Die Landschaft in ausgewählten Werken Walter Bauers
Date
1984
Authors
Obst, Brigitte U.
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Abstract
The landscape, which often plays a major role in literature, is of particular importance in the literature of Canada. The German immigrant Walter Bauer contributed to this Canadian literary tradition with many works. From his early literary career in Germany to his years in Canada, the landscape remained a central theme of his writings. This study investigates Walter Bauer's portrayal of the landscape in selected poems, short stories, novels, biographies, and diary entries within a biographic and thematic context.
Walter Bauer's works are considered in three sections. The first analyzes his early prose and poetry written in Germany; the second, works written around the time of his immigration; the third, works written in Canada. The emphasis is on writings from his time in Canada.
The findings of this study are as follows: Walter Bauer's basic impressions of the North American landscape - defined here as a particular environmental scene which creates significant visual and emotional impressions on the viewer - were initially formed by "frontier adventure" stories he read as a boy; many short stories and poems in Stirnme aus dem Leunawerk ( 1930) reflect this theme. Walter Bauer's personal experiences during the Second World War increased his longing for a new life outside Europe; his hopes and apprehensions are recalled in detail in the short story "Prolog: Letzter Tag in Genua" ( 1963). Walter Bauer's preconceptions of the landscape, formed during his early literary career in Germany, were reinforced during his time in Canada through literature and through discussions with people about their experiences in various areas of his new homeland. During these years his writings reflect especially a preoccupation with the Arctic - as in the biography about Nansen, Die langen Reisen ( 1956), - and. with parts of northern Canada - as in many short stories in the collection Fremd in Toronto ( 1963).
Images of glaciers, of regions covered by eternal snow, and of endless silent forests recur. Ironically, Walter Bauer himself rarely set foot in the natural, unspoiled landscape he wrote about. From the beginning of his career as a writer to his later years, Walter Bauer's images are mainly of personal significance: they express his longing for an inner freedom from earlier negative experiences.