Würzburg, Univ., Diss., 2010.

Düsseldorf, University, Diss., 2003.

Zugl.: Berlin, Freie Universiẗat, Habil.-Schr., 2005.

Uni Kassel, 2007, Diss.

The role of women in society was an important socio?cultural discourse explored in the literature of the late 19th century. The Austrian author Arthur Schnitzler was a key contributor to this discourse. He was well known for the psychological portrayal of his characters and the sexualization of his literary types, especially of his female characters, and in his writings he dared to break societal taboos. Schnitzler created a wide array of social types, such as the "integrated woman," the "ageing spinster," the "woman of the world," the "prostitute" and the widely discussed type the "s????e M??del" ("sweet girl"). In this thesis, however, I will focus on one of the less examined female types in Schnitzler's work: the "widow. " I will examine two narratives by Schnitzler that concentrate on the widow "Frau Berta Garlan" (1901) and "Frau Beate und ihr Sohn" (1913), to investigate this type and to examine the modes of gendered identity?formation as portrayed in the literary texts. <br /><br /> To examine the gender?types that the protagonists reflect in the search for their identity, I will undertake an intratextual analysis of the text, based on the central premises of Michel Foucault's discourse analysis and Judith Butler's analysis of gender as construct. Within this constructivist paradigm of gender and identity, I will undertake a textual analysis of character representation to demonstrate how identity is formed within the constraints of hegemonic discourses, and how resistance against these preformed modes of identity is predicated by fixed notions of social norms. <br /><br /> The texts focus on the lives of the two female protagonists. Both are widowed and fail to break out of the constraints forced upon them by society. With the awakening of their sexual desire, they are caught in an identity crisis, their desires standing at odds with the asexual identity they must assume as widows. In their attempt to combine their sexual desires with their desire to remain respectable in the eyes of society, the widows eventually fail since normative discourses of gender identity do not allow for alternative identities. Although the texts demonstrate the impossibility of living identities that contravene the central tenets of social norm, that the individual is not free to fashion its own identity, Schnitzler's texts also debunk the myth of a natural gender identity and subvert its fatalistic message by demonstrating clearly the constructed character of gender almost a century before the advent of poststructuralist gender?theory.

Die Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Frage der Witwen im lukanischen Doppelwerk auf dem Hintergrund der sozialgeschichtlichen Lage der Witwen in der hellenistisch-römischen Gesellschaft der Antike. Nach einem Überblick über den Forschungsstand wird die historische Lage der Witwen in der Antike untersucht. Anschließend analysiert der Verfasser die einzelnen Perikopen im Evangelium (Lk 2,36-38; 4,25f; 7,11-17; 18,1-8; 20,45-47; 21,1-4) und in der Apostelgeschichte (Apg 6,1-7; 9,36-43) zunächst abschnittsweise und dann in einem narratologischen Überblick. Dabei wird jeweils die Botschaft des Lukas an seine Gemeinden auf den Hintergrund der gesellschaftlichen Situation herausgearbeitet. Abschließend wird die Gesamtbotschaft des Lukas in Bezug auf die Witwenfrage für seine Gemeinden in der hellenistisch-römischen Gesellschaft noch einmal zusammenfassend dargestellt. Der neutestamentliche Autor Lukas möchte mit seiner häufigen Erwähnung von Witwen auf das Bedürfnis dieser sozialen Gruppe hinweisen, die oft einer prekären Lage ausgesetzt ist und für die es im hellenistisch-römischen Umfeld keine besondere Aufmerksamkeit gibt, besonders wenn es sich um arme Witwen handelt. Im Gegensatz dazu kennt die biblische Tradition eine besondere Fürsorge für die Witwen. Lukas möchte seine Gemeinden für diese biblisch-jüdische Tradition sensibilisieren, besonders da im christlichen Umfeld festgestellt wurde (Apg 6,1-7), dass diese Fürsorge und Sensibilität nicht automatisch in christliche Gemeinden Einzug gehalten hat. In dieser Hinsicht macht er durch seine Perikopen die Christen seiner Gemeinden auf die Problematik und Chancen des Witwendaseins aufmerksam. / The thesis is treating the question of the widows in the double opus of Luke on the background of the social situation of the widows in the Hellenistic-Roman society of antiquity. After a review about the status of research the author analysis the historic situation of the widows in antiquity. Then he analysis the single pericops in the Gospel (Lc 2,36-38; 4,25f; 7,11-17; 18,1-8; 20,45-47; 21,1-4) and the Acts (6,1-7; 9,36-43), first the single pericops and then in a narrative review. Thereby the message of Luce to his communities on the background of the social situation every time is elaborated. At the end the complete message of Luce on the question of widows for his communities in the Hellenistic-Roman society is recapitulated. Nominating often the widows the new testament author Luke wants to indicate the need of this social group which frequently is living in a precarious situation and which doesn’t find particular attention in the social environment of the Hellenistic-Roman world, especially if these widows are poor. On the contrary the biblical tradition knows a special care for the widows. Luce wants to sensibilize his communities for this biblical-jewish tradition, also because in the christian environment it was noticed that this care and sensibility had not been introduced automatically (Acts 6,1-7). In this regard through the pericopes he guides the attention of the christians in his communities on the problems and chances of the live of the widows.

The role of women in society was an important socio?cultural discourse explored in the literature of the late 19th century. The Austrian author Arthur Schnitzler was a key contributor to this discourse. He was well known for the psychological portrayal of his characters and the sexualization of his literary types, especially of his female characters, and in his writings he dared to break societal taboos. Schnitzler created a wide array of social types, such as the "integrated woman," the "ageing spinster," the "woman of the world," the "prostitute" and the widely discussed type the "süße Mädel" ("sweet girl"). In this thesis, however, I will focus on one of the less examined female types in Schnitzler's work: the "widow. " I will examine two narratives by Schnitzler that concentrate on the widow "Frau Berta Garlan" (1901) and "Frau Beate und ihr Sohn" (1913), to investigate this type and to examine the modes of gendered identity?formation as portrayed in the literary texts. <br /><br /> To examine the gender?types that the protagonists reflect in the search for their identity, I will undertake an intratextual analysis of the text, based on the central premises of Michel Foucault's discourse analysis and Judith Butler's analysis of gender as construct. Within this constructivist paradigm of gender and identity, I will undertake a textual analysis of character representation to demonstrate how identity is formed within the constraints of hegemonic discourses, and how resistance against these preformed modes of identity is predicated by fixed notions of social norms. <br /><br /> The texts focus on the lives of the two female protagonists. Both are widowed and fail to break out of the constraints forced upon them by society. With the awakening of their sexual desire, they are caught in an identity crisis, their desires standing at odds with the asexual identity they must assume as widows. In their attempt to combine their sexual desires with their desire to remain respectable in the eyes of society, the widows eventually fail since normative discourses of gender identity do not allow for alternative identities. Although the texts demonstrate the impossibility of living identities that contravene the central tenets of social norm, that the individual is not free to fashion its own identity, Schnitzler's texts also debunk the myth of a natural gender identity and subvert its fatalistic message by demonstrating clearly the constructed character of gender almost a century before the advent of poststructuralist gender?theory.