Wilhelm Speyer's best‐selling novels of 1927 and male responses to female emancipation

Abstract

AbstractThe Weimar Republic witnessed significant advances in the professional, political, and social opportunities available to German women, as well as a substantial increase in the visibility of women within the German public sphere. Existing research into the reactions of German men to female emancipation during this period has tended to focus on the fear and hostility that were most noticeable during the early years of the Republic. In contrast, this article discusses two more supportive responses to female liberation: Wilhelm Speyer's best‐selling novels Charlott etwas verrückt (1927) and Der Kampf der Tertia (1927). These novels depict their unconventional and powerful women protagonists in a sympathetic light, but their emancipatory potential is limited by the use of traditional motifs and perspectives within their descriptions of female characters.