Benedikte Nauberts 'Neue Volksmärchen der Deutschen': Strukturen des Wandels by Laura Martin

Abstract

580 Reviews Sich weilB Rechenschaft zu geben, I Bleib imDunkeln unerfahren, I Mag von Tag zu Tage leben.' ST JOHN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD RITCHIE ROBERTSON Benedikte Nauberts 'Neue Volksmdrchen der Deutschen': Strukturen desWandels. By LAURAMARTIN. Wiirzburg: Konigshausen & Neumann. 2oo6. 379 PP. ?49.80. ISBN 978-3-8260-34I6-9. Laura Martin's monograph is the first book-length study ofBenedikte Naubert's four volume fairy-tale collection Neue Volksmdrchen der Deutschen ( 789-92). Naubert who was rediscovered by feminist critics in the I98os-is gradually attractingmore scholarly attention as awriter of fairy tales: theNeue Volksmdrchenwere reprinted in 2001 (Neue Volksmdrchen derDeutschen, ed. byMarianne Henn and others, 4 vols (G6ttingen: Wallstein, 2001), reviewed in MLR, 97 (2002), IO20), andMartin's book is awelcome addition to the secondary literature.Martin states at theoutset that she is fascinated byNaubert's stories as a type ofwriting unfamiliar to us from canoni cal literature.Her central idea is that the author draws on a wide range of different sources and reworks her material inways which surprise us as readers brought up on the likes of theGrimms: here we findheroes who turn theirback on violence, for example, or heroines who help to shape their own fate. Martin hopes ultimately to show thatNaubert deserves to be read and studied more widely. The book is divided into three parts. The firstgives some general background information. It startswith a short introduction toNaubert and gives an overview of research. It then surveys the tradition of fairy-talewriting inGermany and briefly compares Naubert with her contemporary Johann Karl August Musaus. The most substantial section comes next:Martin takes us through the collection and examines each of the fifteenstories in turn. For each she provides a detailed plot summary (sixteen pages in the case of 'Erdmann und Marie: Ein Nachtrag zu den Legenden von Ruibezahl'!) and an interpretation of the textwhich looks, for instance, at themes, characterization, and style.The finalpart of thebook isentitled 'Helden und Heldin nen'. It includes a chapter on curiosity and disobedience and a chapter on violence, and hereMartin fleshes out her argument about Naubert's unconventional portrayal ofmale and female characters. The book concludes by listing again the reasons why Naubert should be granted a place in literaryhistory. Overall, Martin certainlymanages to communicate her enthusiasm forNaubert's writing. In the second and thirdparts she places the stories themselves verymuch at centre stage. She focuses on close readings of the textsand consciously avoids bring ing in toomuch discussion of thewider literaryand historical context. She skirtsover the question of different sources, forexample, when considering Naubert's 'Ottilie' and theGrimms' 'Marienkind' side by side. She does not always engage fullywith the secondary literature, and the relatively few footnotes are just as likely to be com paring the tales to The Grapes ofWrath, The Scarlet Letter, or The Wizard ofOz. The book iswritten in a colourful, informal stylewith many an ironic comment and passing reference toBilbo Baggins orHarry Potter. One does wonder ifit would have brought Naubert to awider audience if ithad been published inEnglish instead of being translated intoGerman. The long plot summaries seem a little superfluous for German readers, whereas at present just one of these stories is available inEnglish translation. But as it is, this is a lively and interesting studywhich certainly deserves towin some new readers for this still largelyunknown eighteenth-century author. SWANSEAUNIVERSITY HILARY BROWN ...