Morbus Austriacus: Thomas Bernhard's critique of Austria (German text)

This dissertation explores the complexity and contradictory nature of Thomas Bernhard's critique of Austria. Informed by both Cultural Studies and Reader Response Theory, I investigate the socio-political dimension of Bernhard's changing attitude towards Austria. My reading offers an alternative perspective on the author's attacks on Austria, which have been stereotypically labeled as redundant tirades and even as “nest fouling.” Emphasizing his exceptionally sophisticated poetological concepts in light of Austria's political and cultural history after World War II, I illustrate the subtle aspects of his critique, which have been largely overlooked.; Chapter One addresses the vast influence Bernhard had as a public figure on his native Austria. Focusing on his interviews, letters to the editor, and his political speeches, I explore the contradictive nature of his lifelong critique of his homeland.; My Second Chapter illuminates the beginning of the author's well-known love-hate relationship with Austria. I demonstrate that Bernhard's early works were deeply influenced by two fundamental, yet utterly contradictory myths of Austria's Second Republic: the myth of Austria as Hitler's first victim and the myth of the patriotic soldiers of World War II.; Chapter Three analyzes Bernhard's autobiographical account Die Ursache (1975), which skillfully erases the boundary between reality and fiction. I argue that the widespread literal interpretation of Die Ursache utterly neglects the subversive quality of Bernhard's criticism of Austria.; In Chapter Four I address Bernhard's Auslöschung (1986) and Heldenplatz (1989) which mainly deal with both Austria's past and its future. In both texts, Bernhard negotiates the possibilities and impossibilities of living in his homeland or in exile. Although these works end rather pessimistically, my reading stresses the subtle traces of optimism, which literary critics have ignored. Altogether, my study emphasizes a number of neglected but crucially important aspects to re-evaluate Bernhard's complex and often troubled relationship with Austria.