mersiowsky - 10-2-2016 at 12:20 PM
Lětopis Abstract 2009 2: Elle, Katharina: The Sorbs as a Central Theme in Novels. A Comparison of Novels by Arnold von Vietinghoff-Riesch and
Werner Bergengruen
The writer Werner Bergengruen (18921964) and the forestry specialist Arnold von Vietinghoff-Riesch (18951962) were contemporaries and both of
German-Baltic origin. They were moreover both authors of novels Am Himmel wie auf Erden (In heaven and on earth)/ Der tanzende
Kranich (The dancing crane), which give a prominent place to the Sorbs in very similar ways.
The question of the function of the Sorbian theme in the novels is at the centre of this analysis. It concentrates on the image of Sorbian culture and
mentality which the two authors present, and their attitude towards the object of their observations. The main focus is on the two Sorbian characters
in the novels (both women, Worschula and Mαrie), who are both examined in particular.