Elke P. Frederiksen and Elizabeth G. Ametsbichler, eds.
Women Writers in German-Speaking Countries: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. Pp. 561+xxxiii. $95.00
Reviewed by Christoph Lorey

This volume, a collection of short articles on no less than fifty-four German-speaking women authors from the tenth century to the present, is the first study of its kind in English and therefore a ground-breaking contribution not only to the field of literary studies in German, but also to the wider field of Women’s Studies in general. This “critical sourcebook” can be seen as a continuation of and a supplement to the widely used reference work Women Writers of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: An Annotated Bio-Bibliographical Guide, edited by Elke Frederiksen and also published by Greenwood Press in 1989. Whereas the bio-bibliographical guide provides only skeletal information on the lives and key works of about 185 authors, the critical sourcebook delivers a thorough overview of the life of each author selected and a broad examination of their works, which includes some textual analysis and also a focused survey of criticism.

While the editors had to make some tough decisions in the selection of writers to be presented (the absence of important lesbian writers, including Christa Winsloe and Anna Elisabet Weirauch, is to be lamented), they succeeded in their attempt to cover a broad range of authors and periods, as well as of regions and countries. The volume features both canonized and little known or forgotten authors. Thus, we find entries not only on Hildegard von Bingen (a twelfth-century mystic whose lyrics have had an international comeback thanks to the popularity of Gregorian chant and numerous CD-recordings of her devotional compositions), on Bettina von Arnim (a nineteenth-century writer commemorated on Germany’s old five-mark bill and, more recently, on a postage stamp), on Ingeborg Bachmann (the first postwar Austrian writer to deal with the country’s fascist past and a member of the famous German writers’ clique “Group 47”), and on Christa Wolf (one of the most respected literary voices of the former GDR and an important feminist critic in the reunited Germany), but we also find articles on many other writers who, despite their success and vast literary output, to this day are virtually unknown and rarely mentioned in histories and encyclopedias of German literature. Among those are certainly Mathilde F. Anneke, Louise Aston, Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer, Hedwig Dohm, Hilde Domin, Ida Hahn-Hahn, Gertrud Kolmar, and Fanny Lewald, just to name a few.

The critical sourcebook covers virtually all periods from the early high middle ages (Hrotsvit von Gandersheim) to postmodern times (Elfriede Jelinek, Sarah Kirsch, Monika Maron)-a praiseworthy undertaking in light of the fact that much American feminist research in the German context still focuses predominantly on only three periods in nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature and culture, that is Romanticism, the Weimar Republic, and East Germany. The book represents writers from different regions of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, though Swiss writers are underrepresented with only two entries, namely on Verena Stefan and Erica Pedretti. Regretfully, too, there are no articles on contemporary ethnic women writers, and most notably absent are those of Turkish, Iranian, and African descent, some of whom have had a significant impact on the German-speaking literary scene particularly since the mid 1970s. The editors’ heartfelt apology for this lack-“we were unable to find contributors despite numerous attempts” (ii)-may well speak for itself and is bound to stimulate future research in these areas.

The articles, contributed by an international body of reputable scholars, are listed in alphabetical order by name of the author discussed-an arrangement which, in my view, is both unnecessary and impractical. Unnecessary because all entries are clearly outlined, cross-referenced, and twice indexed; impractical because a chronological order, say, by date of birth of the woman writer discussed, would have provided a more insightful overview of the historical developments of women’s writings, including the many obstacles faced and progresses made by individual female authors. Frederiksen’s helpful, but all-too-brief historical survey in the introduction only highlights the volume’s lack of chronological clarity. All articles, however, provide reliable information and are a pleasure to read: they are carefully researched, based on sound theoretical premises, and are written in a commendable style. Noteworthy is the fact that none of the articles is partial to one genre or a particular work associated with the author treated and that all of them clearly focus on a writer’s literary output in general. As the entries also pay tribute to heretofore neglected genres, that is, to those not usually associated with women’s writings, they collectively reveal the many contributions made by women not only in the expansion of German poetry and prose, but also, and particularly, to the development of drama and literary/cultural criticism. Reading the entries on, for example, Hedwig Dohm, Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Hrotsvit von Gandersheim, Luise Gottsched, Anna L. Karsch, Louise Otto Peters, or Lou Andreas-Salomé strikingly illuminates this point.

Each article argues from a distinctly feminist perspective and follows the same basic four-part structure: a biographical section, which focuses on the sociohistorical background of the author, is followed by an analysis of the major themes in the works of the given author, including an examination of the narrative/poetic strategies that characterize her writings. A one-page survey of the critical literature that pays particular attention to feminist readings precedes each bibliography, which, in turn, lists the (in many cases complete) oeuvre of the given author, mentions works available in English translation, and references the leading critical studies for further reading. In addition to these listings, the sourcebook features a carefully selected bibliography of other important reference works and anthologies, relevant discussions in feminist theory and methodology, and of recent sociohistorical studies (both general and more specific) concerning women’s issues in the German-speaking countries.

This, in most respects, superbly edited book is bound to go through many hands, and the editors and contributors should be congratulated. It is of interest to general readers and scholars alike, and a necessity for teachers of German literature and culture, as well as for those engaged in Women’s Studies at colleges and universities.