Wanderlust Reexamined: Analysis of Examples From the Fiction of Tieck, Novalis, Eichendorff, and Hoffmann

"This study shows that, in the works discussed here, while there is no single type of ""Romantic wanderer,"" the element of wandering and travel is not only used to depict metaphysical quests. Rather, it equally depicts earthly emotions in that the characters experience life through travel. Franz Sternbald wanders not only to see the great Italian masters, but to learn about love--and its relationship to his art. Heinrich von Ofterdingen's travel is more metaphysical in tone but is also about experiencing life and death. The story of Count Friedrich's and Leontin's wandering in Ahnung und Gegenwart is about weathering the storm of change--not only of society, but also of the individual and his relationship to the world around him. E. T. A. Hoffmann depicts in Elixiere the condition of split-personality as a means of objectifying an individual's experience of conflicting emotions. The fantastic journeys experienced by the characters in Tieck's fairytale narratives can also be viewed as depictions of emotional encounters or conflicts. Similarly, the travel depicted in Hoffmann's tales tells us something about the emotions of the narrators or the main characters portrayed. Finally, Taugenichts does not so much seek God or the beyond as he fulfills his emotional need for love."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Germanic Languages and Literatures

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Ziarnik, Andrew Robert

Contributors dc:contributor

• McGlathery, James M.

• Literature, Modern

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9717354

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/86348