THE TERRIBLE WITHIN THE PEACEFUL: CHRISTOPH RANSMAYR’S MORBUS KITAHARA

• Authors: Műhlbӧck Magdalena
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Christoph Ransmayr’s Morbus Kitahara (1995; translated as The Dog King, 1997) tells the story of deconstruction, destruction, and despair in a world of eternal peace. The three protagonists Ambras, Bering, and Lily move through a post-apocalyptic landscape where they are constantly reminded of an unnamed past catastrophe and a past war. Despite their attempts to leave their generational guilt behind, the darkness of history catches up with them. This article analyses how the novel addresses the protagonist’s mental and corporeal struggle for survival alongside its gloomy outlook on the prospect of globally enforced eternal peace. However, eternal peace is an ambiguous concept and refers to a narrative of oppression in a post-apocalyptic world.

Keywords

EN

CHRISTOPH RANSMAYR; POST-APOCALYPTIC; WAR; VISUALIZATION

• Publisher: Institute of World Literature, Slovak Academy of Sciences
• Journal: World Literature Studies
• Year: 2024
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 104 – 116

Contributors

author

Műhlbӧck Magdalena

• Department of German Studies, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria

• https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9855-6942

Identifiers

DOI

10.31577/WLS.2024.16.4.8