The law of the father : patriarchal subtext and GDR literary tradition in selected texts by Kerstin Hensel
Date
2002
Authors
Alberg, Sandra Sharon
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Abstract
This thesis focuses on three texts by Kerstin Hensel, Im Schlauch, Tanz am Kanai, and Gipshut in which Hensel's preoccupation with the family narrative is most apparent. The aim of this study is to examine portray of Hensel ' s female characters, and how their depiction is typical of GDR literature. Based on the three texts examined, there is a marked trend of patriarchal dominance which underlies the texts in question. Though Hensel's work evolves and becomes more mature and complex, the subtext of the superiority of the father and the symbolic order in place remains constant in all three texts.