LEIDEN, UM ZU LEBEN. MÄNNLICHKEIT IN KRISE AM BEISPIEL VON MICHAEL KLEEBERGS NOVELLE BARFUß
SUFFERING TO BE ALIVE. CRISIS OF MASCULINITY IN MICHAEL KLEEBERG‘S NOVELLA BARFUß

Summary/Abstract: For a long time, a person’s identity cannot be described as a prescribed stable unit (Zima 2010: 372), but in constant confrontation with numerous alterities, in motion, and even in danger of disintegration. The question of identity is particularly conspicuous regarding the male psychological state and concept of masculinity, which on the one hand are marked by the traditional ethical orientation, but on the other hand, also experience enormous change. This article focuses on “immoral narrative” – Michael Kleeberg’s novella Barfuß, where all postmodern elements find validation, complemented by a performative and carnivalesque play of the main character and the incursion of chaos into everyday life. The sexual midway and somatic elements (e. g., flagellation and dominance) determine the discourse of the narrative, which recalls the risks to which masculinity is exposed as a narrative or experiential entity. The analysis is guided by the overarching question, how are the transitional experience and the rejection of male identity through border crossings (bodily, sexually, and narratively) represented.

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