University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations Summer 2010 Naturbeziehung und Ökologie im Werk von Ernst Kreuder Alexander E. Pichugin University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the German Literature Commons Recommended Citation Pichugin, Alexander E., "Naturbeziehung und Ökologie im Werk von Ernst Kreuder" (2010). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 211. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/211 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/211 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Naturbeziehung und Ökologie im Werk von Ernst Kreuder Abstract The German writer Ernst Kreuder (1903–1972, Büchner Prize 1953), best known for his book Die Gesellschaft vom Dachboden (The Attic Pretenders, 1946), the very first book by a German author published in Germany after World War 2, is now one of the lesser known authors to both academic circles and the general public. The academic interest in Kreuder’s work has been focused primarily on his role as a postwar writer, either in connection with romantic tradition, social criticism or in the context of autobiography. This dissertation offers a new reading of Kreuder’s work in the intersection between literature and ecology. The fact that the relationship between man and nature from the ecological point of view was not the object of literary representation in German prose until the 1970s makes Kreuder one of the pioneers of the ecological approach in West German literature. The analysis of Kreuder’s works presented in this dissertation lies within the scope of a relatively new research paradigm in German literary studies, the “ecologically oriented” literary criticism, which has developed as a continuation of, and later parallel to, the Anglo-American Ecocriticism. This dissertation argues that, through the constant creation and reinvention of forms of literary representation of the relationship between man and nature, Kreuder developed in his works a conceptually sophisticated and aesthetically appealing ecologically oriented Weltanschauung, which manifests itself differently in his various works and culminates at the end of Kreuder’s literary career in his last novel, Der Mann im Bahnwärterhaus (The Man in the Signalman’s Cabin, 1974, posth.). Methodologically my research and interpretation is based on the discursive models developed by Hubert Zapf in the functional approach of the cultural ecology, which examines the ecological function of the fictional texts in the cultural context. The outcome of this research includes an appreciation of the ecological potential of Kreuder’s work, provides insight into strategies and techniques employed by Kreuder to express the ecological concepts, and positions Ernst Kreuder among the pioneers of the ecologically oriented literature. This ultimately contributes to a critical reexamination of the literary canon of 20th Century German literature. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Germanic Languages and Literature First Advisor Dr. Frank Trommler Keywords German Literature; Literary Ecology; Ecocriticism; Deutsche Literatur; Ökologie; Ernst Kreuder Subject Categories German Literature This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/211 NATURBEZIEHUNG UND ÖKOLOGIE IM WERK VON ERNST KREUDER Alexander E. Pichugin A DISSERTATION in Germanic Languages and Literatures Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2010 Supervisor of Dissertation ___________________________________ Frank Trommler, Professor Emeritus, German Graduate Croup Chairperson ___________________________________ Simon Richter, Professor of German Dissertation Committee Catriona McLeod, Professor of German Naturbeziehung und Ökologie im Werk von Ernst Kreuder COPYRIGHT 2010 Alexander Eduardovich Pichugin iii Danksagung Mein erster und ganz besonderer Dank für die Betreuung meiner Dissertation gilt meinem Mentor Herrn Prof. Dr. Frank Trommler, der mich während des Studiums an der Universtity of Pennsylvania und in allen Phasen der Forschungsarbeit unterstützte. Ich wurde durch das Vertrauen, das er in mich setzte, stark motiviert. Seine Ratschläge, Kritik und ständige Hilfsbereitschaft haben mir wesentlich geholfen, die Dissertation in der vorliegenden Weise auszurichten. Ich danke herzlichst den Mitgliedern des Dissertationsausschusses, Herrn Prof. Dr. Simon Richter und Frau Prof. Dr. Catriona MacLeod, für ihre Arbeit mit dem Text und die inhaltlichen Anregungen und Kritik. Ich danke Herrn Prof. Dr. Peter J. Schroeck, der mich während des Promotionsstudiums mit Tat und Rat unterstützte. Ohne sein Verständnis und seine