The Image of Germany and the Germans
in Erica Jong′s Fear of Flying
and Walter Abish′s How German Is It

schriftliche Hausarbeit
vorgelegt im Rahmen der ersten Staatsprüfung
für das Lehramt an Gymnasien und
Gesamtschulen

Paderborn, 25.07.2007

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Table of Contents

1. Images of Germany and the Germans in American Literature from the Late 19th to the End of the 20th Century 5
1.1 National Images and Stereotypes in Literature 5
1.2 The Late 19th Century to the Turn of the 20th Century 7
1.3 The Country′s Changing Image through World War I and II 11
1.4 Postwar Germany through the Late 1990′s 18
2. The Depiction of Germany and the Germans in Walter Abish′s How German Is It 22
2.1 Displayed German Virtues and Characteristics 23
2.1.1 Obedience 23
2.1.2 Perfection and Thoroughness 25
2.1.3 Cleanliness and Punctuality 26
2.1.4 The Love of Nature 28
2.2 The Country′s Cultural Heritage and Past 29
2.2.1 `A Nation of Poets and Thinkers′ 29
2.2.2 Castles, Classical Music and Art 31
2.2.3 National Socialism and the Holocaust 32
2.3 The Image of the `New Germany′ 36
2.3.1 Brumholdstein and the People of the `New Germany′ 36
2.3.2 Technology and Cars 38
2.3.3 Lifestyle and Food 39
3. The Depiction of Germany and the Germans in Erica Jong′s Fear of Flying 42
3.1 Displayed German Virtues and Characteristics 43
3.1.1 Cleanliness 43
3.1.2 The German Woman 44
3.1.3 Ugliness 46
3.2 The Country′s Cultural Heritage and Past 47
3.2.1 `Old Heidelberg′ 48
3.2.2 Germany′s Dark Past: National Socialism and the Holocaust 49
3.3 The Images of Postwar Germany 51
3.3.1 German `Father Figures′ 51
3.1.4 The German Countryside 53
3.3.3 Lifestyle and Food 54
4. The Quest for Identity in How German Is It and Fear of Flying 56
4.1 How German Is It: The Discovery of `Germanness′? 56
4.2 Fear of Flying: Finding One′s Own Identity Abroad 58
5. Summary and Conclusion 61
Bibliography 64

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Introduction
During the last two centuries the American perception of Germany has periodically shifted as both countries have been rivals, friends, opponents and most recently allies. This has also been mirrored in the periodically changing American picture of Germany and the Germans, which over the years generated an abundance of stereotypes. While on the one hand, positive images have emerged such as the `naturally virtuous and scholarly German,′ there have been, on the other hand, numerous negative generalizations, for example, the `hard drinking and violent Teuton.′
These notions were often formed through hearsay, personal experiences and encounters with Germans at home and abroad, through literature and political-social relations between the United States and Germany. They are often persistently maintained, have resisted any revision and are frequently regarded as the standard of thought. The role of American literature in creating, sustaining and perpetuating images continues to be of particular importance and this needs to be examined if one wishes to understand how a wide range of long-lasting German stereotypes came into existence. The images of Germany and the Germans which are projected in the works of numerous American writers, including Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Thomas Wolfe, Erica Jong and Walter Abish, have become core images found in travelogues, novels, poetry and short fiction.
This thesis surveys the images of Germany and the Germans in American literature from the late 19th to the end of the 20th century, and proceeds to focus on two selected works: Walter Abish′s How German is It (1980) and Erica Jong′s Fear of Flying (1973). Abish′s novel is a natural choice for an endeavor of this nature as it is both an extensive and intensive exploration of images attributed to German identity. Jong′s novel, on the other hand, is an exploration of individual identity in a German setting and has been selected because of its enormous role in the relatively new field of women′s studies. The focus of attention in this thesis is however restricted to its representations of Germany and the Germans.

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First, an introduction to national images and stereotypes in literature is given to facilitate the terminology for the later discussion. This is followed by a chronological overview of the images of Germany and the Germans in American literature from the late 19th to the end of the 20th century. The survey offers insight into the periodically changing perceptions of Germany and examines the extent to which the political relations between America and Germany and encounters with the `Other′ have influenced the American notion of Germany, and therefore the image of Germany in American literature. Thus, a wide range of literary works and historical information is included.
Second, the images of the German culture as depicted in Walter Abish′s How German is It and Erica Jong′s Fear of Flying will be analyzed in chapter two and three. In this investigation, attention is particularly drawn to distinct virtues and characteristics, the country′s heritage and past as well as the depiction of postwar Germany. Walter Abish and Erica Jong also included images of Austria. Sharing a similar culture with Germany, these Austrian characteristics serve to emphasize German traits and therefore are included in this analysis.
Finally, it will be argued how far the confrontation with numerous heterostereotypes of Germany challenges the protagonists, Isadora Wing and Ulrich von Hargenau, to question their own identity. Ulrich′s quest for `Germanness′ in Abish′s novel How German Is It as well as Isadora′s search for her own identity in Germany in Jong′s novel Fear of Flying will be discussed.
Needless to say, this thesis will not concern itself with evaluating the factual appropriateness of the perceptions of Germany discussed here. As a piece of literary analysis, it confines itself strictly to the scope set by the authors under discussion.

