Focus Spring 1998.tif 12 Fo&II.I on LiteralitY "The Werther-pis tol killed m e!" Unders tanding Ulrich Plenzdorf's Novel Die f/euetl L eiden des jutlgen IV'. as a Cult Book Susan E . Hunnicutt "The Werther-pistol killed me" I:iI his loose paraphrasing and combining of Edgar Wibeau's words ... alludes in a succinct and amusing way, via the name Werther and the use of teen slang, to me two primary1 models for PlenzdorPs novel Die "eum uiden des jungeR W., namely. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1774 novd Die Ltiden dts juntm l17erlhlr and JD. Salinger's 1951 novel The Catcher in the ~l, both of which were cult books in their own right. The question before us is, therefore,: What arc the characteristics of a cult book? More specifically, what are [he charac­ teristics that make Die nellen Leiden des pm,gen IV. a cult book? To understand what makeS a cult book, it IS important first to understand how the word cult originated and what meanings and uses it has had. According to l(7tbsltr's Ninth New Collegiale Diaio­ nary, the word cult originated from the Larin CU/JIIS meaning "care" or "adoration"; eulJus is also the past participle of co/ere meaning "to cul tivate." T he definition of cult encompasses forma.l religious ven­ eration, a system of religious beliefs and ri tua.I, as well as a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious. In addition, cult is defined as a great devotion to a person, idea, or thing, especiaUy such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual flld and/or the small Circle of persons united by devotion or allegiance to an artistic or intellectual movement or figure. To further narrow the criteria for a cult book, it will perhaps be insightfuJ to look into the characteristics of a religious cull, as John J. Collins does in his book The Cult Experitllct. In chapler one, "The Concept of CwtS," Collins draws o n anthropological, sociological and religious s tudies in an attempt to establish defining criteria fo r the FoatS ()JI LiteralJlr Vol 5, No. \ (\998) 14 Foou on Literatur concept of religious cults. To summarize Collins, religiolls cults rep­ resent a sharp break with society and are centered around a person with great personal focce Or charisma. Cults seek mystical experi­ ences, i.e., personal encoumers with higher realities; they are often small in size. short-lived and of local character. CuJts are concerned WIth the problems of the individual rather than those of the larger world - although, Collins notes, some cults are concerned wllh sav­ ing the world or building a benee society than with the lesser needs of any individual. But in eithu case, rejection and criticism of the Status quo are at the hean of the cult experience. Finally. culls involve innovation and represent something new from outside the bound­ aries of the establishment. f f we consider these criteria and apply them not only to reli­ gious cultS, bur to Literary cults and cult books in general and to the ceception of Pleozdocf's work Die ntNen Leidm dts )Nngen 11:7. in par­ ticular, we will find many of the same characteristics. It is, however, important to distinguish between types of cult books and [ypes of cult responses to a given book. Not all cult books are the same, nOr are they cult books in the same way. There are books that I:r2nscend local or national boundaries and become works of great and/or world literature (e.g., Nietzsche's Aha spro(h 2ora/hllllra) in addition to be­ ing cult books There are a150 books that are only remarkable as a cult phenomenon in literary ruStory but do not go beyond a cenaJn mo­ mentary fascination (e.g., .MichaeJ Ende's Moma). There are also dif­ ferent cult responses. There is a naive response in which there is overwhelming personal identification between the reader and the pro­ tagoniSt or between the reade.r and the work itself. T his response is often immediate, emotional and subjective. The other cult response is characterized by a greater disunce between reader and protagonist or reader and work and is the stimulus to a critical understanding of the (ext. It is delayed, rational