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Scandalous Family Relations: Dealing with Darwinism in Wilhelm Raabe's Der Lar
Author(s) -
Brodersen Silke
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the german quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.11
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1756-1183
pISSN - 0016-8831
DOI - 10.1111/j.1756-1183.2008.00014.x
Subject(s) - darwinism , narrative , bourgeoisie , trope (literature) , realism , epistemology , object (grammar) , sociology , philosophy , literature , aesthetics , art , politics , linguistics , political science , law
This article discusses Wilhelm Raabe's 1889 story Der Lar as an important and long overlooked literary response to the cultural debate on Darwinism. It argues that the text conducts a narrative experiment that places a Darwinian object (a stuffed gibbon) at the center of a constellation of characters who interact with it in different ways, thereby drawing it into a broad cultural and philosophical discussion. As the ape becomes a figure of reflection for constructing the characters' identities in the story, it also serves as a trope for exploring the impact of Darwinism on bourgeois values and for discussing the proper relationship between science and literature in realism. Ultimately, Der Lar works towards a reconciliation of abstract theory with individual narrative and undertakes a critical assessment of the relevance of science in everyday human life.