The portrayal of the female figure in Alfred Doeblin's "Die beiden Freundinnen und ihr Giftmord"
Abstract
The present study investigates how Alfred Doblin portrays the female figure in the reportage Die beiden Freundinnen and ihr Giftmord. This thesis question will concentrate on political, sexual, and social representations of the female figure in the text and contrast them with views expressed in recent research on the depiction of the female. By comparing the portrayal of the female figure in the fictional and non-fictional context of the reportage, this study will illustrate a male author's approach to issues concerning the proletariat female. Die beiden Freundinnen and ihr Giftmord represents an unusual balance between non-fiction and fiction, simultaneously suggesting the accuracy of the narration of past events and questioning its veracity. In the historical and political context of the Weimar Republic, the portrayal of the proletariat female's attempt to achieve independence, and justice, on political, sexual and social levels is reflected in the representation of the female figure through her letter-writing and dream interpretation. This study is positioned well in recent Döblin scholarship that concentrates on psychological and feminist elements in the author's works and provides encouragement for a renewal of interest in the critical analysis of the DBF text, which has until now remained mostly ignored by Döblin scholars.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Titche, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Germanic literature
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