and objective. For example, Goethe's epistolary novd Die Leiden dts )lIngen lf7erthtr was a cult book that eucired a naive cult response mitially. It became an overnight sensation; not only Gennany, bur all of Europe exploded in «\"(lerther-fever." Young men began dressing in blue tailcoats with yellow vestS and yellow knee breeches JUSt like Wenher. A number of them even went so far as to commit suicide .ilke Werther. Ute Brandes refers to this naive reception of Goe:the's \Xferther: Understanding Plenzdorf's NtKt u,dtn 15 In their involved and, at times, finally naive identi6cation with the [f/elu(h!He'Z of the subjective protagonist they mistook Wenher's sufferings for a direct outpouring of the author's voice. 1 t was in order ro counteraci this naive reception that a third group of critics-late Enlightenment rationalistS such a Campe, Lessing, and Ltchtenberg, and zealous clergy such as Goeze-bittetly accused Goe:the of havrng forgotten his duties towards God, society and lus readers. In some of thcir essays and parodies Wenher was "correcled" and reshaped into a repentlOg, positive middle -class hero. (113-114) However, it is not enough to read [f/erther as an unhappy love affair or as a justification or sanctioning of suicide, just as it is not enough to read Die nellen Leiden du )Nngen 117. as a lllerary East Ger­ man Rebtlll:7itholit A CallIe. 1n the mid-1770s, one could wear a blue tailcoat with a yeUow vest and read KJopstock, Homer and Ossian because Werther did WithOut developing a Cfmcal understanding of \Xferther, me role of those works in the novel and \'(terther's issues with the society of his time. Ukewise, one could wear blue jeans, grow long hair and listen to jan while leading a Bohemian existence like Edgar Wibeau without understanding the criticism inherent in Edgar's nonconforll11sl behavior III the mid-1970s. These are naive cult responses, and although the naive cult response ]S importaOl to a work's recepeon history, it is the focus of lhls paper to examine mose elements which lend themselves to a deeper understandlOg of a work as cult book. Why choose Ulrich PlenzdorPs novel Die neNm Ltiden dts Jllngen 1Y~ as a cult book? One reason is the overwhelming response from both East and West. It was a literary and critical sensation, With reactions ranging from the highest praise to the bitterest vitriol. nus overwhelming response was due, in part, to the timing of itS publica­ tion. The issues Plenzdorf dared to address and hls break with the tenetS of Socialist Realism we.re also significant contributing factors. Plenzdorf first began working on Die ,ullen uidtn as a film script in 1968, the same year Christa WoIrs Nu(hdmkm aber ChnJta T. was published. After repeated rejections, il remained in his desk drawer until the early seventies. Plenzdorf staled lhat it was origi - 16 Fot1IS 011 Lileratllr flaUy written for the Schubladt, referring to thc impossibility of pub­ lishing a work that was subjective and critical of CDR society, ItS Vorbildk.Mlflir and its glossing over of bourgeois classical litcramre in ed ucation. Although "unofficial" and contradictory to the:: fight to freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitu tion of the GDR, literary ~sorship still existed, albeit in the guise of uterarurforderung. as Herbert Wiesner has expressed (10). Die ntNm Ltiden des pmgtfl W. was finally published at a critical poim in the history of East Germany's KldfUrpo/itile; in December 1971 a period of liberalization was ushered in llfter Erich Honecker succeeded Walther UlbrichlS as secretary of the Central Committee of the SED . Honecker stated at lhe rime of his succession that. from the secure standpoint of social­ ism, there should be no taboQs in the areas of art and literature. Plenzdorf's work was the firSt to test how deep the waters of attistic and literary l.tberalization ran. £r was published in March 1972 in Sinn lind Form, the most important literary journal in the G DR. In the summer of 1972 a play adaptauon of Du ntutn uidm du l'lngtn Ill. was produced on founeen different stages in East Germany with enor­ mous success. Finally, it was published in book form in 1973. Returning to Collins' discussion of rel.tgious culLS, a number of the criteria he established will be useful in determining why Dit ntJitn Leidtn dtJ jllngtn 117. can be conS idered a cult book: a sharp break with society; focus on the problems of the individual; rejection of the StatuS quo; criticism of the establishment. As previously mentioned, Plenzdorf broke with the tenets o f Socialist Realism which demanded simple, understandable language, a clear authorial position, as well as the depiction of a positive role model and the promotion of socialist ideals. By jUJ\ taposing the emo­ tive language of Empji1J(iJamktit with teen slang peppered with En­ glish, Plenzdorf used twO kinds of language not readily accessible to ~e worker ~ajority for whom he was supposed to be writing. Imen­ uonally leavlOg the text open to interpretation, Plenzdorf avoided establishing a clear authorial position, and by making his p rotagonist an outsider who rums his back on socialist society, he presented read­ ers with a literary figure unfit as a positive role modd and representa­ tive of socialist ideals. In this way, Plenzdorf served notice that he was breaking with the demands of GDR society and rejecting the status quo. Not surprisingly. reactions to Oit ntllM Ltidm in the GDR Understa nding PlenzdorCs Nelle Leidm 17 tended to be oe&2tive. In a letter to the editorial staff of Sinn lind FOrt/I,2 F. K. Kaul accused Pl enzdorf of falsifying socialJst reality in and reproached the journal for what he described as the Irresponsible publication of Plenzdorrs narrative without the appropriate COfTImen­ tary to gUIde the G DR reader to an acceptable interpretation of the text. Friedrich Plate condemned Dit "tlltn LeiJtn for its ambiguity lind lack of a ckar authorial position: Diese Breire der Auslegungsmoglichkeiten machl die Arbeit Plenzclorfs, ohoe ihr Verdienst sclunia.lern zu wollen, in meinen Augen weugehend frngwiirdig. Naturl.tch 1St unsere l..lterarur auf Vidfalt orienuerL TrOlZdem ist von dem einzelnen Autor zu erwanen, daB er um eine kJare Position bemiiht ist, daR er mit seinen Arbeiten hilft, die Realitat unseres Lebcns in all seiner \,(/iderspruchlichkeit dutchschaubar zu machen .... D ie breile Diskussion um P lenzdorfs Arbeit scheln t mir weniger aus ihren Starken, als vielmehr aus ihren Schwachen zu resultieren. Ich meine d am it die BrelTe der Assoziationsmoglich keiten bei dem Feh len einer deutlichen Autorenpos ition. Plenzdorf provozien mcht durch emen klaren Standpunkt zu der aufgeworfenen P roblematik, sondern durch relative StandpunktlosigkelL (228-229) Barbara Cume sums up reactions to Dit ntllm Ltidm in the BRD as fo llows: \'{'hile the posunoderOlsl ethic in the West was soon to allow for the integration of hi story, politics and mass culture into literature, Plenzdorf was dismissed by all but a few critics as too old-fashioned, lOO Imitative, too unsenous, and because he was East-German and oot ashamed of it. 100 unpoliucal. (293) Jeans and lo og hair had loog been the badges of anti-establish­ ment youth not only in West Germany, but in the Unncd States as well. It is perhaps difficult for today's readers to see anything more than rebellious teen pOSturiog in Edga r's behavior. Yet for Edgar Wibeau and other GDR youth, wearing jeans, growing long hair and 18 FMJ/S on Liler a lJlT listening to jazz we re nO[ merely acts of rebellious noocoofonrusm bordering on the subversive, they were treaSonOllS in a society in which conformity was the absolu te rule. That is why Edgar asserts, ", . Jeans sind cine Einstellung uod keme Hosen" (27). J n their collabora­ tive article authors Ute Brandes and Ann Clark Fehn discllss "the s{l(=cia1 type of generation gap in the GDR - between an older genera­ cion, which buih me state under difficult circumstances, and its chil­ d.ren, who have never lived under any other system" (608). In cicing Heiner MUlIer, who saw the then generation of Lhirry year aIds as having t":xperienced socialism as deformed realilY, rather than as the hope for something