„In der Angst zu Hause.“ Städtische Szenarien in Herta Müllers Romanen

Abstract

Based on Herta Müller's three ‘Ceausescu’ novels, “Urban Scenarios in Herta Müller’s Novels” analyses the urban world that corresponds to her familiar university town of Timișoara. At the same time, the historical and political dimension of the Romanian dictatorship comes to the fore, whereby the urban world offers no alternative to the village sphere. Urban space is marked by state oppression, private misery and rare moments of happiness. Neither public nor private space can provide love, happiness, freedom, because the protagonists' life experience is defined by observation, control, fear and mistrust. There are few alternative spaces in the urban environment that are free of fear and terror; most of the time, images of a damaged paradise dominate. In image-intensive scenes, the general insecurity of the Ceaușescu dictatorship, the degradation of the people, the economy of scarcity, spying and oppression, the destruction of their personal identity, the absence of joy and optimism for the future are addressed.