Kerstin Henselâs Dialogue with Marieluise FleiÃer in AtzenkÃ¶fls TÃ¶chter

Ernest Schonfield

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11 Kerstin Henselâs Dialogue with Marieluise FleiÃer in AtzenkÃ¶fls TÃ¶chter

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Ernest Schonfield

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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 190â207

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004725010_012

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Abstract

This chapter analyses Kerstin Henselâs play AtzenkÃ¶fls TÃ¶chter, written and performed for the centenary of Marieluise FleiÃerâs birth in 2001. At the centre of the play is the unequal power relationship between a teacher, FrÃ¤ulein AtzenkÃ¶fl, and her pupil, Berta Schmidt. Hensel appropriates and updates themes from FleiÃer, particularly her critique of male privilege and authoritarian tendencies. I argue that FleiÃerâs literary portrait of Buster Keaton (published 1930) is key to understanding Henselâs form of distanced, deadpan comedy. The chapter proposes the word âKeatonesqueâ as a shorthand for the deadpan humour and avoidance of sentiment in the comedies of Hensel and FleiÃer. An additional interpretive lens is provided by the so-called âTheatre of the Absurdâ (which itself drew on the works of Keaton and Charlie Chaplin). In AtzenkÃ¶fls TÃ¶chter, Henselâs debunking of her authoritarian characters shows a certain affinity with the âabsurdâ satires of Friedrich DÃ¼rrenmatt, and Henselâs play accords with DÃ¼rrenmattâs dictum that the worst possible twist (âdie schlimmstmÃ¶gliche Wendungâ) must occur, or at least be imagined. In order to survive, Berta must liberate herself from her teacherâs malign influence.

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Kerstin Hensel

Literary Correspondences

Series:Â German Monitor, Volume: 84

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004725010

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 17 Feb 2025

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- Literature and Cultural Studies

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11 Kerstin Henselâs Dialogue with Marieluise FleiÃer in AtzenkÃ¶fls TÃ¶chter

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Kerstin Hensel

Literary Correspondences

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11 Kerstin Henselâs Dialogue with Marieluise FleiÃer in AtzenkÃ¶fls TÃ¶chter