This dissertation explores the representation of masses in the works of Austrian exile author Hermann Broch. I argue that the largely indirect representations of the mass in Brochs work are indicative of a persistent problem of conceiving the mass as an entity. In the dissertation, I trace this problem of conception and representation through Brochs novels Die Schlafwandler, Der Tod des Vergil, Die Verzauberung, and Die Unbekannte Größe, the play Die Entsühnung, and end with his unfinished Massenwahntheorie. Where other scholars have analyzed Brochs novels as a reflection of his theory, I instead demonstrate that the novels and the theory are part of a largerultimately unsuccessfulattempt to represent the unrepresentable. Brochs inability to clearly define the mass, I conclude, undermines the potential of his theory and fiction to deliver meaningful solutions to the scourge of mass hysteria.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-06182013-104359 |
| Date | 24 June 2013 |
| Creators | Sterling, Brett Earl |
| Contributors | John A. McCarthy, Christoph Zeller, Helmut Walser Smith, Barbara Hahn, Meike Werner |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-06182013-104359/ |
| Rights | restrictone, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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