Vom Verschwinden in Meeren. Wahrnehmungsverschiebungen zum Tod hin in der deutschsprachigen Gegenwartsprosa
On Disappearance in the Seas. Perceptual Shifts towards Death in Contemporary German-language Prose

Summary/Abstract: In accordance with the title, the paper investigates the perception of the sea in German-language literary texts. Starting from and against the backdrop of euphoric perceptions of the sea, mainly caused by merely looking at it and interpreted by Bachelard’s theorems, the paper registers an increasing darkening in the perception of the seas. Firstly, the paper reflects upon a postmodern preference for the inhospitable seas, which then schifts into abandoning the perspective of feigning control over it and finally engaging with the sea instead: by immersion, swimming and up to disappearing in it. The shift towards the de-idealized death in the sea suggests a cultural change in perspective.

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