better, Brandes and Fehn refer to what Miiller calls "'die Farce clef Stelivenr(:[erkriege (geg(:n Jazz und Lyrik, H aare und Bane, Jeans und Beat ... )'" as an indicator of how far socialist reality in the GDR was from me ideal (608). In addition to breaking with society and r(:jecting th(: status quo, Die neNtn Leiden de! )Nngen 117. focuses on the problems of one individual, Edgar Wibe:au, and his criticism of the establishment. Edgar describes himself as a "verkanntes Genie" and rums his back on the collective in an effort to create his own mist.free pain t sprayer or nebel/om FarbJprit'?!piit (NFG) (11 1).3 H e has visions of grandeur focusing on his elevated Status and individual recognition after sue. cessfully inventing an f'olFG where the collective failed to do so. He chafes at the Germanization of his Huguenot name from Wibeau to \'(Iiebau - an act tantamount to denying his right [0 individuality. But the conformity did not StOp at Edgar'S name. In an absurdly amusing but also disrurbing a.necdote, Edgar recoums to readers JUSt how far the ideal of conformity was taken when his mother tried to force him to become right. handed. According to Edgar, his mother Died everything to get him to StOp writing with his left hand until he began to stuuer and wet his bed. The doctors eventually intervened, and Edgar was once again allowed to write with his left hand. The snmering and bed· wetting soon stopped. Edgar notes with satisfac­ tion, "D as war ungefahr das einzige, was l.·rutter Wiebau [sic) mir nicht abgewohnen konme" (138). In fact, it is Edga r'S own willingness to conform that is the catalyst behind his quitting his apprenticeship and running away to Berlin. He was tired of being the MltJterkniJbe, of always going along with whatever his momer and his teachers wanted: " ... ich machte Understanding Plenzdorf's Nelle Leiden 19 pfotchen wie immer" (11). Edgar became possessed with the idea of dying without having accomplished one thing on his own, without leaving his mark as an individual: An eincm Tag wa r ich mal auf den bloden Gedanken gekommen, was gcwesen wire, wenn icb plouJich abkratzen mlillte, schwarze Pocken oder was. Ich meine, was ich dann vom Leben gehabt batte. Den Gedanken wurde Ich ci nfach n.icht mehr los. (23) In Berlin, Edgar takes up residence in a Gartenl(1l1he that is scheduled for demolition. Tn the PINfI'pJklo behind me umbe, Edgar find s a copy of Goethe's Die Leiden du j ungell IFerther. This brings up an interesting and imponam point in PlenzdorPs crincism of !.he G OR's attitude LOwards bourgeoi s classical literature. How is it mat Edgar did not know the text'S author or nue? This question has been overlooked in the secondary literature. Quite often, critics allude to the coverless Werther without considering how it camt: to be thal way, or worse still, State that it was coverless when Edgar found it.~ Not only was it not coverless, it only became that way as a result of Edgar's immediate need for Ersatz toilet paper: "Jeh opferte zuniichst die D eckel, dann die T itelsei le und dano die Ictzten Seilen, wo erfahrungsgemiiB das Nachworr Steh l, das sowieso kein Aas liest" (35). It is significant that he "sacrificed" ooly the cover, title page and the afterword. First , it is a continuation of Edgar's cnticism of an education system built on modds where students read only those books recommended and, therefore, deemed appropri ate by their teachers (and by me State). Edgar states: ' 'JMeine E rfahmngen mit empfohlenen Buchem waren hervorragend rnies. Ich Idiol war so vc:rrilckt, daB ich ein c:mpfohlenes Buch bl&! fand, selbst wenn es gut war" (33). That Edgar would find a copy of Werther in a Plun'PJklo stands as further criticism of a system that Dot only claimed to accept Goethe's works as classics, but to prescribe rhem as models for East Germany's writ· ers; Plenzdorf, however, revealed in " Diskussion urn P lenzdorf' that this was not necessarily the case when iI came to \X1enher: " \X/erther stand nie auf dem Lehrplan" (243). Theodor Langenbruch co rrobo · rates this in his article by slating that Faust and !f/ilhelm