly or unknowingly), gains stature as a result, and perhaps loses favor with the gods. (His memory is cherished in any case by members of the community and often a cult is founded on his behalf.) Frequently the hero relates his own story of deeds in battle, cunning exploits, and encounters with strange people in foreign places; but always on a larger tableau of epic unity the supernatural powers participate in his fate at their pleasure and by design. From beginning to end the gods themselves or their divine machinations prepare, encourage, and guide the hero in his travels along some predetermined path. 1 Each and every one of these epic conventions is present in The Tin Drum but in large measure it is the last element, a unique and persuasive mythology, that gives this novel its essential character. Without a convincing mythology to motivate the hero and arrange his fate, his status would indeed be reduced from hero-deity to that of a mindless picaro (as some critics claim), a buffoon-like Simplizis­ simus or an Eulenspiegel.2 But the dividing line between mythic hero and picaro is frequently a cloudy one, as critics of myth versus legend tell us: "In picaresque tales, in carnivals and revels, in magic 2 I The Mythology rites of healing, in man's religious fears and exaltations, this phan­ tom of the trickster haunts the mythology of all ages, sometimes in quite unmistakable form, sometimes in strangely modulated guise. "3 Oskar Matzerath is, of course, a trickster at times and consciously plays the Simplex role at others; but his farcical actions and satirical aspect are really of secondary importance in comparison to his purposes as a shamanistic drummer fulfilling a mission manifested at birth and prepared for throughout his childhood. Hermes, Heracles, Odysseus, Loki, and others were also picaros and tricksters of sorts, mythological heroes whose destiny required exploration of surreal realms as well as superhuman achievements within a more normal cultural context. Social absurdity and the grandeur of human exis­ tence also belong to the epics of history, and their presence here contributes in large measure to the fullness and international success of this great postwar novel; but it is nevertheless the underlying mythology of this novel that lifts the work from a possibly limited scope to a higher order of significance. Although the gods may be mixtures of mortal and symbolic abstractions in this novel, knowledge of their divine presence is confirmed again and again by the symbolic pattern of their lives and by the way the hero translates his confidence in them into overt action.