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@PHDTHESIS{Niefind:957010,
author = {Niefind, Petra},
othercontributors = {Rieger, Angelica and Ströbel, Liane Susanne},
title = {{D}as {K}indhafte bei {E}lsa {M}orante},
school = {Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen},
type = {Dissertation},
address = {Aachen},
publisher = {RWTH Aachen University},
reportid = {RWTH-2023-04508},
pages = {1 Online-Ressource},
year = {2021},
note = {Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen
University 2023; Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische
Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2021},
abstract = {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 "irrealtà", 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
"irrealtà": 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 "scherzo" 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 "irrealtà" not with the
intellect but out of intuition, like children and childlike
persons.},
cin = {794320},
ddc = {800},
cid = {$I:(DE-82)794320_20140620$},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)11},
doi = {10.18154/RWTH-2023-04508},
url = {https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/957010},
}
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