OrientalFlânerie:Fürst Pückler-Muskau'sAus Mehemed Alis Reich

Abstract

In this article, I examine the Oriental travel writing by Fürst Hermann von Pückler-Muskau as flânerie, in terms of literary historians' depictions of the nineteenth-century French flâneur and Walter Benjamin's writings. Pückler's narrator, who is placed at the center of the travel text in question, Aus Mehemed Alis Reich, bears resemblance to the flâneur in several respects, including the position he assumes within the scenarios that he depicts, his relative detachment from the events, and the anecdotal and entertaining nature of the narrative. This narrative style provided the readers of the mid-nineteenth century with both a new type of travel text and an unusual narrator, who, through his particular social status, was able to access different social spheres and enjoy different travel experiences than the majority of travel writers, who were mostly from the middle class.