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%0 Thesis
%A Niefind, Petra
%T Das Kindhafte bei Elsa Morante
%I Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
%V Dissertation
%C Aachen
%M RWTH-2023-04508
%P 1 Online-Ressource
%D 2021
%Z Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University 2023
%Z Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2021
%X Children occupy a large space in Elsa Morante's narrative work: The main characters are often children and young people, or else a character's childhood memories are at the forefront of the plot. In addition to the depiction of childhood as a phase of human development, Morante's later narrative work shows a clear idealisation of childlike qualities, which goes hand in hand with a negative view of the contemporary world. Her characters can be divided into two categories, the first assuming childhood as a state and the second understanding childhood as a phenomenon: Those figures can be assigned to it who have outgrown childhood but who have retained childlike outward appearances on the one hand and who are childlike on a figurative level on the other, since they resemble children in nature and manner. The paper focuses on a comprehensive account of the idealised quality of being childlike in Elsa Morante, and for this purpose devotes itself to the latter category, in which being childlike transcends the biological state. An exaggerated form of childlike qualities turns out to be an idealised mode of being independent of biological age, which is inherent in the child but by which adults can also be distinguished. In contrast to the biological and social category of child, being childlike in this sense denotes a phenomenon that cannot be defined by external criteria. The ideal qualities of such childlikeness are not only inherent in 'biological' children, but can also distinguish adult human beings if they have retained corresponding qualities, such as naivety and innocence, creativity and imagination, as well as the ability to recognise beauty and feel bliss. Proximity to nature and, in particular, a connection to the world of animals also characterise Elsa Morante's childlike nature. Elsa Morante's childlike figures are captured in a typology, highlighting commonalities within a group as well as overarching qualities that connect all childlike figures. The childlike is always to be seen in relation to the surrounding historical reality, which is why Morante's view of this world serves as a background for the depiction of the childlike. She uses a paradox and critically describes historical reality as ïrrealtà", while its ideal, desirable counterpart is called "realtà". The childlike figures clearly stand out from this negatively drawn world with its authoritarian regimes and a society hostile to life, characterised by power structures and a decline in values. The study therefore deals with the question of how childlike figures are to be located in Morante's view of the world and in her poetological concept. On the one hand, it is about their position within historical reality, the ïrrealtà": on their social status, their way of getting along in the world and their way of dealing with the sorrowful experiences they have to make through wars and social injustices. In a further step, the focus is on those categories that are characteristic of the dimension Morante calls "realtà": these include, in particular, nature and art, and both condition the possibility of transcendental experiences. In Morante's works, recurring terms from the realm of children such as "gioco" and ßcherzo" stand in clear contrast to the gloomy reality, and statements such as "tornate fanciulli" and "non c'è niente da capire" can be read as an evaluation of worldly events and as a call to live for liberation from the ïrrealtà" not with the intellect but out of intuition, like children and childlike persons.
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)11
%9 Dissertation / PhD Thesis
%R 10.18154/RWTH-2023-04508
%U https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/957010