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Chapter 23 - History

from Part III - Themes and Influences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2023

Uwe Schütte
Affiliation:
Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
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Summary

Sebald was an author deeply devoted to the ethical responsibilities and aesthetic possibilities of literary discourse, and this essay explores the importance of history within his constellation of ethical and aesthetic concerns. Special attention is paid to analysing Sebald’s unique fictional prose form that blurs the boundary between literature and historiography. Distinct from historical novels and documentary fiction, Sebald’s works rely on facts and artefacts as much as they need both memory and imagination. While the traces, repression, and erasure of National Socialist crimes are prominent in his works, the German past is not his only concern. Sebald writes on the Belgian colonial oppression in the Congo, the capitalist exploitation of the Amazon forests, and the massacres caused by Napoleon’s military campaigns. Furthermore, trauma is not limited to human experience in Sebald’s works; he devotes attention to the destruction of nature and animals as well. Focusing on Sebald’s attempts to find appropriate ways to approach the past and individual experience, this essay shows how he creates a literary form that both encourages reader engagement and provides empathetic access to the past.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • History
  • Edited by Uwe Schütte, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
  • Book: W. G. Sebald in Context
  • Online publication: 24 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009052313.024
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  • History
  • Edited by Uwe Schütte, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
  • Book: W. G. Sebald in Context
  • Online publication: 24 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009052313.024
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • History
  • Edited by Uwe Schütte, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
  • Book: W. G. Sebald in Context
  • Online publication: 24 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009052313.024
Available formats
×