Журнал «Филоlogos»

The poetics of autobiography in the cycle of novels by Herman Lenz "VERGANGENE GEGENWART"

Author: Dronova O.A.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the unique poetics of autobiography in the novels of Hermann Lenz (1913-1998) from the "Vergangene Gegenwart" cycle. Currently, the problem of autobiographism is of great research interest, understood not so much as an author's commitment to authenticity, but rather as a means of self-representation and the writer's construction of his "I." Autobiographism is typically based on an autobiographical myth, that is, a model of one's own destiny that arises not only from biographical circumstances but also from cultural and literary prototypes. Hermann Lenz's work is imbued with autobiography and embodies the writer's autobiographical myth of himself as a stranger in modernity. A central place in his legacy belongs to the cycle of novels "Vergangene Gegenwart", dedicated to the fate of Eugen Rapp, Lenz's alter ego. This cycle complexly intertwines fact and fiction: the events of the author's biography are portrayed by a fictitious character, thereby disrupting the identity between author, narrator, and hero (F. Lejeune), characteristic of the autobiographical genre. The evolution of the character of Eugen Rapp - an unsuccessful writer, an introvert, and an outsider - is analyzed. The cycle was largely inspired by Maurice Proust, as it explores the interaction of time, memory, and writing. The possible influence on Lenz of the philosophy of Henri Bergson, who understood time as a duration that only art can perceive, is considered. The poetics of the novels in the cycle is close to impressionism; they do not analyze the past, but rather reproduce its atmosphere, moods, psychological states, and details of everyday life. The narrative in the novels in the cycle tends toward polyphony, combining multiple points of view, and extensively employing the technique of "internal dialogue", characteristic of Lenz's work. At the same time, Lenz's cycle depicts the political events of the 20th century: the rise and fall of the Third Reich. Its chronicle-like nature, broad time span, and depth of penetration into German reality allow us to consider the cycle a large-scale autobiographical epic, the internal unity of which is determined by the writer's autobiographical myth.

Key words:
Hermann Lenz; autobiographical myth; stranger; time; narrative