MtiSUT were "preferred to the Storm and Stress excess" of IVerther in the CDR 20 FOl/1! on Literalltr literary canon (60). Langenbruch adds that Die Leidtn des pmgen IFtrlhtr seems to provide «3 certain protective use of Goethe's au­ thority: covered by tbe shield of established classical literature, Plenzdorf asserts and defends certain mlths about the human condi­ tion which tend to be forgotten or even repressed in Socialist litera­ 'u.e" (67). Second, by having Edgar strip the book of cover, title page and afterword, Plenzdorf was stripping it of all previous associations and interpretations, in particular of the Lukacsian imerpretation of the work which had been the S[andard in the G DR and which stated that IFer/her did not have anything to o ffer an East German reader­ ship because the society it portrayed had already been overcome in the G DR. Plenzdorf essentially allowed Edgar to read Goethe with­ out interference from State sanctio ned interpreutions; to borrow from JauB' reception theory, Edgar approached the work with 2n open Erwarllln8shodZ0nl which allowed him to read and understand the novel in a w2y that would have been impossible had he known its 2uthor or title or 2Uowed himself to be influenced by the commen­ tary of the text usually included in the afterword. In a sense, Edgar and Plenzdorf perform their own kind of censorship of Goethe's text. a censorship which has the ironic opposite effect on the text from the usual effect of censorship: Only rnose things were taken away which would limit or influence a rC2ding of the work; by "censoring" Il7trlhtr. its range of interpreta ti on was broadened instead of narrowed. Plenzdorf achieves twofold criticism here: of the education system as well as of literary censo rship. Another source of Plenzdorfs criticism of GD R society lies in the circumsmnces surrounding Edgar'S death. How are we to un­ derstand Edgar Wibeau's death and the Edgar from beyond who nar­ rates and comments throughout the Story? Tn addition to dlose who insisted that Edgar's death was not to be accorded the same impor­ tance and tragic stature as \Verther's,' there ate those critics and aca­ demics who have come up with some rather disappointingly prosaic reasons for Wibeau's death. For example, Barbara Currie prefers to see Wibeau's death as an artistic ploy: ' 'Plenzdorf needed a good end­ ing. Suicide was tOO obvious, reform tOO boring. The solution of the accident flavours the teXt with a kind of tantalising 'what might have happened if, ... !'" (291). WOlfgang Werth writes in a similar vein in Understand ing Plenzdorr s Nelle Leider! 21 his article that Wibeau's death W2S due to several reasons. First, it was the result of his decision to work alone on his NFG instead of work­ ing with the collective. Second, Wibeau's untimely death c;xuicated him from a sticky situation in which he would have been forced to choose between staying in Berlin and returning to .Mittenberg (and Mlltler Il7ibeau was already on her way to Berlin - the implication here is that Edgar would have been forced to make dle "right" choice and return home). And third, Edgar's death was required not by Plenzdorf, but rather by the story line dictated by Goethe (287).6 Friedrich Plate deemed Edgar's death an artistic ploy of another kind: "Es gibt nur eine Notwendigkeil fUr das Slerben des Hallptakteurs in dieser Arbeit: D er AUlor hraucht eine interessante Erziihlperspektive, die ihm det tote Held liefen," by which h~ was referring to Plenzdorfs use of the eighteenth century "voice from beyond." (226) Some critics went to gre2t pains to view the Edgar from be­ yond as a corrected, mature and socialist voice. and ir is uue that the Edgar from beyond seems [Q be just that. For example, Wilhelm Girnus maintains that me Edgar from beyond is indeed corrected and asserts that Wibeau's commentary from beyond is designed to indi­ cate to readers mat only an immature Wibeau, not yet ready to estab­ lish a clear and well-adjusted relationship to society. is dead: Aus der iroruschen Distanz zu sich selbst jedoch spricht bercits ein neuer \,("{ibeau, dem diese