„EINЯ KONNTE ICH MIR NICHT DENKEN.“ DIMENSIONEN DES LIMINALEN IN SASHA MARIANNA SALZMANNS ROMAN AUẞERSICH
“I Could Not Think of a Я.” Dimensions of Liminality in Sasha Marianna Salzmann’s Novel Außer sich

Summary/Abstract: This paper analyses the concept of liminality, its meaning and its function in Sasha Marianna Salzmann’s Außer sich. Liminality as a state of being in-between, plays a crucial role in the novel, in which the characters cross various – both physical and metaphorical – borders and thresholds. The dimensions of the liminal include national and gender identities, physical spaces and postmemory. Liminality shows with this its transformative potential. By situating the characters and their selves in the liminal, Salzmann is able to question conventional notions of identity, belonging and social norms. On the other hand, because of the strong anchoring of fixed attributions in the collective consciousness, it becomes clear that liminal experiences cause disorientation and the feeling of the unsettledness of ones own identity.

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