Von der Novellistik zur Equilibristik. Literaturkritische Wahrnehmung der Prosa von Franziska zu Reventlow von ihrem Debüt als Romanautorin 1904 bis 1927

Abstract

Literary criticism of the late 19th century analysed the women’s literary works in the context of their gender, which means that the reviewers used the term ‚femininity‘ in relation to these works. This is not to say that their works were always given a negative response. The reviewers of the prose of Franziska zu Reventlow (1871-1918) tried to create a positive interpretation supplying it with the term ‚femininity‘. It is only when viewed from a distance that the marginalizing influence of that approach becomes visible: the reviews, while being quick to underline the ‚femininity‘ of the author, were unable to present any pattern of interpretation of the prose of Reventlow that the academic literary criticism could make use of or deconstruct. Moreover, constant reminding of the author’s sex made the male and female researchers focus on the biographical aspect. This biography, in turn, was not treated – for instance – as a rough basis for the prose, but as its subject and substance.