Ironie – Komik – Skepsis

No 19th century writer in German has been the subject of such intensive reception by modern literati as Adalbert Stifter. His order of things, the discovery of slowness and his silent inscrutability still exercise a fascination today. In these studies, central works of Stifter’s are analysed and the hitherto underrated moment of irony is highlighted. This irony leads to the supposedly model heroes and educational stories being at the same time debunked, and this suspension of standards leads time and again to unexpectedly comic effects.

Jochen Berendes, Universität Karlsruhe.

"Die gleichermaßen kenntnis- wie umfangreiche Studie gliedert sich in ausführliche Analysen einzelner literarischer Texte [...].[...] Bemerkenswert ist die subtile Aufmerksamkeit für temporale Aspekte des Stifter’schen Erzählens, welche in der Forschung nach wie vor häufig nur in Form des Klischees eines “Stillstands der Zeit” Erwähnung finden [...]."
Elisabeth Strowick in: Monatshefte, Volume 103, 3/ 2011