Geduld wäre dieses Projekt nicht umsetzbar gewesen. Meinen Eltern, Eduard und Margarita Pichugin, sowie meiner Schwester, Rimma Lukashuk, danke ich für alle ihre Hilfe und Unterstützung, die sie mir während meines Promotionsstudiums und des Dissertationsschreibens leisteten. iv ABSTRACT NATURBEZIEHUNG UND ÖKOLOGIE IM WERK VON ERNST KREUDER (RELATIONSHIP TO NATURE AND ECOLOGY IN THE WORK OF ERNST KREUDER) Alexander E. Pichugin Prof. Frank Trommler The German writer Ernst Kreuder (1903–1972, Büchner Prize 1953), best known for his book Die Gesellschaft vom Dachboden (The Attic Pretenders, 1946), the very first book by a German author published in Germany after World War 2, is now one of the lesser known authors to both academic circles and the general public. The academic interest in Kreuder‘s work has been focused primarily on his role as a postwar writer, either in connection with romantic tradition, social criticism or in the context of autobiography. This dissertation offers a new reading of Kreuder‘s work in the intersection between literature and ecology. The fact that the relationship between man and nature from the ecological point of view was not the object of literary representation in German prose until the 1970s makes Kreuder one of the pioneers of the ecological approach in West German literature. The analysis of Kreuder‘s works presented in this dissertation lies within the scope of a relatively new research paradigm in German literary studies, the ―ecologically oriented‖ literary criticism, which has developed as a v continuation of, and later parallel to, the Anglo-American Ecocriticism. This dissertation argues that, through the constant creation and reinvention of forms of literary representation of the relationship between man and nature, Kreuder developed in his works a conceptually sophisticated and aesthetically appealing ecologically oriented Weltanschauung, which manifests itself differently in his various works and culminates at the end of Kreuder‘s literary career in his last novel, Der Mann im Bahnwärterhaus (The Man in the Signalman’s Cabin, 1974, posth.). Methodologically my research and interpretation is based on the discursive models developed by Hubert Zapf in the functional approach of the cultural ecology, which examines the ecological function of the fictional texts in the cultural context. The outcome of this research includes an appreciation of the ecological potential of Kreuder‘s work, provides insight into strategies and techniques employed by Kreuder to express the ecological concepts, and positions Ernst Kreuder among the pioneers of the ecologically oriented literature. This ultimately contributes to a critical reexamination of the literary canon of 20th Century German literature. vi INHALTSVERZEICHNIS Einleitung ............................................................................................................................ 1 1. Forschungsgegenstand: Ernst Kreuder und seine Werke .................................... 1 2. Ziel der Dissertation. Fragestellung .................................................................... 4 3. Gliederung........................................................................................................... 5 Kapitel 1. Ortung von Ernst Kreuder im westdeutschen literarischen Prozess .................. 9 1.1. Kreuder und die Dynamik des sozialkritischen Ansatzes in westdeutscher Nachkriegsliteratur ............................................................................................ 9 1.2. Kreuders Aufstieg in der unmittelbaren Nachkriegszeit ................................ 11 1.3. Kreuders Position zwischen den zwei Generationen ..................................... 13 1.4. Kreuder und die innere Emigration................................................................ 16 Kapitel 2. Literaturhistorische und methodologische Vorüberlegungen Zur ökologischen Orientierung der Literatur und der Literaturwissenschaft .......................................... 27 2.1. Literaturhistorischer Rahmen ......................................................................... 27 2.1.1. Ecocriticism ................................................................................................ 27 2.1.2. Ökokritischer Ansatz in der deutschsprachigen Literaturforschung ........... 33 2.2. Theoretische Vorüberlegungen ...................................................................... 38 2.2.1. Systemtheoretischer Ansatz (Stefan Hofer) ................................................ 39 2.2.2. Kulturökologische Theorie (Hubert Zapf) .................................................. 43 Kapitel