Die Rezeption Maurice Maeterlincks in den deutschsprachigen Ländern (1891-1914) by Dirk Strohmann

Abstract

8I2 Reviews how varied and ingenious the techniques of estrangement were in the theatre of the period. Hence, the suspicion that 'Brecht's theoryand theatremight be just onemode within a diverse range of avant-garde practices for making the familiar strange' (p. 5) makes a good starting-point, especially when coupled with concerns about which of the historical avant-garde's 'theoretical and aesthetic paradigms could be further applied and reworkedwithin our current contexts' (p. 3). Deliberately, one suspects, this compact survey often postpones answering such questions, choosing instead to leave us todraw our own conclusions. The main strength of Theatre of Estrangement lies in its ability to reactivate the debate about themerits and new possibilities of theatrical defamiliarization. We are shown over twenty devices theorized by the Formalists or exploited by theRussian avant-garde that arewithout counterparts inBrechtian theatre.The highlighting of such potential, togetherwith awelcome stress on reception's role in the estranging process, makes foran illuminating survey.However, while not irreparably damaging to thework's thesis, there are places where the overall picture ismarred by unsub stantiated claims, distorting emphases, and misleading assumptions. Compared with thework of Barooshian and Pomorska, for example, its account of the relationship between Formalism and Futurism is rigidly influence-dominated. And although the possibility thatBrecht's concept of Verfremdungwas primarily indebted toRussian Formalism has long since been dismissed asmere speculation, Jestrovic continues to cling to it without offering any new evidence. Her generally rewarding discussion of estrangement's transference from page to stage is over-concerned with Futurism's forays into 'transrational language' (zaum) at the expense of less irrational forms of linguistic defamiliarization exploited for socio-critical and political purposes. Since the Formalists had much to say about linguistic deformation, itwould have been useful to compare this feature ofRussian and German avant-garde theatre.Perhaps because Verfremdung's putative indebtedness to Shklovsky became so politicized an issue during theCold War years, Jestrovic remains unduly reticent about the ideo logical function ofBrechtian Verfremdungseffekte, preferring to talk of the 'ethics' of estrangement rather than placing it within itsappropriate political framework. Given the interest thisbook is likely tomeet with in theatre-related disciplines, its unacceptably high number ofmisspellings, misquoted names and titles,factual errors, and inconsistencies isunfortunate. Even Brecht's publisher appears in the carelessly estranged form 'Suhkramp' and Jestrovic's own subtitle iswrongly given on both spine and dust jacket. KING'S COLLEGE LONDON J. J.WHITE Die Rezeption Maurice Maeterlincks in den deutschsprachigenLandern (I89I-I9I4). By DIRK STROHMANN. (Europaische Hochschulschriften, Reihe I: Deutsche Sprache und Literatur, I926) Bern: Peter Lang. 2oo6. 8o6 pp. ?Ioo; ?65.50. ISBN 978-3-03-9Io855-8. That the dramas and theoreticalwritings of the Belgian Symbolist Maurice Maeter linckmade a substantial impact on German-language culture is broadly accepted, although despite pioneering work by Peter Szondi and Marianne Kesting in the 1950S and I96os ithas remained relatively under-investigated. Originally a doctoral thesis supervised byKarl Pestalozzi inBasel, in itspublished formDirk Strohmann's fine study of the reception ofMaeterlinck inGerman before the First World War goes some considerable way towards rectifying this situation. A huge, very readable, and elegantly produced tome, it is thorough and wide-ranging enough tomake it the standard work on this topic for the foreseeable future. MLR, I03.3, 2oo8 813 Strohmann's book is divided into two substantial sections, differentiated by their approach. The firstis intended as a quasi-objective empirical study ofMaeterlinck's reception inGermany, Austria, and Switzerland, looking at his principal champions (Bahr, Brahm, Harden, and von Oppeln-Bronikowski); his publishers (notably Eu gen Diederichs, whose campaign forhis recognition provided the decisive impulse fora breakthrough); the journals thatdevoted most attention both tohis literaryand to his philosophical work; the stagings of his plays inVienna, Munich, and Berlin; and finally the reviews of these performances. The main articles and performances are usefully tabulated in an appendix to the volume, too. There ismuch original material in this section-for example, Strohmann has for the firsttime delved into theDeutscher Biihnenspielplan in his search for Maeterlinck performances-and his documentation demonstrates a farfullerappreciation of Maeterlinck across Germany and Austria thanwe have hitherto been aware of. It clarifies howMaeterlinck's work was received in two phases, as...