Literarische Spielwelten Puppengeschichten in der deutschsprachigen Mädchenliteratur des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts
Literary Play worlds Doll Stories in German Girls' Literature of the 19th and 20th Centuries

Author(s): Anja Orozović
Subject(s): Cultural history, Social history, German Literature, 19th Century, Theory of Literature, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Društvo germanista u Bosni i Hercegovini (DGuBiH) / Germanistenverband in Bosnien-Herzegowina (GViBH)
Keywords: girls' literature; dolls; doll stories; upbringing; women's emancipation;
Summary/Abstract: Gaining insight into the evolution of children's and young adult literature reveals a wide array of literary genres that have endured in various forms up to the present day. Doll stories are among these forms, and they are also present in German literature, particularly in girls' literature, from the first half of the 19th century onward. The term doll story refers to a literary text in which dolls are either protagonists or supporting characters. The dolls are frequently animated, which is why some doll stories include fairy tale elements. The objective of this article is to provide a glimpse into this literary field. Certain content-related and development-specific characteristics of this text genre will be presented using selected examples from the 19th and 20th centuries. The chronological presentation will feature different versions of doll stories written by prominent contemporary authors, like Antonie von Cosmar, Anna Blum-Erhard, and Else Ury. The analysis will concentrate on how the main aspect of puppetry is handled, which serves a didactic purpose in these stories, while also covering other aspects of girls' childhood.

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