Zwischen mythischer Vergangenheit und wissenschaftlicher Zukunft: Elisabeth Mann Borgeses literarisches Werk im Kontext ihrer theoretischen Arbeit.

摘要

This thesis examines the fiction and non-fiction writings of Elisabeth Mann Borgese who from 1978 until her death in 2002 was a professor of Political Science at Dalhousie University.;This thesis analyses her work and shows the amazing relationships and connections between her fiction and non-fiction writings. By drawing a circle linking a mythological past and a scientific future, Elisabeth Mann Borgese explores the role of the individual within society.;The analysis of five of her short stories and of one of her plays shows that Elisabeth Mann Borgese reflects and addresses the dangers of unregulated scientific developments and technological progress. Most interestingly, she thereby investigates some of the most important philosophical and ethical questions concerning mankind.;After an introductory section, the second chapter of the thesis deals with Elisabeth Mann Borgese's theoretical approach in general. The third part provides a specific analysis of her book Ascent of Woman, in which Mann Borgese develops a very optimistic utopianism. This utopianism is opposed by the futuristic pessimism of her stories An alle Interessenten, Der unsterbliche Fisch and Das wahre Selbst, which will be analysed in the fourth chapter. Following this is a closer look into Mann Borgese's theory, in which her book Wie man mit den Menschen spricht... and her short story Vogelmenschen will be examined.;Her fiction includes a number of short stories, of which the first were published in 1959, and the latest in 2001, as well as three plays that remain unpublished. While her non-fiction writings show Elisabeth Mann Borgese's optimistic worldview and a positive attitude towards scientific developments and mankind in general, her fiction writings reveal a very dark and pessimistic tendency.;The thesis concludes with Mann Borgese's considerations concerning the question of fate against the free will. In this last part, the short story Das andere Delphi and her play Only The Pyre will be analysed within this context.