| The aim of this dissertation is to show the progressive deconstruction of the traditional crime novel genre in seven prose works written by the Swiss author Friedrich Durrenmatt over a period of four decades. Using the method of 'close reading', the study sets out to analyze Der Richter und sein Henker, Der Verdacht, Die Panne, Das Versprechen, Der Pensionierte, Justiz and Der Auftrag.;First, the study examines the setting, which is placed in a present-day reality rather than a reliable imaginary world. Similarly, Durrenmatt paints a completely different picture of society as depicted in the established literary genre: In favor of authenticity, the plot evolves in a contemporary and complex world, where a realistic crime is being committed. The 'ideal world' of the literary tradition is in turmoil in Durrenmatt's crime novels.;Further, the characters and their constellation are analyzed with respect to their traditional and innovative components. The study will show that detective, Watson, murderer and victim differ from the traditional scheme: some of these characters can be interpreted as an inversion, others as a complete destruction of their role models. The judicial system as depicted by Durrenmatt is corrupt. At the same time, representatives of law and order turn into---and this becomes more obvious with every text---opponents of the investigator.;Distinctive features of the genre---i.e., murder, investigation and solving the crime---are partly inverted, if not eliminated completely. Thus, none of these prose works fits into the formula of the traditional crime story. Durrenmatt, in his early novels, first distorts and, in his later works, completely destructs the classic murder-mystery structure of the established genre. |
