| This dissertation investigates a dimension of Theodor Fontane's novels heretofore unexplored, but of crucial significance for a proper understanding of his artistic endeavours. Although some research has been devoted to the histrionic motive embedded thematically in each novel, the interrelationship between the artist figures and the other protagonists has not as yet evoked the attention it deserves. Through careful analysis of the artist figures and aesthetic considerations in Theodor Fontane's correspondence as well as in his theatrical reviews, the present study not only captures the deceptiveness of the author's facetious humor, but also highlights his craftsman in fiction. Thus it provides insights into the dialectical relationship between art and artistry in a number of his novels.;While the first chapter retraces the author's "passion" for theater, the second chapter closely examines the "play"-novel Graf Petofy (1884), regarded by most critics as a "by-product beyond redemption". A thorough analysis of this novel clearly brings to light an underlying artistic pattern relating to ancient Greek myth whereby sacrifice is required for rebirth or renewal. The author, a card and chess player of utmost subtlety, lets his aspirations to political, social, and cultural changes filter through this myth in a seemingly unbiased manner. This pattern in Graf Petofy couched in a "play" between life and death is carried forward onto his major novels (Cecile (1886), Stine (1890), Mathilde Mohring (1906) and especially his most well-known "masterpiece" Effi Briest (1894)), but with the difference that it is extended to prosaic protagonists having an unfledged drive toward the fantastic.;The chapters on Graf Petofy, on Cecile, on Mathilde Mohring, on Effi Briest, and particularly the summarizing final chapter show that Fontane's artist figures--as joyful mediators and as unconscious decievers--initiate a ritual through which Fontane, as artistic realist, bridges the dangerous historical and ontological gap of the Wilhelminian era. Along with his artistic freedom, Fontane expresses his faith in love beyond all human contingencies. His conception of Spiel, i.e., of "games" and "gaming", based upon illusion and disillusion posits historical regeneration through critical retention of tradition and introspective self-assessment. Fontane's "narrative plays" must therefore be understood as ouvertures to Germany's and Austrian fin-de-siecle Festspiele and as a plaidoyer for the fusion of life and the arts. |
