This book studies individual works by twelve major writers of German modernism, including Thomas Mann, Musil, Brecht and Rilke, in relation to the history of the twentieth century. It explores the theme of the 'dear purchase', an ideal of moral strenuousness and sacrifice seen as character...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Stern, J. P. (Author)
Format:	Electronic eBook
Language:	English
Published:	Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Series:	Cambridge studies in German
Subjects:	Geschichte 1900-2000 Geschichte 1900-1950 Geschichte 1918-1946 German literature / 20th century / History and criticism Sacrifice in literature Erlösung > Motiv Zeithintergrund Literatur Deutsch
Online Access:	BSB01 UBG01 Volltext
Summary:	This book studies individual works by twelve major writers of German modernism, including Thomas Mann, Musil, Brecht and Rilke, in relation to the history of the twentieth century. It explores the theme of the 'dear purchase', an ideal of moral strenuousness and sacrifice seen as characteristic of Germany after Nietzsche, and reveals the underlying flaw in this notion as a self-justifying value. In this context, it considers the renaissance of German poetry after 1900, the impact of the War of 1914, its aftermath in uncertainty and relativism, and attitudes to the Hitler period, and finally juxtaposes Mann's Felix Krull and Kafka's story Josephine as a deliverance from the value-system of the title. The Introduction, partly autobiographical, traces J. P. Stern's preoccupation with this interpretation of his material in many of the books he published (especially those concerned with Nietzsche and Hitler), and pays tribute to Wittgenstein's influence on his thinking
Item Description:	Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015)
Physical Description:	1 online resource (xxii, 445 pages)
ISBN:	9780511597763
DOI:	10.1017/CBO9780511597763