This dissertation examines mother-daughter relationships in six novels written by German speaking women authors in the decade after the "Year of the Woman." Three novels depict positive mother-daughter relations: Ausflug mit der Mutter (1976), by Gabriele Wohmann, Gestern war Heute (1979), by Ingeborg Drewitz, Die dreizehnte Fee (1983), by Katja Behrens. Three others portray a negative mother-daughter relationship: Die Eisheiligen (1979), by Helga Novak, Die Zuchtigung (1985), by Waltraud Anna Mitgutsch, and Die Klavierspielerin (1983), by Elfriede Jelinek. Common to all novels is a strong autobiographical tendency and the central importance of the mother in the development of the daughter's self-identity. / The complexity and problems of mother-daughter relationships are analyzed as an outcome of female socialization within a patriarchal society. Chapter I deals with historical, economic and psychological oppression of women. The resulting internalization of the role of inferiority and dependency leads to the subsequent repression of their own daughters. Chapter II discusses new contributions in the fields of psychology and sociology to the understanding of female identity formation through relationships. Chapter III provides a two-pronged analysis of each novel by describing the individual mother-daughter relationship in comparison with the outcomes of Chapters I and II, and by addressing the narrator's process of putting the experience into a unique literary form and thus contributing to women's literature. / Themes that are unique in each novel are: the emotional stress of the adult daughter trying to redefine her relationship with her widowed mother (Ausflug mit der Mutter), the dichotomy of woman in her nurturing role as mother and in her quest for self-realization (Gestern war Heute), the difficulty of breaking the repetitive cycle of the female role of dependency (Die dreizehnte Fee). All of the following novels assess the damaged self-identity of the daughter caused by a destructive mother. While the daughters survive due to fierce resistance (Die Eisheiligen) or escape into the world of art (Die Zuchtigung) there is no hope for the daughter in Die Klavierspielerin due to her identification with the oppressor.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.74348 |
| Date | January 1989 |
| Creators | Aulls, Katharina |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | ge |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of German.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001072152, proquestno: AAINN63731, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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