Božena Němcovás Babička als Wanderin im deutsch-tschechischen Grenzraum
Božena Němcová's Grandmother Migrating in the German-Czech Border Area

Summary/Abstract: As a transitional epoch, Biedermeier, like sentimentalism and rococo, bears a strong idyllic trait. This does not mean, however, that it entails the hermetic closure of locus amoenus. As Božena Němcová’s Babička, a prime example of Biedermeier literature, shows, an idyll cannot be maintained by isolation and nostalgia. Just the opposite: Granny in Němcová’s novel mediates the idyll through brave national and social border crossing. The equivalence between Viktorka’s, Madla’s, Kristla’s and Hortensie’s love stories demonstrates that marital bliss can be attained neither through classical sense, represented by Antonín and Hortensie, nor through romantic sensibility, represented by the Black Hunter and Viktorka, but through brave social action. Furthermore, the novel presents the competition for strong and potent young men between strong women – Madla and Kristla – and emperors’ armies.

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