Obraz krkavčí matky v románu Julie Franckové "Zády k sobě" ("Rücken an Rücken") a Petera Wawerzinka "Krkavčí láska" ("Rabenliebe")

Lenka Pikmanová

Master's thesis

The Image of a Raven Mother in Julia Franck´s Novel "Back to back" ("Rücken an Rücken") and in Peter Wawerzinek´s Novel "Bad love" ("Rabenliebe")

Abstract:

The diploma thesis – The Image of a Raven Mother in Julia Franck's Novel “Back to Back” and in Peter Wawerzinek’s Novel “Bad Love” – deals with the portrayal of a ‘raven mother’ (mother who neglects or abandons her children) in the novels of the authors coming from the former East Germany (GDR), who had experiences with cruel mothers, either personal or recounted by close relatives. The thesis explores the insensitive behaviour of uncaring mothers towards their own children, it searches for possible origins of the cruel behaviour, particularly within social and family context. Furthermore, the thesis presents a detailed analysis of the consequences of unkind treatment, while also paying attention to the survival strategies, developed by the victims of raven mothers and examining their success rates. An important aspect is also a consistent comparison of both novels and finding of identical or contrasting features. The aim of the thesis is to point out the phenomenon of raven mother, which has so far only rarely emerged in literature, and to find answers to the basic questions that arise out of the topic of raven mother: Is the transformation of a mother into a raven mother socially conditioned? Are children able to see their cruel mother as she really is, or do they idealize her? What traumatizes children more – the presence of an evil, cruel mother, or the complete absence of a mother during their childhood? An integral part of the thesis comprises of didactic suggestions, intended both for teaching foreign languages and for helping to introduce and understand the topic. The findings show that, despite difficult circumstances experienced by women during World War II and later during the period of socialism, they did not automatically become cruel mothers, but continued to care for their offspring. There must be either an inborn or an acquired disposition that determines heartless behaviour. The society itself does not produce raven mothers. The coarsened society can nevertheless allow or tolerate their actions. The combination of these favourable conditions and certain predispositions can lead to the transformation of a mother into a raven mother. With both novels serving as an example, it can be said that motherhood is conditioned not only genetically but also socially. The children of raven mothers in both novels have the same tendency to idealize their mothers. While the children living in the presence of a cruel mother in the first novel grow older and start to see through their own self-deceit, the child in the latter case keeps the idealised image of their mother unchanged almost to adulthood and resists the facts that could break her image. This makes the later confrontation with reality even harder. The permanent absence of a mother heavily traumatizes the baby. The danger of traumatization is likely to be the more serious, the longer a child has to stay in various children institutions. Nevertheless, the damage to the children who stayed with their mothers is greater and has more fatal consequences, as a raven mother not only neglects her offspring, but she also exposes them, whether intentional or unintentional, to physical and psychological violence. Most importantly, the repeated psychological damage affects children the most and prevents them from living their own lives.

Abstract:

Die Diplomarbeit befasst sich mit der Darstellung der grausamen Mütter in den Romanen zweier aus der DDR stammenden Autoren, die eigene oder von der nahen Familien selbst erlebte Erfahrungen mit den Rabenmüttern gemacht haben. Außer der im Kontext durchgeführten detailierten Analyse des Verhaltens der Rabenmütter, richtet sich auch die Aufmerksamkeit auf ihre Kinder, damit die Folgen der „Rabenliebe“ beurteilt werden können. Die festgestellten Tatsachen werden dann verglichen. Das Ziel der Diplomarbeit ist, auf das Phänomen der Rabenmutter hinzuweisen und einige didaktische Vorschläge für den Fremdsprachenunterricht vorzustellen.

Keywords

Franck, Julia, Wawerzinek, Peter, próza po roce 2000, Zády k sobě, Krkavčí láska, krkavčí matka

Keywords

Franck, Julia, Wawerzinek, Peter, Prosa nach 2000, Rücken an Rücken, Rabenliebe, Rabenmutter

Language used: German

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 12. 6. 2019

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 30. 8. 2019
• Supervisor: PhDr. Naděžda Heinrichová, Ph.D.
• Reader: Mgr. Jindra Dubová, Ph.D.

University of Hradec Králové

Faculty of Education

Master programme / field:
Učitelství pro základní školy / Učitelství pro 2. stupeň ZŠ - německý jazyk, Učitelství pro 2. stupeň ZŠ - český jazyk