Gassen, die uns bewohnen. Heimito von Doderers diaristische Spiele mit der Stadttopographie Wiens
Streets Which Inhabit Us. Heimito von Doderer's Diaristic Play with the Topography of the City of Vienna

Summary/Abstract: Drawing on the existing research highlighting the therapeutic dimension of Heimito von Doderer's work, this paper shows the therapeutic function of his late diaries (1957-1966). Against the claim that his striking interest in particular Viennese sites acted as a trigger of his memories, the analysis of diaristic accounts proves that Doderer's mapping of Vienna should be approached as an identity-rooting process. Defining for his work, "apperception" was a position he considered a necessary condition of his writing. It nevertheless presented a threat for the integrity of the writing subject. In the topography of Vienna Doderer searched not the sites of memory but mysterious memory of sites which he attempted to trace in order to find shelter against destructive forces of his own creativity.

• Details
• Contents