PROBLEMATICAL PEDAGOGUES IN THE CONTEMPORARY GERMAN NOVEL. (GERMAN TEXT)

JUDITH RICKER-ABDERHALDEN, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Abstract

This study explores the sudden emergence of the teacher as a prominent literary figure in the German prose fiction of the late sixties and early seventies. Never before in the history of German literature has there been such an abundance of teachers as protagonists. Not only well established authors such as Gunter Grass, Siegfried Lenz, Martin Walser and Adolf Muschg, but also many lesser-known writers have chosen the teacher or professor to serve as the focal point of their novels. This pronounced shift in focus is closely linked to the socio-political conditions in Germany during the late sixties. It coincides with the end of the so-called Adenauer era, the relatively peaceful and stable post-war years of the Wirtschaftswunder, and the emergence of a new generation of young Germans who began to question the values and norms of their elders. An active New Left and different forms of political opposition signaled a new phase of post-war Germany. The extensive involvement of students and intellectuals in the protest movement caused the secondary schools and universities to become prime arenas for confrontations. Teachers and professors were subjected to the pressures and tensions to a much greater extent than the population as a whole. Many teachers, especially those who leaned towards the political left, found themselves caught between the conservative establishment which they were forced to represent officially and the progressive younger generation whose social criticism they wanted to endorse. This study reveals that, in the German novel of the sixties and seventies, the teachers as protagonists--almost exclusively middle-aged and male--are forced through confrontations with students to undergo a period of agonizing self-scrutiny. By and large, they tend to view themselves as failures, both professionally and personally. They tend to suffer from depression, a low self-image and sexual inadequacies; they sense their loss of youth, energy and enthusiasm. Unresolved problems of the past surface to haunt them. They are characterized by illness and hypochondria, hatred and envy, weakness and dependency, latent and overt aggression. Almost invariably, society is blamed for the manifold problems of these individuals. As weak and inadequate as they may be, these problematical pedagogues are nevertheless portrayed quite sympathetically. They are shown in earnest attempts--no matter how pathetic--to cope with life rationally and sensibly. The message that emanates from the majority of these novels is one that embraces tolerance and moderation, rationalism and political conservatism. The figure of the teacher serves as a vehicle to investigate the moral and political responsibilities of the individual in a pluralistic society; it provides a means for overt and covert social criticism. The first chapter provides a brief thematic investigation of the portrayal of the teacher in German fiction of the late 18th, 19th and 20th century up to the end of World War II. The survey shows that traditionally the teacher had played only a minor role, except for a brief period of time around the turn of the century. He had generally been idealized for satirized and had been portrayed alternately as victim or oppressor. The second chapter deals with the post-war teacher figure in selected works by Gaiser, Grass, Schnurre, Boll, Wohmann, Jaeggi and others. The final chapter provides descriptive analyses of the teacher figures in three major contemporary novels: Gunter Grass ortlich betaubt, Siegfried Lenz' Das Vorbild and Adolf Muschg's Albissers Grund.

Subject Area

Germanic literature

Recommended Citation

RICKER-ABDERHALDEN, JUDITH, "PROBLEMATICAL PEDAGOGUES IN THE CONTEMPORARY GERMAN NOVEL. (GERMAN TEXT)" (1980). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8100775.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8100775

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