Inaug.-Diss.--Universität Bern. / Bibliographical references included in "Anmerkungen" (p. 78-89).

Issued also in part as inaugural dissertation, Zürich. / "Literatur": p. [7]-9.

Thèse--Strasbourg. / Issued also without thesis note. Arranged in chapters corresponding to those of the author's Goethe en Angleterre.

Teilw. zugl.: München, Univ., Diss. U. Bayer, 2006

Zugl.: Saarbrücken, Univ., Diss., 2009

Goethe's Faust and Nabokov's Humbert both are erudite, middle-aged European scholars who, experiencing a convergence of academic and existential ennui, set eyes upon a young girl and instantly are consumed with lust. In both works the girls' widowed mothers die as a result of the protagonists' lustful intentions; a cross-country flight ensues; the once-respected scholars are wanted for murder; and Gretchen and Lolita each suffer from their sexual and emotional objectification. But the connections between Goethe's play and Nabokov's novel extend far beyond plot points, or even their decidedly different receptions in early 19th century Germany versus mid-20th century America. Each incorporates thematic elements of temptation, sin, moral versus societal law, and perhaps, most important, damnation versus possible redemption. Combined, these striking thematic and textual similarities raise the compelling argument that Nabokov consciously and deliberately was reworking the Faust legend for a modern American audience. Moreover, this hidden compositional structure to a novel that many have called one of the greatest works of twentieth century American literature was one of Nabokov's most jealously guarded secrets, one he took deliberate measures to ensure never would be uncovered. And until now, that has been the case.Part of the reason may lie in Nabokov's often kaleidoscopic use of Goethe's famous play. In Goethe's version of the legend, for instance, the wager for Faust's soul between the Lord and Mephisto is rendered explicitly in the "Prologue in Heaven" scene. In Lolita, however, this soul-battle is rendered implicitly. Humbert makes repeated references to the dual forces of "God" or "winged gentlemen of the jury," for example, or else to the demonic element personified by what he calls "McFate." At any moment, he fears one or the other may steal from him his life's deepest hunger: to possess a nymphet. Through an examination of both primary and secondary texts, this dissertation connects and illustrates the hidden structure of Goethe's Faust in Nabokov's Lolita. Furthermore, it is argued that this structure allowed Nabokov to rhetorically address issues of deepest concern to him, most notably the future immortality of the human soul.

No description available.

This thesis explores text-music relationships in Dallapiccola’s Goethe Lieder. Though the cycle is based on Goethe’s West-östlicher divan, it was Mann’s novel Joseph und seine Brüder that spurred its inception. This seven-song cycle revolves around Suleika, a character from the biblical love story of Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife. Dallapiccola set this text upon reading Mann’s novel, which stems from the same story; however, Mann portrayed the character of Suleika as a sympathetic lover rather than the traditional evil seductress. By conducting a thorough pitch structure analysis of each song, focusing in particular on motives, symmetry and aggregates, this thesis examines text-music relationships to demonstrate how Mann’s Suleika is musically represented. This thesis illustrates that Dallapiccola’s setting is a musical composite of both Goethe and Mann’s Suleikas and thus sheds new analytical and hermeneutic light on an important work by one of the twentieth-century’s most prominent serial composers.

This thesis examines the development of an anorexic discourse in Goethe's Die Wahlverwandtschaften. Chapter 1 investigates anorexia as a cultural signifier and its relationship to non-clinical and non-medical disciplines. I then submit that female self-starvation serves a structural and a thematic function in WV. In Chapter 2, I argue that Ottilie's arrested female development illustrates the central, concept (elective affinities) of the novel. Chapter 3 examines food as a non-verbal system of communication in the narrative. Here, I demonstrate that Ottilie's eating disorder denies her subjectivity while it signifies and affirms the dominant social institutions depicted in the novel. Chapter 4 examines Ottilie's oscillation between corporeality and bodilessness. Her physicality is always associated with instability. The disappearance of her flesh allows for the passive reflection of masculine identity. In Chapter 5, I analyze the representation of Otttilie's death and demonstrate that her corpse allegorizes the construction of subjectivity in the narrative. In closing, I argue that Ottilie is an empty signifier in the novel, onto which the plot is imposed. Her anorexia functions as a sign for the process of narration and is a condition of the novel itself.

Zugl.: Augsburg, Univ., Diss., 2006