Jungfrau und Reptil: Leben zwischen 1945 und 1972 (Suhrkamp Taschenbuch)

by Dorothea Zeemann

German

139 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a paper I need to write for an Austrian Literature class. I wanted to know more about Doderer and if he really was a bad man, but reading this made me realise that he was just really self-centred and narcissistic. In his journals, he mentions how he can’t understand how he isn’t an incredible famous author. His journals are written like books, but the plot is one of a sociopathic writer. He talks about how “useful” people and professors can be to him, and he doesn’t seem to understand other people’s feelings even at a basic level. To be honest, I think he was politically active with the Nazis because he wanted to be famous through them since he couldn’t otherwise. He writes almost every year after joining the party in 1933 that he doesn’t understand why Germany hasn’t discovered him yet. It’s disturbing because this form of human evil doesn’t and isn’t capable of understanding why it is evil. The lack of understanding of human emotions, living and having access to the workers and people in the concentration camp in Dachau, but being too focused on his own writing and how much the Germans don’t recognise his genius to notice them is more than highly disturbing. His worldview hurt many many people, and even at the end, he saw himself as the center of the world. He was the main character and made sure that everyone knew it.

[Blackvelvet · Rating 3 out of 5]

wie um alles in der welt soll ich das denn bewerten?

ich mag den kerl nicht. und ich habe keine ahnung, wie eine intelligente, attraktive frau ihn lieben - nein, vergöttern kann bis zur selbstaufgabe. möglicherweise ist das das geheimnis der liebe. wenn aus jedem obwohl ein weil wird. aus jedem weil ein ist. weil die frage nach dem warum keine antwort hat.

ich stehe ihm und seinen büchern gespalten gegenüber. er schreibt sprachlich wunderschön. man muss seinen gedankengängen nicht immer folgen können.

aber dieses reptil in ihm... dieser kalte, grausame mann... ohne rücksicht, voll vorwürfen. wie kann sie ihn lieben?