This thesis provides a psychological insight of the protagonist in Patrick Süskind’s monodrama Der Kontrabass in order to reveal his suffering from a contemporarily increasing psychical disease. This mental illness is called “borderline personality disorder” (BPD). One theory concerning the causes of this disease locates its roots in societal changes. Therefore, the contemporary society is even labelled as “borderline-era” in Kreisman’s and Straus’ book I Hate You – Don’t Leave Me (1989). In terms of definition, I will explain the eight distinctive criteria, out oh which five have to be applicable on the respective person. This psychological work makes up one part of the theoretical basis for my interpretation and shows the up-to-datedness of the protagonist’s problems. Besides this approach, I will also refer to some of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical theories, because the protagonist himself utters allusions to the oedipal complex and the human drives. In this respect, I will give a short summary of Freud’s descriptions of the relevant concepts. Here, the role of the instrument will be appreciated, as well, since the contrabass player refers to it as he would refer to an other human being. Thus, I will briefly point out the different ways, in which the contrabass is personificated by its owner.
However, not only these aspects are interesting in order to achieve a convincing interpretation of the protagonist’s character. Therefore, the formal aspects of this play will be considered as well, since they contribute to the creation of its overall mood. This mood reflects the inner disruption of the tragicomic protagonist, since it is ambivalent as well. Concluding the interpretation, the different possibilities concerning the open ending will be discussed. Afterwards, I will give a short summary of my results and finish my thesis with suggestions for further research on Süskind’s Der Kontrabass.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:WATERLOO/oai:uwspace.uwaterloo.ca:10012/3875 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Gaiser, Jessica Kristina |
| Source Sets | University of Waterloo Electronic Theses Repository |
| Language | German |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
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