Thomas Bernhard als Heimatdichter?
Thomas Bernhard as the Austrian national writer ?

Summary/Abstract: In this article I try to answer the question, which attitude an Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard to Austria has had. Can we call him an Austrian or an anti -Austrian writer? My analysis is based on his famous compositions like: ,,Heldenplatz” , ,,Suterena: Wyzwolenie”, ,,Chłód. Izolacja“ and ,,Autobiografie”. It must be emphasized, that Bernhard`s attitude to Austria was very ambiguous and ambivalent. On the one hand he very often criticized Austria and Austrian society. He charged this society with hypocrisy. He criticized an Austrian catholic church; he often compared Jesus Christ with Adolf Hitler. Bernhard attacked Austrian politicians too, he criticized their deceitfulness. On the other hand he loved Austria and he was emotionally attached with this country. In his works he often used different forms of expression like: excess, comparison, repetition, because he wanted to provoke, to expose Austrian shortcomings and to break taboos. He wanted to debunk an ideal image of this country. Concluded: we can`t unambiguously say, that Bernhard was an <anti>Austrian writer. He was an universal writer.

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