Die Ausgewanderten W' G' Sebald

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Die AusgewandertenW. G. Sebald

• Katie Turner
• Carol Kirk

2
Sebalds Background

• Born in May 1944 to a Catholic family in Bavaria
• Studied German literature at the University of
  Freiburg, in Switzerland and then at Manchester
  University
• Became an assistant lecturer at Manchester
  University in 1966
• Settled in England in 1970 and became a professor
  of Modern German Literature at the University of
  East Anglia
• Died on the 14th of December 2001 in a tragic car
  accident

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Outline of book

• Vier lange Erzählungen
• Connecting theme of home and the past
• Sebald seeks to explore mans historical
  relationship to his environment, the effects of
  economic and political history on nature and on
  the lives of individuals, and the nature of
  memory be it collective, familial or individual.
  (J. J. Long and Anne Whitehead, p4)
• The title Die Ausgewanderten suggests
  movement outwards, but the journey is essentially
  introspective (Arthur Williams, p71)

4

• The novel tells the story of four
  exiles/emigrants
• Dr Henry Selwyn
• Paul Bereyter
• Ambros Adelwarth
• Max Aurach

5
What techniques does the narrator use to suggest
the authenticity of the memories in Die
Ausgewanderten?
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Photos

• Incorporation of authors own family photos
• Explanation of photos
• Confirmation of narrators story

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Photos

• wie der Paul unter diese Fotografie
  geschrieben hat, zirka 2000 km Luftlinie weit
  entfernt aber von wo?
• (pp82/83)

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Photos

• Das hier, sagte sie, indem sie es
  aufgeschlagen mir herüberreichte, ist der
  Adelwarth-Onkel, so wie er damals war. Links wie
  du siehst, bin ich mit dem Theo, und rechts neben
  dem Onkel sitzt seine Schwester Balbina, die
  gerade auf ihrem ersten Besuch in Amerika gewesen
  ist. (pp.146-147)

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Photos

• The notebook serves as evidence of the narrators
  sources (p.187)

10
Photos

• Card saying that he has gone to Ithaca (p.150)

11
Photos

• Max Aurach Photos of train ticket and cemetery
  proves that the narrators experiences really
  took place.

12
Photos

• There are photos which act as background, giving
  an underlying meaning and are not explicitly
  referred to in the text. (p.7)

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Forms of second level narration

• Descriptions of other peoples memories
• Selwyn Narrator is present while Selwyn and his
  friend are reminiscing.Therefore a realistic
  trigger of memory.
• P.63 Reporting on Lucy Landaus memories.
• Diary extracts

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Forms of third level narration

• Remembering a third partys memories through
  another person.

15
Demonstrates limitations of knowledge/subjectivity
of memories

• Im Frühjahr, ich glaube, gegen Ende April ist es
  gewesen (p.20)
• Vielleicht ist es mir aber auch nur so
  vorgekommen (p.28)
• auf eigene Rechnung, wie ich vermute
  (pp.56-57)
• soweit sich das jetzt mit Sicherheit noch
  sagen läßt (p.97)

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Demonstrates limitations of knowledge/
subjectivity of memories

• Die Erinnerung, fügt er in einer Nachschrift
  hinzu, kommt mir oft vor wie eine Art von
  Dummheit. Sie macht einen schweren, schwindligen
  Kopf, als blickte man nicht zurück durch die
  Fluchten der Zeit, sondern aus großer Höhe auf
  die Erde hinab von einem jener Türme, die sich im
  Himmel verlieren. (p.215)

17
Seemingly irrelevant details

• Donkeys names (p.11)
• Fritzs memories of Paul Bereyter (p.50)
• Quoting in French and English (pp.181-182.)

18
Are there any homes for the exiles in Die
Ausgewanderten?
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Concept of home

• home
•    noun 1 the place where one lives. 2 an
  institution for people needing professional care.
  3 a place where something flourishes or from
  which it originated. 4 the finishing point in a
  race. 5 (in games) the place where a player is
  free from attack.
•    adjective 1 relating to ones home. 2 made,
  done, or intended for use in the home. 3 relating
  to ones own country. 4 (in sport) denoting a
  teams own ground.
•    adverb 1 to or at ones home. 2 to the end or
  conclusion of something. 3 to the intended or
  correct position.
•    verb 1 (of an animal) return by instinct to
  its territory. 2 (home in on) move or be aimed
  towards.
• (http//www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/home?viewu
  k)

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Importance of Home

• Crying Aunt
• Suicides
• Mental Asylum

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Did they ever have homes?

• Yes
• Adelwarths family feels that Germany is their
  home to which they can return and this is
  reinforced by the Aunt crying.
• Bereyter is part of the local community they were
  on first name terms with him. sense of
  belonging (p.43)

22
Did they ever have homes?

• No
• Bereyter was only three-quarters Aryan and
  therefore treated as as a second class citizen
  (p.74)
• Describes hometown as dieses elende S., das
  er eigentlich haßte und in seinem Innersten
  samt seinen ihm tiefster Seele zuwideren
  Einwohnern am liebsten zerstört und zermahlen
  gesehen hätte (p84)

23
Do they have homes now/something to return to?

• Deutschland, müssen Sie wissen, erscheint mir
  als ein zurückgebliebenes, zerstörtes, irgendwie
  extraterritoriales Land, bevölkert von Menschen,
  deren Geswichter wunderschön sowohl als furchtbar
  verbacken sind. (p.270)
• Paul twice made the mistake of returning to
  Germany , both times because he was von Grund
  auf ein Deutscher (Arthur Williams)
• Mme Landau had the impression that Paul zu den
  Exilierten und nicht nach S. gehörte (p88)

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Conclusion

• Issue of authenticity
• Photos, evidence, limitations of knowledge
• BUT near obsession with proving authenticity
  could prove the opposite is true
• ALSO, despite gaps in memory/uncertainty, it
  could be claimed that he has an almost perfect
  knowledge of all the stories unrealistic
• AND, repetition of themes/leitmotifs (e.g.
  butterfly man/Nabokov)
• Homes for exiles
• Depends on definition of home
• Ultimately, no character feels entirely settled
  in the place in which they are living