'Wir sind anders'. Gender und Ethnizität in Barbara Frischmuths Romanen by Andrea Horváth

Abstract

232 AUSTRIAN STUDIES l6 (20 8) Reich and can legitimately be seen as a forerunner of the annihilation camps. In short, Klambauer's book is awkwardly written and at times digresses excessively, but it is full of interesting observations and insightful interpretations. Nottingham Trent University Bill Niven Wir sind anders \Gender und Ethnizit?t inBarbara Fr?schmuthsRomanen. ByAndrea Horv?th. W?rzburg: K?nigshausen & Neumann. 2007. 172 pp. 24,80. isbn 978-3-8260-3632-3. Andrea Horv?th shows in this study how the novels of Barbara Frischmuth can be read as charting and reflecting a shift in recent feminist thought: from an exposure of and investigation into 'gender', towards an acknowledgement of this construct as intertwined with other factors ? race, class, sexuality and so on? that all play a part in the shaping of the subject. Horv?th demonstrates that Frischmuth's early works ? for example, the Sternwieser-Tnlogie, published in the 1970s ? are concerned to express and affirm a specifically feminine identity and aesthetic. She points out that Frischmuth has long been interested inTurkish culture, and argues that in novels such as Das Verschwinden des Schattens in der Sonne (1973), Die Schrifi desFreundes (1998) and Die Entschl?sselung (2001), the Turkish 'other' ishighlighted and explored, and 'difference' ? a key term in recent critical theory ? isproblematized and relativized. This isa convincing argument, and itserves to cast Frischmuth's work in a new and interesting light. But Horv?th 's intriguing and ambitious thesis is not adequately worked out, and while her book is engaging, it is also flawed. Horv?th introduces a large body of theoretical writings early on, offering a decent and ? in the context of German Studies ? refreshing introduction to terms such as 'hybridity' and 'alterity'. She draws on thework of, among others, Homi Bhabha (to whose 'wilde[...] Formulierungen' she amusingly refers [p. 30] ), Stuart Hall, Judith Butler, Julia Kristeva and Donna Haraway. She argues that the issue of colonialism has been wrongly ignored by German Studies and alludes interestingly to Freud's concept of the uncanny (das Unheimliche). She does not, however, mention thework of Rosi Braidotti, whose notions of 'nomadism' (1994) and 'transposition' (2006) might have offered useful theoretical tools. An impressive array of theory is presented here, then, and it is usefully and clearly summarized; but the material could perhaps have been better marshalled. As Horv?th herself acknowledges, it is 'eklektisch, unsystematisch und rhetorisch abstrakt' (p. 55) :a description that indicates a lack of confidence in the thesis being developed. Indeed, the theory is not very effectively deployed in the readings of the texts that follow, which are disappointing. In her analysis of Frischmuth's treatment of femininity, Horv?th relies on the readings offered by Christa G?rtler in 1985. She summarizes plots and critical views rather than furnishing fresh interpretations that integrate the theory she has earlier introduced so well. I was also not convinced by Horv?th's understanding ofFrischmuth's use of fantasy.Frischmuth's depiction of a timeless, AUSTRIAN STUDIES l6 (20 8) 233 ahistorical, 'feminine' realm does not seem to me to be very productive or subversive. The relationship between theory and fiction isnot sufficiently explored, which leads to some confusion, as in the following observation: 'InDie Entschl?sselung l?st sich alles in Literatur, in Vieldeutigkeit und R?tsel auf, was eigentlich Derridas Theorie der "Nachtr?glichkeit" und der "Verschiebung" von Schrift best?tigt. Dies k?nnte eine Kritik der Autorin an "der neuen Leidenschaft der Philologie" bedeuten oder an den philologischen Theorien und akademischen Institutionen' (p. 134). The notion that a literarywork 'confirms' a theory is odd. The speculation as to Frischmuth's intentions isalso unhelpful. Elsewhere, a novel is referred to as 'eine fiktionalisierte Version der dargestellten Theorien' (p. 11o) :a rather reductive view of the literary text.Horv?th returns constantly to theory; the fictional texts come to seem incidental to the discussion. This might be because the novels themselves are not that interesting ? can Frischmuth's texts bear the weight of the complex theories presented here? Readings often seem inconclusive. Horv?th raises the question as to whether Frischmuth's works are 'orientalist' in Edward Said's sense, but leaves it...