ASPEKTE DER ZEIT IN IRRUNGEN WIRRUNGEN

Abstract

Conceived as an attempt to view Fontane's masterpiece Irrungen Wirrungen as a Zeitroman, the first chapter of this thesis will present the current controversy surrounding the genre, while subsequent chapters will furnish proof of the novel as belonging to the outlined definition of the Zeitroman. The structure of time in the novel will be considered in the light of Bergson's concepts in the third chapter of the thesis, which will lead us to look at the need to fill time perceived as "empty", (Leere Zeit) by certain characters, hence the study of Zeitvertreib in the final chapter.