Die Funktion des Gespenstermotivs Bei Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué und Heinrich von Kleist
Function of the Ghost Motif in Selected Works of Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué and Heinrich von Kleist

Summary/Abstract: The period around 1800 represents a very interesting chapter in the several-centuries-long history of the literary representation of the ghost motif, as it marks the emergence of fantasy literature, which entailed the enrichment of the classical ghost story by the addition of the element of the uncanny, which, in turn led to the flourishing of the ghost story genre as part of the dark romanticism movement. This paper focuses on the analysis and comparison of the function of the ghost motif in Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's stories The Evil Ghost of the Forest (Der böse Geist im Walde, 1812) and The Collier's Family (Die Köhlerfamilie, 1814) and Heinrich von Kleist's The Beggarwoman of Locarno (Das Bettelweib von Locarno, 1810). This comparative approach aims to determine the similarities and distinctions in the literary depiction of the ghost motif in the selected works of the two distinguished authors of ghost stories, that give an insight into the many possible ways in which the ghost motif can contribute to the central idea and message of literary works in the fantasy literature around 1800.

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