Lexikon deutschsprachiger Epik und Dramatik von Autorinnen (1730-1900)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Lexikon deutschsprachiger Epik und Dramatik von Autorinnen (1730-1900) Katherine Goodman Lexikon deutschsprachiger Epik und Dramatik von Autorinnen (1730-1900). Herausgegeben von Gudrun Loster-Schneider und Gaby Pailer. Tübingen: Francke, 2006. 491 Seiten + CD-ROM. €128,00. Gudrun Loster-Schneider and Gaby Pailer have set themselves an ambitious goal: a lexicon of dramatic and epic texts by women authors from 1730 to 1900, in one volume. Since, as they rightly observe, traditional lexica (such as Kindler's Literatur-Lexikon) do not include many examples of texts by women (only one by Sophie von La Roche in Kindler) and since recent anthologies about women's writing in Germany have focused on biographies and general comments, these scholars have sought to fill the gap by providing a lexicon with entries for individual texts. These entries follow the pattern [End Page 141] established by other lexica: plot summary, brief analysis, list of editions, and a short selection of secondary literature. It is an enormous undertaking for one volume. The editors have had to be very selective. From over 2,000 documented titles they have included 343 texts by 170 authors. Their criteria for selection may cause some frustration. The dates given have been positively adhered to. If Lou Andreas-Salome wrote anything after 1900, it will not be found here. This may have been a necessary restriction; however, there is no indication anywhere that she wrote anything after that date. The decision to limit genre type has also eliminated poets, autobiographers, journalists, and letter writers. Rahel Varnhagen is not represented, although Bettina von Arnim is. Since one of the editors' goals is to mainstream texts by women, the canonicity of the genres is upheld. For genres in which women have often been particularly active and creative, fairy tales or children's literature, users are referred to specialized bibliographies. (This criterion is less rigidly maintained. There are some examples of children's literature—Backfischchen's Leiden und Freuden. Eine Erzählung für junge Mädchen—but none by Elise Reimarus.) While canonized genres are emphasized, canonized authors are not. No more than five works by any single author are represented. In some cases this limitation will be felt (Luise Gottsched), but the advantage is the inclusion of many little-known authors. While there is much variety and wealth here, these must have been painful decisions. One can only hope that there will be future expansions of this lexicon. One benefit of the emphasis on the canon proves to be the contributors' consistent references to other canonical authors and texts. If a text manifests any connection to Goethe or to Faust, for instance, it is mentioned. This yields large dividends when the CD-ROM version of the lexicon (included in the back cover) is downloaded. Not only can titles and authors be searched, topics can be as well: say "Ehebr*." The search mechanism is a little cumbersome: for instance, multiple strokes are required to erase a search. Passages may be highlighted and notes may be taken on screen; however, these do not appear if you select a portion of the lexicon to print. Nor do page numbers, useful for citation purposes. But overall, this digital addition to the traditional lexicon is extremely useful and encourages hope for expansion in this form especially. Individual entries follow the pattern mentioned above and are uniformly good. Missing, however, are good bibliographical references. The few references for which there was room cannot account for many excellent studies (Margaret Ward on Fanny Lewald, or Ruth-Ellen Joeres's Respectability and Deviance). The paucity of bibliographical information may be standard in traditional lexica, but directing readers to Elisabeth Friedrichs's Die deutschsprachigen Schriftstellerinnen des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts (Metzler 1981) overlooks twenty-six years of research in a field that barely existed then. Hard choices are necessary, but in an undertaking such as this a good bibliography would have been highly desirable. Loster-Schneider and Pailer have taken an important step in promoting the integration of women's literature into the canon. Together with its CD-ROM, this volume will prove extremely useful for students and scholars alike. May this step be followed by others. Katherine Goodman...