Browsing by Author "Kulenkampff, Julia Cheryl Jeanine"

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    Erzahlstrategien und die Frage der Mutterschaft in Die Mittagsfrau von Julia Franck. Eine kritische Analyse des Romans
    (2016-03) Kulenkampff, Julia Cheryl Jeanine; Von Maltzan, Carlotta; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT : Die Mittagsfrau, (Lady Midday) awarded the Deutscher Buchpreis in 2007, is a novel written at a time when the topic of motherhood was very much a focus of debate in Germany. This novel not only explores and questions the demands and expectations placed on the woman as mother in society, but by destabilizing traditionally held views on motherhood, also contributes positively to the debate by creating an awareness of women’s experiences and their place in contemporary society. It probes the values, expectations and assumptions that society places on motherhood, in particular maternal instinct, motherly love and the role of the mother in a child’s life. The story is (auto-) biographically inspired by an incident in the author Julia Franck’s own family history, where her father was abandoned at the end of the Second World War, on a train station bench by his mother, who promised to return but did not. Unlike Franck’s father’s side of the family, who condemned the Grandmother’s action, the author takes great care not to judge her protagonist Helene, who having unwillingly become a mother, rejects this role by ultimately abandoning her child. Through the thoughtful use of narrative strategies, Julia Franck encourages the reader to decide whether this action that defies explanation may be condoned or condemned. The title of the book is based on a Sorbian legend which promotes the use of speech, maintaining that silence and unarticulated and supressed feelings merely increase trauma. The theme of silence permeates the story and is seen as a destructive force in the protagonist’s life and decision-making. The family story is grounded in the history of Germany during the early twentieth century, where particular yet indirect reference is made to the Weimar republic, the persecution of Jews during the Nazi era, as well as, to the two World Wars. The centre of novel’s enquiry is the protagonist’s life story, which is set as a story within the story (Binnenerzählung). The framing narrative (Rahmenerzählung), a Prologue and Epilogue, gives voice to Peter, the abandoned son. This allows for a shift in perspective, which enables a more balanced and in-depth approach to the enquiry, thus adding additional dimension to how motherhood is portrayed in the novel. The aim of this dissertation is to show that the author not only uses her family story as source and material for her book but also uses it to provide the structure for her story, which in turn influences how the question of motherhood and mothering is approached in the novel. This study examines in detail the narrative strategies that Julia Franck uses to investigate what could have instigated her protagonist’s decision to abandon her child. Attention is given to the narrative perspectives used, the constellation of figures, the configuration of space and the linkage of the private (family) and the public (history). Through a close analysis of text, this study proposes that an alternative interpretation of the novel, to that put forward to date by the relevant secondary literature, is possible.