Aleph (Jan 2024)
Zu den symbolisch-ästhetischen Gedächtnisorten in Herta Müllers Werken Atemschaukel (2009) und Reisende auf einem Bein (1989)
Abstract
Memory sites in Herta Müller’s award-winning work from 2009, „Atemschaukel“ and „Traveling on One Leg“ , address complex themes such as political oppression, trauma, and identity. Herta Müller has distinguished herself through her masterful representation and treatment of these memory places and themes. Her manner of symbolically depicting these places in her works and creatively allegorizing them enables a deeper understanding of the entanglement of power structures and historical experiences with the memories and identity of the main characters. The author pursued a different writing style in her novels and brilliantly integrated cultural, historical, and social contexts into the stories. This allows readers to immerse themselves in the multifaceted realities of the German minority in Romania. Her works serve as a bridge and archive between the past and the present. She successfully used simple individual experiences to express collective memories and identities. Through her works, she allowed readers to delve deeply into the multifaceted realities of the German minority in Romania. She gave voice to the marginalized voices hidden in the shadows of history, highlighting the enduring creativity of the human imagination and humanity, which can persist despite all adversities.