seine eigene Vergangenheit schon G eschichte ist. Auf diese Weise bedeutet er uns, nicht Wibeall uberhaup t ist gesrorben, sondern dieser Wibeau in ihm, . (194) In his article N. L. Thomas stated tbal the Edgar from beyond signi­ fies the desired and desirable objectivi ty necessary for li terature in Socialist Realism (181). Even Ute Brandes describes the Edgar from beyond's perspective as "a more tolerant, mature socialist outlook" (117). However, Schein and Sein are not tbe same. and what appears as a correction of Edgar's earlier views may simply be camouflage. The primary reason for seeing the Edgar from beyond as COf­ rected and objective stems from the ambiguity of Edgar's statements. He often refers to himself as an idiot, an Imr or a Na". It is particu­ larly imponant mat the Edgar from beyond be viewed as the objec- 22 FOalI on Literality rive counterpart to his subjective sdf dimnls since the dogma of So­ cialist Realism demanded positive role models and, above all, objec­ tivity. However, Langenbruch goes beyond the surface camouflage of Edgar's commentary from beyond: . " the allegation of Edgar's posthumous "better insight" (which is caken to put his earthly wings into the proper per. spective) is a shaky assumption, since it is based on the overinterpretarion of some of Edgar's remarks concerning rus having been a "fool," an "idiot," or a "madman." Indeed, there are strong assertions of Edgar's to the Contrary, above all his defiant "Aber ich bedaure nichts. Nicht die Bohne bedaure 1ch was" (p. 126). (66) If we were to assume that the Edgar from beyond is no less subjective than the Edgar he is commenting on, in a supposedly self­ critical and objective fashion, what would his motive be? Put simply, it is to allow some readers to conclude, as the State did, that Edgar's death was accidental due to inexpert handling of electric current. Edgar's death looked like an accident because it was supposed to look like an accident - at least (0 those who wanted (0 interpret his death as such. Did Edgar have to die? Edgar was in a lose-lose siruarion; he could not make the impossible choice between Berlin and 1o,·(ittenberg, so he chose a third option instead: death. \'(Ihy was death Edgar's only real option? Seen from his mother's standpoint (who represents G DR society), Edgar's only option was to teturn to Mjuenberg and integrate himself into socialist soci(':ty as a productive member. Seen from Edgar's point of view, returning to Nlittenberg and its stifli ng confines was a living death. W'hy not really die? Edga r could not simply commit suicide. The socialist State in the GDR viewed sui­ cide as an unacceptable and unnecessary solution; the society created by the State had overcome the need for suicide - any suicide. Edgar even echoes the official posicion on suicide after reading [Verlher for the first orne: "Nehmen wir mal an, an die Frau ware wirklich kein Rankommen gewesen. Das war noch lange kein Grund, sich zu durchlOchern" (37). Edgar did not want to be remembered as a pro­ ductive member of the collective, inst(':ad he wanted to be remem­ bered, as making his mark as an individual. In fact, being remem- Understanding Plenzdorfs Neue uiJen 23 bered at all is of concern [ 0 Edgar. Edgar says his chances of being remembered are slim because he died so young; this statement is merely more camouflage. It is not his death at age seventeen which will de­ termine whether he is forgotten or remt:mbered, bm rather hoUJ he died. As D ieter Sevin pointS out in his book, had the official ruling on his death been suicide, Edgar'S life and death would have been totgtJchwiegm (94). There is textual proof that Edgar knew what was going to happen to him when he tested his NFG, despite the official ruUng dmr his death was an accident due to inexpert handling of electric current. First, we must remember that Edgar assens: Tch hatte dies en Reinfall sowieso nicht iiberlebt. lch war jedenfaUs fast so weit, dan jch Old Wenher versmnd, wenn er nicht weiterkonnte. Jch meine, ich hane nie im Le be n freiwillig den LOffd abgegeben. f-,1.ich an den nachsten Haken gehangt