| This thesis deals with Alfred Kubin's novel Die andere Seite, which was written in 1909 at the dawn of the expressionistic epoch in German and Austrian literature. One of the major intentions of my work is to demonstrate the strong influence of expressionistic aesthetics and style in Kubin's novel. Furthermore, I will show that this work also falls within the genre of fantastic literature, which is not constituted by a specific period, but by overarching themes and structures.; Firstly I will present definitions of both fantastic and expressionist literature. The former is based on the writings of such scholars as Tzvetvan Todorov, Roger Caillois, Louis Vax, Winfried Freund and Peter Csersowsky. The latter is influenced by the books of Silvio Vietta, Hans Georg Kemper and Thomas Anz. These two definitions are used to analyze Die andere Seite, in order to illustrate that Kubin uses the structure and motifs of the fantastic genre in a manner influenced by the expressionistic ideology and style. On the grounds of these observations I give an explanation for the affection of the expressionistic epoch for fantastic motifs, which will lead my project to the conclusion that both are based on the same penetrating experiences. These experiences are the breakdown of cultural, social or political life and the disappearance of sense-giving institutions such as religion and state, caused by revolutions or technical developments and modern philosophical theories. Two examples of these times of change are the French revolution of 1789 and the Industrial Revolution in the German Reich at the beginning of the 20th century. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
