On the Problem of Determining the Genre of Gregor von Rezzori’s “The Snows of Yesteryear” (Flowers in the Snow)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31861/pytlit2013.87.279Keywords:
Gregory von Rezzori, “The Snows of Yesteryear” (Flowers in the Snow)”, Rezzori’s adepts, autobiography, education novel, hypothetical autobiography, ego-Romance philology, genre and receptive version, postmodern textAbstract
The body of the article goes on to disclose an autobiographical essay of the major author in the German-speaking area, Gregor von Rezzori’ “Flowers in the Snow” in terms of its genre specific ambiguity.
After writing hypothetical autobiographies endlessly, Rezzori dare write an apparently autobiographical novel. Critiques considered him to reach the top of the most-exciting-authors list of the German literature.
However, researchers have not determined Rezzori’s Blumen im Schnee so far as an undoubtedly autobiographical book as the genre of classic autobiography. The purpose of the given academic research is to define clear boundaries of its genre model. The problem of Defining the genre becomes far more complex because of representation of ironic pathos.
Ironic charades ferment and disguise its real genre format. The author’s astounding ability to arrange his thoughts with insight and poetry enables him to do so while remaining a few paces away from the threshold of historical chronicles. The Outlined perspective is highlighted by the methodological framework of such poetological branches as time space theory and genre forms, structural and semantic hermeneutics-receptive areas of a present day history of literature, and the works of foreign adepts of Rezzori’s works.
Taking into account the receptive capacity of the work, it can be determined in the sense of connotations of its genre parameters. The findings lie in the idea that Rezzori’s conventional autobiographical novel appears equally as education novel and might be considered as a synthesis of the two genres subtypes. Firstly, individuality establishing occurs in the biographical time, passing through the unique individual stages.
Secondly, a personality self-making is portrayed in close connection with the historical development, it is a historical reality. Noteworthy, the text balancing on the verge of several varieties of genre should be considered as the author’s attempt to find a balance, so its composing is a main obvious “auto-therapeutic” purpose.References
Bakhtin M. M. Estetika slovesnogo tvorchestva [Esthetics of verbal creativity]. Moscow, 1986, 445 p. (in Russian).
Bychkov V. Posle “KorneviShchA”. Prolegomeny k postneklassicheskoi estetike [After “Rhizome”. Prolegomena to a post-nonclassical esthetics]. In: Estetika na perelome kul'turnykh traditsii, Moscow, 2002, pp. 25–59. (in Russian).
Villon François. Velykyi testament ta inshi poeziï, Kyiv, 1973, 187 p. (in Ukrainian).
Vlodavskaia I. A. Poetika angliiskogo romana vospitaniia nachala KhKh veka. Tipologiia zhanra [Poetics of the English novel of education of the beginning of the XX century. Genre typology]. Kyiv, 1983, 182 p. (in Russian).
Havryliv T. Forma i fihura. Identychnist′ u khudozhn′omu prostori [Form and figure. An identity in artistic space]. Lviv, 2009, 480 p. (in Ukrainian).
Zhanrovye raznovidnosti romana v zarubezhnoi literature XVIII–XX vekov [Genre versions of the novel in foreign literature of the XVIII-XX centuries]. Kyiv, Odessa, 1985, 148 p. (in Russian).
Kopystians′ka N. Kh. Zhanr, zhanrova systema u prostori literaturoznavstva [Genre, genre system in literary criticisms]. Lviv, 2005, 368 p. (in Ukrainian).
Lejeune Ph. V zashchitu avtobiografii. Esse raznykh let [In protection of the autobiography. Essay of different years]. In: Istorija literatury, 2000, no. 4, pp. 108–122. (in Russian).
Lejeune Ph. Kogda konchaetsia literatura? [When literature comes to the end]. Available at: http://lodel.item.ens.fr/item/index.php?id=223451 (accessed 10 October 2011). (in Russian).
Mikhailov A. D. Fransua Viion [François Villon]. In: Istoriia vsemirnoi literatury, vol. 3, Moscow, 1985, pp. 221–225. (in Russian).
Mudesiti M. Etapy razvitiia nemetskogo romana vospitaniia XVIII–XIX vekov [Stages of development of the German bildungsroman of the XVIII-XIX centuries]. In: Problemy razvitiia realizma v zarubezhnoi literature XIX–XX vekov, Kyiv, Odessa, 1978, pp. 15–33. (in Russian).
Prytoliuk S. Transformatsiia zhanru romanu vykhovannia v postmodernists′komu dyskursi [The transformation of genre of bildungsroman in postmodern discourse]. Pytannia literaturoznavstva, Chernivtsi, 2008, pp. 103–109. (in Ukrainian).
Rezzori G. von. Magribins′ki istoriï. Anekdoty, zharty, nebylytsi [Tales of Maghrebinia]. Chernivtsi, 1997, 176 p. (in Ukrainian).
Bruss Elisabeth W. Die Autobiographie als literarischer Akt. In: Die Autobiographie. Zu Form und Geschichte einer literarischen Gattung. Darmstadt, 1989, pp. 258–279.
Jaśtal Katarzyna. Erzählte Zeiträume. Kindheitserinnerungen aus den Randgebieten der Habsburgermonarchie von Manès Sperber, Elias Canetti und Gregor von Rezzori. Kraków, 1998, 228 p.
Jaśtal Katarzyna. Vom (Un)Glück des Peripheren. Einige Bemerkungen zum Werk Georg von Rezzoris. In: Georg von Rezzori. Essays, Anmerkungen und Erinnerungen. Oberhausen, 1999, pp. 90–104.
Köpf Gerhard. Die Vorzüge der Windhunde. Tübingen, 2004, 200 p.
Lejeune Philippe. Der autobiographische Pakt. In: Die Autobiographie. Zu Form und Geschichte einer literarischen Gattung. Darmstadt, 1989, pp. 214–257.
Magris Claudio. Exeuropa. Gespräch mit Gregor von Rezzori. In: Die Horen : Zeitschrift für Literatur, Kunst und Kritik, 1990, 35. Jg, Bd. 3, Ausgabe 159, pp. 34–39.
Mayer Gerhard. Der deutsche Bildungsroman: von der Aufklärung bis zur Gegenwart. Stuttgart, 1992, 510 p.
Neumann Hans. Zurück in die Gegenwart. Czernowitzer Lebensart in der memorialistischen Prosa Gregor von Rezzoris und Georg Drozdowskis. In: Zum Thema Mitteleuropa: Sprache und Literatur im Kontext. Iaşi, Konstanz, 2000, pp. 165–187.
Rezzori Gregor von. Blumen im Schnee. München-Augsburg, 1989, 310 p.
Rezzori Gregor von. Mir auf der Spur. München, 1997, 382 p.
Werner Klaus. Der törichte Geiger. Gregor von Rezzoris literarische Anfänge. In: Deutsche Literatur in Rumänien und das „Dritte Reich“. Vereinnahmung – Verstrickung – Ausgrenzung. München, 2003, pp. 231–243.
Windus Thorsten. Schnee von heute. Ein Gespräch mit Gregor von Rezzori über seine Bücher. In: Die Horen : Zeitschrift für Literatur, Kunst und Kritik, 1990, 35. Jg, Bd. 3, Ausgabe 159, pp. 77–78.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2013 Tetiana Basniak
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.