Die Infragestellung des Männlichen im kulturellen Spannungsfeld des Fin de Siècle: Zu Leopold von Andrians Der Garten der Erkenntnis
Male Representation in the fin de siècle cultural field of tension: Leopold von Andrian’s Der Garten der Erkenntnis

Summary/Abstract: Taking its cue from the headwords of the literary and cultural criticism around 1900 as an intellectual setting endowed with plurivalent complexities and differences, this article fosuses on the depiction of male sexuality in Leopold von Andrian’s Garden of Knowledge. By using theoretical contributiona (Sigmund Freud, Otto Weininger) on the controversial male sexuality of the time, while reviewing concepts such as the narcissist discomfort with the civilization at the turn of the century, identity crisis, the intricate condition of women, I will demonstrate the socio-cultural significance of the fin de siècle for the literary argument of the text. I will argue that, on the backdrop of the interconnection between narcissism and the handed down sexuality, the anyhow precarious sexual receptivity of the main character is fractured in the face of narcissism, thus shedding light on different interpretative possibilities of the text.

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