Altersschwelle 30/33. Zur Geschichte einer semantischen Einheit

Abstract

Anthropological, topological, and problem-oriented approaches together show that the topos of the thirty-year old had a relatively stable history of meaning in German literature and its European contexts. In western culture, the approximate age of thirty marks the threshold between youth and adulthood; the continuity of the mark is anchored in the traditional age typology and the age of Jesus Christ during his active period until his death at thirty-three. The meaning can be related to literature's preoccupation with mortality and the brevity of life.