oder was. Das nie. Aber ieh war doeh nie wirklich nach Minenberg zuruckgegangen. (147) I n addition, according [Q his Kllmpe/ Willi, Edgar was very talented when it came to his studies, musical instruments and bwlding things Out of the most unlikely materials: "Er konnte Rechenmaschinen aus Pappe baun [sic], die funktionieren heute noch" (20). Returning to the death norice at the beginning of the novel, we read: Edgar W. [warl, ... unsachgemaB mit clektrischem SUom umgegangen" (J). \,{'hat if this phrase could be understood in more than onc way JUSt like the phrase: "Nach dem, was die Ante sagten, war es eine Stromsache," can be understood in more than one way (148)? In fact, it is important to note tha t IImgeheu not only means "to deal with," " handle" o r " manage," it can also be undet­ s tood figutatively to mean "evad e," "elude" or "ci rcumvent." Stromsache refers literally to the electric current with which Edgar Wibeau was electrocuted. There are, however, references to other kinds of current in the text: "Strom von Musik" (60) and "Strom des G enies" (18). In her article, Christine Cosentino refers to Stromsache as the difficulty of swimming against the current of societal norms: 24 FOCJI! on Literatur der Versuch [wird] untemommen. das kurze Leben dieses introvierten Einzelgangers noeh eiomaJ einzu fangen bis zu clem tragischen Ereignis, das in dec Tat glaubwiirdig ein Unfall ist - ein t6dlicher Stroms[ofi, der in dec offenen ErJ:ahlstruktur des Werkes jedoch gleic hbercchtigt symbolisch wie ein warnendes Menctekei wickt fur jene. die mit Bravou[ gegen den Scrom gesellschaftlicher Normen 211 schwimmen wagen. (498) Is it possible that the statement, ''Edgar W. war unsachgemaB mit elektrischem Strom wngegangen," wh en understood in conjunc· tion with Stroltlsochc, not only means that he handled electric cu rrent (i n) expcrtly, but that Edgar expertly (i f tragically) circum vented the deadly current of societal norms and that Plenzdorf thereby expertJy (if controversially) circwnvemed those voices demanding a clear au· thorial position and created a cult book? The answer is a definite Yes. Vanderbilt Universii)' NOles ISee Kurt J. Ficken, ' 'Literarure as Documentatio n: Plenzdorfs Die lIellen Ltidm des JlIlIgtll W." Internatiollal Fictioll Review 13.2 (Summer 1986): 69·75. for a compelling argument regarding other litera ry models for Plenzdorfs noveL 2See Girnus' article: "Diskussio n urn Plenzdo rf." lSee Gertrud Bauer Pickar's article "Plenzdorfs Die lIelltll Ltidell des JIII/gtll W.: The Interaction of Portraral and Social Criticism" and chap· rer two in D ieter Sevin's book Ttxwrategim ill DDR-Prosau'erkel/ zwiuhell Bau IIlId DIIT"(hbruch der Berlinu Mallcr for further disc ussion and insights into the interpretive meanings of the initials l\,1FG. "See Barbara Currie's article, "D iverging A tcitudes in literary Criti­ cism: The 'Plenzdorf D ebate ' in the Early 1970s in East and West Ger­ many." ~ee Willielm Girnus' article "Lachen iiber Wibeau. . aber wie?" and Friedrich Plate's article "'Neue Leiden' ohne Standpunkt." for various views on the difference between Werther's and Edgar Wibeau's deaths. 6<'Erstens hat Edgar Wibeau den Fehler gemacht, alkin an der Sache zu arbeiten, anstatt sich mit dem ganzen Kollektiv tiber sie zu beugen. Zweitens muGce er scheitem, um sich nicht emscheiden zu miissen: Am Tag des Tests war Mutter \Vi\xau, die nun doch seine Adresse erfahren hat, nach Understanding Plenzdorrs Neue uiden 25 Berlin umcrwegs. Und drittens, wcil seine ihm nicht von Plc:nzdorf, sander von Goethe vorgeschriebene G eschichte den Tod des Heiden verlangt." Works Cited Brandes, Ute:. "Parody from Beyond: Plenzdorrs Die l/eUUI Leidm du j Uligm 117. and Eighteenth Century Parodies of Goethe's Dil lJifJen de! Ju ngen Werther." The Age of Goethl TDdtry. Eds. Gercrud Hauer Pickar and Sabine Cramer. Munich: Fink, 1990. 