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Critique of realism and reality in the short fiction of three East German woman writers: Helga Schubert, Helga Königsdorf and Monika Maron.

This thesis sets out to analyze the work of Helga Schubert, Helga Königsdorf and Monika Maron. It concentrates on their neglected short prose, undertaking an in-depth analysis of the authors themes as well as examining their responses to reality. The overwhelming sense of entrapment in a stagnant society is the primary pre-occupation of all three authors; yet they each communicate this in different ways. Schubert endeavours to remain apolitical, although her criticism is aimed increasingly directly at the GDR. Königsdorf is party-loyal and sees societys ills as a product of a distortion in values linked to industrialization. Maron, the dissident, consciously attacks the regime in her writing, using literature itself as means to expose the corruption of the state. By focusing on women, this study intends to further the establishment of female writers in mainstream academic discourse. The thesis reflects not just the political concerns of GDR writers, but also their philosophical and social approaches to life. An analysis of their short fiction provides a more complete overview of the authors development, thereby complementing studies of their novels. These womens writings have become valuable documents of an era which is irrevocably past. Such studies as mine, therefore, provide a useful key to understanding post-Wende literature.