Elfriede Jelinek, Krankheit oder Moderne Frauen. Wie ein Stück [Illness; or, Modern Women. Like a Play]

Helga W. Kraft (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.2: German-language Writing and Culture: Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, 800-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1987

Places

Austria (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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Krankheit oder Moderne Frauen. Wie ein Stück

[

Illness or Modern Women.Like a Play

] was first published in 1984 in the journal

manuscripte

at a time when Elfriede Jelinek was intensely concerned with the women's movement. A citation from the feminist theorist Eva Meyer serves as the motto of her play linking vampirism to the existence of women in society: “Chinese legends tell that great masters walk into and disappear into their paintings. A woman is not a great master. Therefore, her disappearance is never complete. She reappears as she busily works at her disappearance.” The world premiere, directed by Hans Hollmann, took place at the Schauspiel Bonn on 12 February 1987.

Jelinek subtitles this grotesquely funny piece “like a play”. It departs drastically from traditional

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1975 words

Citation: Kraft, Helga W.. "Krankheit oder Moderne Frauen. Wie ein Stück". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 February 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16879, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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