Lazarus - Literary Latency in 20th Century Romance Literatures

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Ursula Hennigfeld
• Subject Area: European and American Literary and Cultural Studies
• Term: from 2018 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 417476153

The proposed project will analyze literary texts and texts of literary theory in 20th century France, Spain and Italy which thematize the biblical mythical figure of Lazarus (John 11) returning from the world of the dead. The project intends to investigate the fundamental question of how the frequent recurrence of Lazarus metaphors in postwar-literature can be interpreted. The initial hypothesis states that the Lazarus figures, in accordance with Gumbrecht and Haverkamp, can be seen as indicators of latency. During transitional phases after wars and crises, they can convey traumatic experiences that cannot be easily verbalized but can solely be expressed through the medium of literature. These texts use Lazarus as a metaphor for war veterans, concentration camp survivors, victims of torture and other revenants of the collective memory.The aim of this project is to thoroughly analyze the specific potential of literature in the face of humanitarian crises and to present an innovative and original contribution on the interface between historical epistemology, philological analysis and cultural discourse analysis. In order to do so, the term ‘latency’ will first be sharpened and associated with Jean Cayrol’s concept of a 'Lazarean literature'. This combination of different concepts of 'latency' and of German and French theoretical discussions serves as the foundation of the project upon which it shall be investigated whether the Lazarus figures can be understood as a transhistorical, transcultural and transnational constant. The project will examine literary texts from the turn of the century through the interwar period into the postwar period until approximately 1970 in France, Spain and Italy in all three genres and texts of literary theory.A systematic investigation of this substantial text-corpus in its specific historical context still remains to be conducted. The planned project’s thesis is that latencies, which have been suppressed or unresolved for a long time over the course of history, can be made visible and be preserved in literary texts by aesthetic means. This way, it becomes possible to describe specific historical upheavals, tensions and traumas within society. How can the experienced atrocities be communicated, how can people who were traumatized by war be reintegrated into society and how can they survive with their feelings of guilt in the face of the millions of dead – these are urgent questions that can be negotiated within the medium of literature. Differing from official historico-political narratives such as De Gaulle’s myth of the ‘France résistante’, the Lazarus texts don’t construct stories about heroes or winners. Instead, they share the perspective of the losers whose bodies and souls are forever marked.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants