In this study I use Mikhail Bakhtin's theories of subjectivity, language and literature to produce original interpretations of characterization in the novels of Theodor Fontane. In the first chapter I summarize Bakhtin's theory of 'dialogism', which holds that language is composed of a multiplicity of socially and ideologically constituted discourses in a state of constant interaction with one another. In the second chapter, I reconstruct Fontane's theory of the novel by identifying a central distinction in his diverse literary critical writings between 'single-voiced' fiction of one sort or another and what he calls 'Interessenvertretung' (the representation of interests), a type of writing which grows out of the social and ideological diversity of its subject matter. In the third chapter I look at Fontane's <I>Unwiederbringlich</I> in terms of the social discourses it contains and examine the interaction between these discourse and the characters and the narrator of the story. In the fourth chapter I depart from the view that Fontane's novels primarily depict the conflict between individuals and impersonal social forces by arguing that identity-formation in his characters is determined mainly by 'dialogic' interaction between individual subjects. In the final chapter I consider the relative lack of conflict between characters which makes Fontane's last novel, <I>Der Stechlin</I>, unique among his major works. I argue that this lack of conflict is only possible because of the careful avoidance by characters of all strongly held views, and that this causes an extreme and debilitating language-consciousness. In the fourth and fifth chapters, I also attempt to use the insights gained from Bakhtinian analysis of Fontane's novels to cast some reflected light on Bakhtin's theories themselves.

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The thesis opens with a survey of the problems involved in analysing realism, then, without wishing to pre-define realism, and having taken account both of modern theory concerning realism and seventeenth-century poetics, proposes an approach to Grimmelshausen's novels based on the search for plausibility and verisimilitude in the areas of character depiction, plot, depiction of time and space, and congruence between the fictional world and the real world of the times, and based also on an examination of the values with which the work is imbued. The analysis of character reveals that Simplicissimus is no mere type or vehicle figure, but rather a character drawn with great subtlety: a teleological autobiographer revealing his character often despite himself, not a rounded, complete man but recognisably a consistent individual developing from somewhat peculiar childhood circumstances. Similarly, Courasche's story, although couched as self-denigrating propaganda, reveals a subtle portrait of a twisted, dualistic personality which results from the confluence of natural inclination and peculiar circumstances. Minor characters in the cycle are, on the whole, not simply figures: they are three-dimensional, well-portrayed characters in their own right. The plot is seen to contain much that is realistic, and such elements which might to modern sensibilities appear implausible are seen not to lie outside the scope of the credible in the seventeenth-century context. Moreover, their inclusion by the author reflects current literary theory and practice. Temporal elements are, in the main, reflected and portrayed realistically, but the treatment of space, including the depiction of milieu, is less convincing; this, though, is consistent with the various narrators' own interests and with their perception of the world, and should not be seen as an indictment of Grimmelshausen's ability to write convincingly. The 'made' world of the fiction matches in many crucial aspects the real world of the times, both physically and spiritually. The values with which the bulk of the cycle is imbued are non-idealistic and pragmatic: in short, realistic. The author's overall philosophy is seen to shift from the advocacy of world-denying asceticism in Book Six to a far more realistic attitude in Book Eight; the apparent reversion to a less enlightened attitude at the end of the cycle does not reflect the author's true philosophy, and the sincerity of the last two books must be doubted. Although there is no question that the cycle's realism is intermittent, being strong in some areas and less so in others, the cycle does, on the whole, lean towards the realistic.

Earlier studies of Stefan Heym have tended to mention the ‘cult of personality’ only in passing, but the investigation of megalomaniac, and usually historical, figures is a focal point of both his literary and journalistic output. Viewed in its broader sense, the cult of personality can be found throughout his works, and not solely in those which confront the legacy of Stalinism. This study charts the progression of Heym’s investigation into charismatic attraction and deliberate image cultivation. It first examines the pieces of his youth, and those in which he recognises the phenomenon within American society and post-war communism. Attention is then turned to demystification of the Stalin cult through the veiled criticism contained within his historical fiction written in the GDR, in which, crucially, pre-Stalinist forbears are identified. Heym’s approach to the problem is also problem is also examined in texts published after reunification and thus devoid of self-censorship. Heym’s focus was not restricted to charismatic performance on the political level alone; the social level of personal interaction represents a significant aspect of his fiction. Thus the function of ‘minor characters’ is given considerable attention, both as followers or creators of leader figures and in the context of the individual’s role as an agent of history. Against this background, Heym’s understanding of the writer’s role in society is considered and the question raised as to whether he himself developed a ‘cult’ of the dissident intellectual or literary figure. Much use is made of previously unexplored material from Heym’s personal archive in Cambridge University, while the archive itself is examined as a literary form and as an essential part of Heym’s own self-presentation.

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