11 3·21. _ and Arm Dark Fehn. "Werner's Children: The Experience of the Second , Generation in Ulrich Plenzdorf's Die ntlltn Leiden du JliUgm 117. and Volker Braun's UntJollendelt Geuhichte." The German QuarterlY 56 (1983) : 608-23. Collins, John J . The CIIII Experitnu: All Overview of ell/II, Tiuir Tradilians, and Wkr People joill Thml. Springfield: Thomas, 1991. Cosentino, Christine. " Bekehrter Held und Einzdganger: ZU Fragen der DDR-Jugendproblematik bei Armin StOlper, Ulrich Plenzdorf uod Reiner Kunze." journal of Englilh and German Philology 77 (1978): 495-503. C urrie, Barbara. "Diverging Aniwdes in Lilerary Criticism: The ' Plcnzdorf Debate' in the Early 1970s in East and West Ger many." NIOpbilologlls 79:2 (1995): 283-94. Gimus, Wilhelm. "Diskussion urn Plenzdorf." J ilin ulld Form 25 (1973): 219-52. _. "Lachen iiber Wibeau aber wie?" PIlfIZdotjs Neue uidlfl du JlIngm 117. Ed. Peter J. Brenner. Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1982. \89- 204. Langenbruch, Thwdor. "Goethe and Salinger as t-,'Iodels for Ulrich Plt:nzdorfs Novel Dil lIellm Ltidtll du JlIlIgen 117." Peupeclivu all COl/temporary Litera/llrl 2.2 (1976): 60·70. Pickar, Genrud Bauer. " Plenz,dorfs Die lIeuen uiden du plllgen IlI'.: The Interaction of Portrayal and Social Criticism." Modem Ficfioll J/lldies 24 (1978/79): 542·49. P late, Friedrich. "Nelle Ltidtrl ohne Standpunkc" PltrlZdoif; Nelle Ltidm desjllngclI 117. Ed. Peter J. Btenner. Frankfurt a. ~" .: Suhrbmp, 1982. 224-29. Plenzdorf, Ulrich. Dit ntllm IJidtn du Jlll/gen Ill'. Fraokfun a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1976. Sevin, Dieter. T ex/slrategien in DDR-Protalllukm ZU1ischell Ball lind Dllrchbruch der Berliner Alalfer. Heidelberg: Winter, 1994. 26 FOCUJ on Literalur Thomas, N. L. "Werther in a N ew G uise; Ulrich Plenzdor's Die Ileum Liden du jungw IV." ModlTtl Language: Jou rnal of tbe Modem Language Auotiation 57 (1976): 178-82. IVebIter'J Ninth New Co/legiate Dictionary. 1987 ed. Werth, Wolfgang. "Rebell mit positiver Halrung P knzdorfs neuer Werther." Plmzdoifs Neue Uzdtn du jungm If'. E d. Peter J. Brenner. Frankfurt a. i\t; Suhrkamp, 1982. 284-88. Wiesner, Herhert. "Zcnsiert - gefOrdcrt - verrunden - gendunigt." Die Zeniu,- de,. UUra/fir der DDR Eds. Ernest Wichner and Herbert Wiesner. Frankfurt a. 11: Suhrbmp , 1993. 7-17. Technologies of D eath In Thomas Mann's The M agic Mountain Julian Nelson D 11 Thomas lvlann's The A{agie A1olmlain, J laos Castorp confroms disease and death to transcend his morbid obsession with them. Mann himself points to the pedagogical functio!,! of death in the epi­ logue.' As Hans Castorp putS it after his near-death experience in the "Schnee" Chapter, "D er }.-fensch soll urn der Gute und Liebe willen clem Tode keine Herrschaft einraumen tiber seine Gedanken" (rv[ann 695). In Mann's view, exposure to illness and death i s a necessary route to knowledge, health, and life, echoing his Rom antic precur­ sors, who regarded the two as a vehicle o f evolution or Steigerung. Mann partakes of this tradition and employs the techn ology of the sanatorium as the apparatus which will mediate H ans Castorp's expo­ sure to It. Foregrounding death as a pedagogical tool makes sense in terms of the history behind Mann's novel, but turn-of-the-cenlury scientific discourse, as expressed by me clinic, tries to repress death through its regulation. Technology doesn't efface death in the novel, however, it only renders it more abstraC[ and disembodied. It rcally doesn't allow Castorp to transcend his morbid fasci nation, but allows him to expe­ rience death in a detached, fragmented, and aesthetisized form. Even though the mechanization of death will ac tivate his complicity as a consuming spectator, and then as a willing participant, technology also mediates brief, transcendent moments and eventually facilitates his return to the flatlands. Technology, then, is instrumental in Hans Castorp's "aesthetic education." This pointS to a viable reading of the contradictory ending of the novel, where Hans Castorp becomes a soldier on the killing fields of the Great War. Mann simates Hans Castorp in the Davos clinic to overcome death through death, a hom eopathic cure mediated by medical tech­ nology. Slavery to a death fascination, a product of repression and an Fomi an Literatur VoL 5, No.1 (1998)