Bertha von Suttner: A Prototypical European Writer
Bertha von Suttner: A Prototypical European Writer

Summary/Abstract: When it comes to crucial contemporary topics like peace studies and the intercultural intellectual influence on German-language writers, one person must not be forgotten as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I: Bertha von Suttner. Born in Prague in 1843 as Sophia Felicita Gräfin Kinsky von Chinic and Tettau, Suttner made history as a writer, pacifist, and the first female recipient of the Nobel Prize. In the first part, this paper provides an overview of Suttner’s communion with European cultures as well as the influence of European writers and intellectuals on her thought and deeds; it then analyses, on the basis of Die Waffen nieder!, her novel of purpose (or Tendenzroman), how these influences are expressed in her literature, how Suttner describes the other European cultures and lands she had visited, how she deals strategically with warmongering based on intercultural prejudices, and how her calls for peace develop into a wish for a European confederation of states. In addition, the paper shows the extent to which the Europe-wide success of the Die Waffen nieder! and her subsequent international commitment for pacifism confirmed the prominent position of the writer in the European context. But her international views reveal themselves primarily as openness to European culture, rather than openness towards the entire world.

• Details
• Contents