Goebel studies four representative works by Kafka that explore the problems of the Western representation of the Orient: his 'Description of a Struggle'; several letters to Felice Bauer, offering an interpretation of Chinese poetry in connection with the conflict between writing and Kafka's love for Felice; the canonical story 'The Great Wall of China', parodically appropriating sterotypes of China's stagnant history and authoritarian emperors for a refutation of colonialist ideas of progress; and the sequel 'An Old Manuscript', dramatising China's invasion by foreign powers and the breakdown of crosscultural communication. Elucidating these themes from a broadly comparative perspective, Goebel shows Kafka to be one of German modernism's most intriguing and self-reflective writers on the Orient. ROLF J. GOEBEL is Professor of German at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Book Information
ISBN 9781571131447
Author Rolf J. Goebel
Format Hardback
Page Count 144
Imprint Camden House Inc
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Weight(grams) 428g