Mimesis, Widerstand, Subversion : Bettina von Arnims Briefroman Die Günderode als Ansatz diskursiver Entgrenzung

Abstract

Bettina von Arnims novel Die Günderode was written during the period of early German romanticism. The novel consists of an exchange of letters between the literary figure Bettine and an opposite, Gunderode. This exchange takes place in the light of the philosophical discourse of German idealism, mainly represented by Johann Gottlieb Fichte, which excludes women as independent subjects. The novel reveals Bettine's dissatisfaction about her exclusion as a woman within the discourse of idealism. As Bettine realizes her non-representation in the existing discourse of her time she develops distinct writing techniques in order to discover her own subjectivity. She comes to the conclusion, however, that as a woman she can neither be represented in the prevailing discourse nor in another alternative "female" discourse. Using the feminist theoretical framework of Luce lrigaray, in particular her book Das Geschlecht, das nicht eins ist, the author investigates the discursive nature of German idealism and comes to the conclusion that it is essentially a male discourse. The author then analyses Bettine's attempts to liberate herself from male discourse using lrigaray. The author concludes that Bettine's writing technique corresponds to a great extent with the concepts formulated by Irigaray. While Bettine is able to undermine and subvert male discourse, she is aware that she cannot establish a new alternative discourse in which her subjectivity is fully represented.