Wolfgang Borchert’in Mutfak Saati ve Ekmek Adlı Öykülerinde Ortak Motifler Üzerinden Fedakâr Kadın ve Bencil Erkek Karakteri

Abstract

however limited in number, have been unequivocally influential in their impact on the social and literary world. Borchert’s canon is one of the most important representatives of the Rubble Literature that emerged in post-Second World War Germany. As a first-hand witness Borchert, draws attention in his works to the futility and irreversibility of war’s devastation, and especially to the violence and mental breakdown it causes in mankind. This study observes and comments on the male and women characters that faced the devastation of war in Borchert’s “The Kitchen” and “The Bread” through the perception of symbols and images of common time and common space introduced by the author. By taking the social realities of the time into account, this study aims at examining the behaviours of self-sacrificing German womenfolk and selfish German menfolk commensurate with the author’s timeline, psychology, and his subjective culture. In conclusion, examining the effect of an author’s life experience and outlook, the most outstanding finding in the stories that can be perceived is the patience required for the durability of a society during the war years, as faith, strength, and resilience emerge and evolve as lived facts exposed through a narrative focusing on female characters.