Conceptions of the Future in Early Modern German Prose Romances
Speakers): Susanne Knaeble, University of Bayreuth in Germany
A narratorial conception of an open-ended future is considered to be a modern phenomenon. Research predicated on this approach has obscured the approaches to the future found in Early Modern works. Through an analysis of prose romances from the 15th and 16th centuries (Hug Schapler, Melusine, Johann Hartlieb’s Alexander, Fortunatus), I will argue that these texts provide evidence of an undetermined future. The Middle High German epics are committed to genealogical and eschatological thinking, which results in a future determined by God. As such, characters do not create their own future in a modern sense. This fundamentally changes in the Early Modern Prose Romances where the future in these texts is viewed as open. Exploring narrative structures and narrative values, this paper examines this new understanding of the future. Characters will be shown to create their own future by reflecting, planning, and calculating. Furthermore, their motivations will be revealed to be closely connected to emotions.
Dr. Susanne Knaeble is a Visiting Scholar at èצӰÏñ and a Humboldt Foundation Fellow. She is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Bayreuth in Germany.