"Epiphany" in the Modern German Novel

FAIN: FA-11860-77

Judith L. Ryan
President and Fellows of Harvard College (Cambridge, MA 02138-3800)

To examine the phenomenon of 'Epiphany' - moments of vision - in the early twentieth century German novel against a background of contemporary English and French novels in which this phenomenon also occurs (Joyce, Proust, Virginia Woolf and others). Study will concentrate on Robert Musil, Hermann Broch and Alfred Doblin, while considering others. Basic issues examined will be: 1) the role of 'Epiphanies' as a solution to technical and thematic problems in the modern novel; 2) does the occurrence of 'Epiphany' necessitate a review of novel theory? 3) what factors gave rise to the rise of Epiphany?