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Literary Exiles from Nazi Germany
Exemplarity and the Search for Meaning
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Johannes Evelein
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2014
About this book
Captures the learning process of Nazi-era literary exiles following in the footsteps of legendary literary exemplars of exile.
Exile is as old as humanity itself but a radically new fate for the "novice" exile, who falls into a world about which personal experience can tell him nothing. He does, however, know a great number of stories -- myths, legends, allegories, biblical or historical accounts -- about exile. The novice's search for a foothold initiates a learning process in which the exilic tradition assumes a major role. The present book captures this learning process:it is a cultural history of exile as it was experienced by thousands of German and Austrian writers and intellectuals who opposed National Socialism: among them Brecht, Canetti, Seghers, Remarque, the Manns, and Ludwig Marcuse. It shows how, slowly, exile becomes a reality through the growing awareness of -- and reference to -- the exemplary figures of a shared fate. Scores of fellow travelers, from the mythic figures Odysseus and Ahasverus ("The EternalJew") to writers such as Heinrich Heine and Victor Hugo, frame the experience of exile, imbuing it with meaning, giving it depth, and even elevating it to a "High Moral Office." They frequently make appearances in the narratives of the Nazi-era exiles. The Russian-American exile poet Joseph Brodsky called writers in exile "retrospective and retroactive beings." What their retrospective gazes yield as they search for meaning in banishment is at the heart ofthis book..
Johannes F. Evelein is Professor of Language and Culture Studies at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut.
Exile is as old as humanity itself but a radically new fate for the "novice" exile, who falls into a world about which personal experience can tell him nothing. He does, however, know a great number of stories -- myths, legends, allegories, biblical or historical accounts -- about exile. The novice's search for a foothold initiates a learning process in which the exilic tradition assumes a major role. The present book captures this learning process:it is a cultural history of exile as it was experienced by thousands of German and Austrian writers and intellectuals who opposed National Socialism: among them Brecht, Canetti, Seghers, Remarque, the Manns, and Ludwig Marcuse. It shows how, slowly, exile becomes a reality through the growing awareness of -- and reference to -- the exemplary figures of a shared fate. Scores of fellow travelers, from the mythic figures Odysseus and Ahasverus ("The EternalJew") to writers such as Heinrich Heine and Victor Hugo, frame the experience of exile, imbuing it with meaning, giving it depth, and even elevating it to a "High Moral Office." They frequently make appearances in the narratives of the Nazi-era exiles. The Russian-American exile poet Joseph Brodsky called writers in exile "retrospective and retroactive beings." What their retrospective gazes yield as they search for meaning in banishment is at the heart ofthis book..
Johannes F. Evelein is Professor of Language and Culture Studies at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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Acknowledgments
ix -
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Introduction
1 -
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1: A German Gallery of Exile
17 -
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2: Emulating Exile
48 -
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3: Falling into Exile—And Learning to Read Its (Secret) Signs
82 -
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4: What, Then, Is Exile? Toward a Metaphysics of Exile
111 -
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5: Beyond the Eternal Jew— Representing Jewish Exile
141 -
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Conclusion
172 -
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Bibliography
179 -
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Index
191
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
January 23, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9781782043270
Original publisher:
Camden House
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781782043270
Keywords for this book
Nazi-era literary exiles; exile tradition; literary testimony; exemplars of exile; Odysseus; Ahasverus; Heinrich Heine; Victor Hugo; retrospective gazes
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
