This master's thesis deals with the essential features of Irmgard Keun’s writing, focusing on her (earlier) novels: Gilgi – eine von uns (1931) and Nach Mitternacht (1936). In its introductory part, the master's thesis deals with the life and work of Irmgard Keun and the circumstances of her writing, that is, the period of the Weimar Republic in Germany and periods before the Second World War, with a particular emphasis on literary directions or movements within that period, i.e. New Objectivity, and some literary genres, e.g. time-novel. In doing so, the work cites Irmgard Keun’s writing sources, as well as her similarities and deviations from the New Objectivity. In its second part, the master's thesis moves to a substantive analysis of two major and aforementioned Keun’s novels, while dealing with a thematic comparison of topics within the concepts of private and public sphere. In this context, the work compares the images of war, space, mentalities and intimate relationships, but also considers the satirical and, after all, feminine perspective of Irmgard Keun, classifying her as one of the most important German authors of the New Objectivity or 20th Century.
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