Die Darstellung von Außenseitern in Klaus Manns Erzählungen aus dem Exil

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the analysis of the depiction of outsiders in Klaus Mann's stories that were written in exile. Based on a sociological and literary definition of the term "outsider," this study investigates how Klaus Mann's experience of exile is visible in his treatment of outsider figures in these stories and what implications this treatment may have for the literary motif of the outsider. The analysis is divided into two parts, of which the first provides a general analysis of the outsiders in these stories whereas part two focuses on those stories which specifically relate to the exile situation. The study shows that in these stories, outsiders in exile no longer have a choice as to whether or not they want to be outsiders. Lacking this freedom of choice not only has an immense impact on their existential situation but on the function of the outsider-motif as well.