Theodor Fontane and the Petticoat Regiment

Despite the relatively recent date of Fontane's critical reception, at least by comparison with other major nineteenth‐century German authors, research on the man and his work has already entered a ‘revisionist’ phase. This focuses in particular on Fontane's relationship with, and depiction of, Jews and of women. The women in Fontane's life, his female relatives and family friends had a profound and enduring influence on his work. A major new source of knowledge comes from the publication of the correspondence between his wife Emilie and himself, along with recent work on their daughter Mete. While occasionally resentful of their criticism of his work, the author invariably respected the intellectual and aesthetic capacity of both his wife and his daughter. In this he was certainly untypical in his age. Empowerment of women thus never constituted a challenge to his person. In key works he actually associated the feminine in a positive sense with subversive elements in society, and, moreover, linked his critique of gender stereotypy with his own sceptical responses to the prevailing national male mythology.