Experiencing Ethics with Sterne and Musil

A relentless character construction
1. Auflage 2019
ISBN: 978-3-11-065564-3
Verlag: De Gruyter

Buch, Englisch, Band 67, 334 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 665 g

Reihe: spectrum Literaturwissenschaft / spectrum Literature

Experiencing ethics not only refers to being confronted with a situation in which one must choose a course of action; it also makes reference to giving a narrative account of the circumstances and chain of events leading to such crossroads. Between both there is a chasm, a space of indeterminacy into which R. Musil and L. Sterne delve with aesthetic means. Their poetics move in opposite directions, but by following them to their last critical consequences this study reveals a kindred ethical stance.
This interpretation sheds light on the ethics revolving around character construction by examining the constraints thwarting any attempt to complete a biographical account or convey a protagonist that led his or her life. Neither Musil nor Sterne posit a narrative agenda that could reach a last chapter or lead to a groundwork determining their ethics. A closer look into their tight-knit prose reveals that both rely on the narrating, on a skill that must be incessantly cultivated through a digressive or essayistic style.
Equipped with a vast theoretical repertoire, this approach makes a strong case for a new constellation in comparative literature.

Zielgruppe

German Literature, English Literature, Comparative Literature

Autoren/Hrsg.

Estrada, Jorge

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturgeschichte und Literaturkritik
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Stoffe, Motive und Themen
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Ethik, Moralphilosophie

Über Autor(innen)

Jorge I. Estrada, Peter Szondi-Institute, Free University of Berlin, Germany.