Ingeborg Bachmann: Malina

Ingeborg Bachmann’s novel Malina, published in 1971, belongs to the most significant –if also the most cryptic – works of Austrian literature in the twentieth century. Prefaced by a list and short description of five characters, as well as the time designation of “today” and the place designation of “Vienna”, the text starts out more reminiscent of a play than a novel. By presenting her figures as a cast of characters, Bachmann hints at the “acting” that is often required in order to conform to socially determined, gender-specific roles. This implicit critique is reinforced by the namelessness of the female narrator, who is only designated as “Ich” (&#