Ambiguous aggression in German realism and beyond : flirtation, passive aggression, domestic violence / Barbara N. Nagel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nagel, Barbara Natalie, author.

Series:

New directions in German studies ; v. 29.

New directions in German studies ; Vol. 29

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

German fiction--19th century--History and criticism.

German fiction.

German fiction--20th century--History and criticism.

Ambiguity in literature.

Flirting in literature.

Aggressiveness in literature.

Family violence in literature.

Affect (Psychology) in literature.

Realism in literature.

Literature, Modern--Themes, motives.

Literature, Modern.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xii, 158 pages ; 23 cm.

Other Title:

German realism and beyond : Flirtation, passive aggression, domestic violence

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Bloomsbury Academic / Bloomsbury Publishing Inc., 2019.

Summary:

"Our main words defining emotional states suggest that we have clarity about them: expressions like 'love', 'hatred', 'anxiety', or 'sorrow' seem clear enough. The reality, however, tends to be more complicated. We are often faced with gestures and utterances that are difficult to interpret and thus find ourselves wondering about the affective force of what has just been said: "Was that an insult?" "Flirtation?" "Aggression?" Ambiguous Aggression looks at three interlocking forms of social violence - flirtation, passive aggression, and domestic violence. In order to understand their circulation, it traces their literary-historical genealogy in German realism and modernism - in scenes from Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Adalbert Stifter, Theodor Storm, Theodor Fontane, Robert Walser, and Franz Kafka, covering a historical period from the middle of the 19th century to the early decades of the 20th century. Reading realist and modernist literature through 21st -century affect theory and vice versa, the analyses collected in this book show the deep literary history of our current cultural predicaments and predilections." -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

Flirtation

"Love exploded on a time-fuse": flirtation and critical theory from realism to #metoo

Passive aggression

Twice-read love letters: the ambiguities of epistolary violence

Domestic violence

Home in hiding: scenes of domestic violence

Symphonic aggression

"what murderously peaceful people there are": on aggression in Robert Walser

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781501352713

1501352717

OCLC:

1099542858