Scham und Schrift

English summary: Given the complaints in newspaper arts and culture supplements about the shamelessness of contemporary literature, the feeling of shame could be considered an outdated phenomenon. However, this study argues that, in the light of the 'retour du recit' in French literature since the 1970s, a strand of literary narrative has formed in which shame has become a magnifying glass through which we can observe contemporary upheavals. This occurs on the one hand when we...
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English summary: Given the complaints in newspaper arts and culture supplements about the shamelessness of contemporary literature, the feeling of shame could be considered an outdated phenomenon. However, this study argues that, in the light of the 'retour du recit' in French literature since the 1970s, a strand of literary narrative has formed in which shame has become a magnifying glass through which we can observe contemporary upheavals. This occurs on the one hand when we reconnect with changes within literature, and on the other in connection with historical events, in which the subject finds himself confronted with a specific form of postmodern shame. This includes the legacy of the Shoah, colonial history and the humiliations of late capitalist life. The narratives of Marguerite Duras, Georges-Arthur Goldschmidt and Annie Ernaux are studied here on the basis of the term 'hontofiction'. The subject, which was laid to rest by the 'nouveau roman' amongst other things, does not return as an autonomous subject, but instead reflects its own fragility through the nature of its return. German description: Das Gefuhl der Scham mag angesichts feuilletonistischer Beschwerden uber die Schamlosigkeit der zeitgenossischen Literatur als uberholtes Phanomen gelten. Die Studie argumentiert hingegen, dass sich im Rahmen des 'retour du recit' in der franzosischen Literatur seit den 1970er Jahren ein Strang literarischen Erzahlens ausbildet, in dem die Scham zum Brennglas fur zeitgenossische Umbruche wird. Dies geschieht zum einen in Ruckbindung an innerliterarische Veranderungen, zum anderen in Bezug auf historische Ereignisse, in denen das Subjekt sich mit einer spezifisch nachmodernen Scham konfrontiert sieht. Hierzu gehoren das Erbe der Shoah, die Kolonialgeschichte und Beschamungen spatkapitalistischer Lebenswelten. Unter dem Begriff der 'hontofiction' werden Erzahlungen von Marguerite Duras, Georges-Arthur Goldschmidt und Annie Ernaux untersucht. Das Subjekt, das u.a. vom 'nouveau roman' zu Grabe getragen wurde, kehrt hier nicht als ein autonomes Subjekt zuruck, sondern reflektiert in der Art seiner Ruckkehr die eigene Bruchigkeit.