Research Catalog

Title

Kafka, gothic and fairytale / Patrick Bridgwater.

Author

Bridgwater, Patrick.

Publication

Amsterdam ; New York, NY : Rodopi, 2003.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

viii, 198 p.; 24 cm.

Summary

"Kafka, Gothic and Fairytale is an original comparative study of the novels and some of the related shorter punishment fantasies in terms of their relationship to the Gothic and fairytale conventions. It is an absorbing subject and one which, while keeping to the basic facts of his life, mind-set and literary method, shows Kafka's work in a genuinely new light. The contradiction between his persona with its love of fairytale and his shadow with its affinity with Gothic is reflected in his work, which is both Gothic and other than Gothic, both fairytale-like and the very denial of fairytale. Important subtexts of the book are the close connexion between Gothic and fairytale and between both of these and the dream. German text is quoted in translation unless the emphasis is on the meaning of individual words or phrases, in which case the words in question are quoted and their English meanings discussed. This means that readers without German can, for the first time, begin to understand the underlying ambiguity of Kafka's major fictions. The book is addressed to all who are interested in the meaning of his work and its place in literary history, but also to the many readers in the English and German-speaking worlds who share the author's enthusiasm for Gothic and fairytale."--BOOK JACKET.

Series Statement

Internationale Forschungen zur allgemeinen und vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft, 0929-6999 ; 66

Uniform Title

Internationale Forschungen zur allgemeinen und vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft 66.

Subject

Kafka, Franz, 1883-1924 > Criticism and interpretation

Genre/Form

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-198).

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

1. Introduction -- 2. Landmarks -- 3. The Gothic Circle -- 4. Novel and Dream -- 5. Fairytale -- 6. Der Verschollene -- 7. Der Process -- 8. Das Schloss -- 9. Fairytale and Gothic Tale -- 10. Postscript.

ISBN

9042011947 (pbk.)

OCLC

• 51911896
• SCSB-11631643

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library