The Promised Land? Feminist Writing in the German Democratic Republic

Abstract

Martens, Lorna. The Promised Land? Feminist Writing in the German Democratic Republic. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2001. 273 pp. $19.95 paperback. The question mark is crucial to the title of Lorna Martens' study of feminist writing in the former GDR. Without the interrogative, Irmtraud Morgner, whose work is prominently featured in this analysis, attributes this phrase to her intrepid protagonist in the 1974 novel named for Beatriz and Laura, who pens the story. There, Beatriz applies the sobriquet to the GDR, tongue-in-cheek, but half seriously (26). In her analysis, Martens explores the reasons for the discrepancy between the promises the GDR made and the ways in which they were, were not, or could not be, kept. Her book aims to acquaint the English-speaking women's studies audience with GDR feminist ideas (1-2). In the process, she succeeds in illuminating aspects of the unique history of GDR feminism for German Studies scholars as well. Martens traces with historical accuracy and theoretical sophistication the influence of Marxist and socialist thinking on the writers of the GDR from that country's inaugural, constitutional commitment to equality between the sexes, through its precipitous demise and the aftermath. She varies the historical narrative with prudent reminders: state socialism needed workers in light of a labor shortage; state-sponsored day-care did not always conform to actual working shifts; and equality dictated from above does not always trickle down into reality. As thematized in the feminist writing from the GDR, still were primarily responsible for children, did the housework, and waited in line. In Women, Feminism, and Writing in the German Democratic Republic, Martens establishes the (to many) unfamiliar framework of GDR history and its answers to the women question. She discusses influences on West German and American feminism(s), and points to similarities and differences with reference to the GDR. Crucial to socialist theory is the emancipation of based on equal access to work outside the home. In classical Marxist theory, the liberation of would logically follow from the triumph of the proletariat. The GDR state legislated into work, accommodated the need to do housework, and stood firmly on the side of women. But, as Martens writes, My thesis is that GDR writers above all focused on the question of 'feminizing' society by changing not laws but, rather, the conventions that shaped male and female psychology. …