Monsters among us: A socio-political reading of the aberrant in 19th century German language literature.

摘要

Monsters have been a part of culture since the beginning of recorded civilization. They appear in many shapes and forms, and have been the source of decades of literary criticism. With the publication of Cohen's seminal book, Monster Theory, a new lens for viewing and understanding cultural monsters has been opened up. In this thesis, I will discuss four nineteenth century German language literary monsters. I will show that each monster embodies an association with specific, pivotal points in history. Through an analysis of historical events coupled with Cohen's Monster Theory, this thesis examines ties between popular literary creatures and socio-political commotion at the time of publication. It is through these connections that we are able to better understand historical monsters and begin to look critically at the monsters of today. Monsters hold the keys to our past, our present, and our future.