A MURDER IN ACADEMIA: CHARACTERIZATION AND CHARACTER FUNCTIONS IN KARL VOCELKA'S NOVEL DER DOZENT UND DER TOD
A MURDER IN ACADEMIA: CHARACTERIZATION AND CHARACTER FUNCTIONS IN KARL VOCELKA'S NOVEL DER DOZENT UND DER TOD

Summary/Abstract: Karl Vocelka’s novel Der Dozent und der Tod, published in 2022, represents an intriguing combination of a campus novel and detective fiction, falling entirely within the subgenre of campus crime novel. The story, set in Vienna in 1986, revolves around an amateur detective, a lecturer at the University of Vienna, who finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation and begins a quest for the truth, which results not only in exposing the perpetrator, but also in revealing several hidden agendas in academic circles. The aim of this paper is to examine the characterization of fictional characters, as well as the determination of their functions in the context of the specific subgenre – the campus crime novel. The analysis of crucial characters of the novel will be based on their actions, physical appearances, language and interpersonal characterization. Their functions will be established by implementing Greimas’ actantial model, which offers an opportunity to describe elementary action relationships within narrative texts by taking specific generic characteristics into consideration, while creating a productive basis for analysis and further interpretations. The analysis will show that Vocelka’s novel follows the traditional line of campus crime fiction, but also differs at some points from the expected elements of this hybrid genre, most clearly in relation to the main character and the diversity of character functions.

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