| Androgyny as a metaphysical concept of male-femaleness within every individual is present throughout Western and Eastern cultural history. Yet, due to the evolution of philosophical, historical, social, and political thought, Androgyny's historical models differ markedly from those found in the present. Spurred largely by feminist theory from the beginning of this century, interest in the discourse of Androgyny has risen dramatically in contemporary Western culture. Consequently, the concept of Androgyny itself has been subjected to significant changes and has been decisively enriched.;Although it still accepts the concept of dual gender identity, the modern definition of Androgyny allows people to identify themselves with every conceivable identity permutation. Through this unrestrained matching each individual concentrates all of his or her energy on fulfilling the androgynous ideal beyond gender limits. This enables people to complement their lives rather than live in contrast to or against one another.;Literature is one of the fine arts capable of presenting the practical manifestations of the androgynous ideal. Since contemporary criticism strives to weigh equally contributions by male and female authors, the specific female perception is essential for a balanced discussion of modern androgyny. The initial works under consideration demonstrate the various pre-stages of Androgyny in German language literature since World War II. These are deemed unsuccessful because they still limit themselves to role distinction according to gender. Early examples include narratives by Ingeborg Bachmann, Marlen Haushofer, Verena Stefan, Karin Struck, Jutta Heinrich, Barbara Bronnen, Ula Hahn, Birgit Vanderbeke, Elfliede Jelinek and others. The final five works treated in this dissertation portray successful examples of the androgynous ideal: Gut genug (1993) by Vanderbeke, Leas siebter Brief (1998) by Bronnen, Ingeborg B. Das Duell mit dem Spiegelbild (1993) by Struck, Die Entsorgung der Grossmutter (1997) by Helga Konigsdorf and Medea. Stimmen (1996) by Christa Wolf.;Interviews with Bronnen, Vanderbeke, Struck, Gabriele Wohmann and Judith Jannberg regarding their personal opinions on Androgyny are discussed briefly in the appendix. |
