Heinrich Böll : his conception of "Engagement" and its reflection in the major fictional works from 1963-1974
Heinrich Böll : his conception of "Engagement" and its reflection in the major fictional works from 1963-1974
Boll's conception of 'Engagement' is analysed and set against the background of his public activities and reputation, the development of his social and political views as reflected in the non-fictional writings, and the wider debate an commitment in West Germany in the nineteen-sixties. Boll's theoretical definition of 'Engagement' to found to encompass explicit socio-political commitment and implicit aesthetic commitment, reflecting to a limited extent the changing fortunes of his public image and changing fashions in literary theory, but with a constant moral bias. Part II examines the interaction between Boll's views of commitment and the fictional practice between the years 1998 and 1974, with respect to a) the presentation of social themes- which are found to have a strong moral slant b) characterisation - especially the creation of caricatured villains and the choice of a 'hero' c) the presentation of solutions to the problem of action - ranging from the aesthetic to the violent d) structure - especially the use of the Novelle and the documentary form and e) language - both as the medium for the themes and as an explicit theme itself. Boll is seen, in his fictional practice, to have no developed form of aesthetic commitment. His explicit socio-political and moral ideals are shown to be threatened by the ambiguities inherent in the fictional framework and by certain constant characteristics of his work: sentimentality, irony, etc. Thus despite the progress traced in the story Die verlorene Ehre der Katherina Blum, the conclusion is reached that Boll has not discovered a definition of literary 'Engagement' which will enable him to translate his subjective socio-political and moral intentions unequivocally into fictional practice.
University of Southampton
1981
Haes, Paula Vivienne
(1981)
Heinrich Böll : his conception of "Engagement" and its reflection in the major fictional works from 1963-1974.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Boll's conception of 'Engagement' is analysed and set against the background of his public activities and reputation, the development of his social and political views as reflected in the non-fictional writings, and the wider debate an commitment in West Germany in the nineteen-sixties. Boll's theoretical definition of 'Engagement' to found to encompass explicit socio-political commitment and implicit aesthetic commitment, reflecting to a limited extent the changing fortunes of his public image and changing fashions in literary theory, but with a constant moral bias. Part II examines the interaction between Boll's views of commitment and the fictional practice between the years 1998 and 1974, with respect to a) the presentation of social themes- which are found to have a strong moral slant b) characterisation - especially the creation of caricatured villains and the choice of a 'hero' c) the presentation of solutions to the problem of action - ranging from the aesthetic to the violent d) structure - especially the use of the Novelle and the documentary form and e) language - both as the medium for the themes and as an explicit theme itself. Boll is seen, in his fictional practice, to have no developed form of aesthetic commitment. His explicit socio-political and moral ideals are shown to be threatened by the ambiguities inherent in the fictional framework and by certain constant characteristics of his work: sentimentality, irony, etc. Thus despite the progress traced in the story Die verlorene Ehre der Katherina Blum, the conclusion is reached that Boll has not discovered a definition of literary 'Engagement' which will enable him to translate his subjective socio-political and moral intentions unequivocally into fictional practice.
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Published date: 1981
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Local EPrints ID: 460460
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/460460
PURE UUID: 2d64e7d6-820e-4733-b7b7-bbf9be846fce
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 18:22
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 18:22
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Author:
Paula Vivienne Haes
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