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1. Images of Germany and the Germans in American Literature from the Late 19th to the End of the 20th Century
Before providing an overview of the different images and stereotypes of Germany and the Germans in American literature from the late 19th to the end of the 20th century, it is essential to supply the necessary terminology for the later discussion.
1.1 National Images and Stereotypes in Literature
Numerous disciplines from anthropology to communications research have delved into the perceptions that nations share of each other. Thus, a wide range of different terminology, including `stereotype,′ `image,′ `cliché′ and `prejudice,′ has entered the discussion. Although various scholars have attempted to distinguish between the individual terms, it appeared to be impossible since all of them interlink.1 However, the most frequently used terms within the investigation of the `Other′2 in literature are `stereotypes′ and `images.′
Introduced by the American journalist Walter Lippmann (1889-1974),
`stereotypes′ describe "pictures in one′s head."3 Referring to either positive or negative generalizations about a complex subject, such as the characteristics of a nation, stereotypes enable individuals to "simplify or systematize the abundance and complexity of the received information."4 Furthermore, `national stereotypes′ are subdivided into `autostereotypes′ which contain the ideas members of a nation share about their own character and `heterostereotypes′ which include the virtues and vices of other nations.5 Thus,

^{01 See Peter Boerner, "Das Bild vom anderen Land als Gegenstand literarischer Forschung," in Deutschlands literarisches Amerikabild: Neuere Forschungen zur Amerikarezeption der deutschen Literatur, ed. by A. Ritter (Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag, 1977).
02 The `Other′ refers to the other nation.
03 Harald Husemann, "Stereotypes in Landeskunde ­ Shall We Join Them if We Cannot Beat Them?," in Mediating a Foreign Culture: The United States and Germany, ed. by Lothar Bredella (Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 1991), p. 16. Furthermore, see Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion (New York: Transaction Publishers, 1998).
04 Ibid., p. 17.
05 See Peter Freese, "Exercise in Boundary-Making: The German as the `Other′ in American Literature" in Germany and German Thought in American Literature and Cultural Criticism, ed. by Peter Freese (Essen: Blaue Eule, 1990), p. 93.}

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national stereotypes are closely connected with the constant process of identification with one′s own nation and the urge for group identity.6
Originally used in psychology and public relations, `images′ have entered the field of imagology, a branch of comparative literary scholarship. An image refers to a popular thought that forms the basic concept of an object or idea. A `national image′ refers to the conception that one nation projects onto the other. It can be subdivided into `auto-images′ which characterize one′s own identity and `hetero-images′ which picture the `Other.′ Moreover, `national stereotypes′ and `national images′ are not to be confused with `national character.′ Contemporary imagology "rejects the notion of `national character′ as untenable"7 since it is questionable whether such thing really exists. Apart from the definitions a question remains of how to approach national images and stereotypes in literature. Aside from personal encounters with other nations and social-political relations between different countries, literature plays a major role in the formation of images, which is pointed out by Franz Karl Stanzel:
Opinions about foreigners originally founded in historical experiences of two nations are most likely to become long-lasting stereotypes when they enter literature, the most favorable ground for them to grow and flourish in.8
Images found within literary texts generally originate from personal experience or secondhand knowledge, which is why they cannot be examined for factuality.9 However, as it is practiced by contemporary imagologists, images of the `Other′ in literature can be discussed according to their genesis and effects as well as aesthetic relevance. Furthermore, national stereotypes within literature always provide suggestions about the portrayed nation as well as of the country describing.10
In line with this imagological tenet, my thesis will focus on the origin of the displayed images of Germany and the Germans, and the effects they create

^{06 See János Riesz, "Einleitung: Zur Omnipräsenz nationaler und ethnischer Stereotype," Komparatistische Hefte, 2 (1980), pp. 1-2.
07 Freese, "Exercise in Boundary-Making: The German as the `Other′ in American Literature," p. 94.
08 Franz K. Stanzel, "National Stereotypes in Literature," in Images of Central Europe in Travelogues and Fiction by North American Writers, ed. by Waldemar Zacharasiewicz (Tübingen: Stauffenberg Verlag, 1995), p. 1.
09 Ibid, pp. 1-4.
10 See Freese, op. cit., pp. 94-95.}

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within Walter Abish′s How German Is It and Erica Jong′s Fear Of Flying. Additionally, the following questions shall be considered: Do the novels include traditional stereotypes of the Germans? How are familiar images changed and broken? Since it is impossible to clearly distinguish between the terms `stereotype′ and `image′ they will be used interchangeably throughout this investigation.
1.2 The Late 19th Century to the Turn of the 20th Century
The late 19th century offered a primarily positive image of the German culture. To many American scholars and writers, Germany was a country full of inspiration and hence served as an ideal. The following issue of the American magazine The Nation (1866) displayed this admiration:
[The Germans are] the most learned, patient, industrious, civilized people on the face of the globe, which has attained the highest distinction in arts, in science, in arms, in literature, in everything [...]11
Indeed, educated Americans saw Germany as a "country both romantic and scholarly."12 In the novel Little Women (1868), Louisa May Alcott created the character of the German professor Friedrich Bhaer, a kind and sympathetic tutor, who is an image of German learning. Apart from a reasonable number of American tourists and writers, `the nation of thinkers and poets′ had drawn nearly 10,000 American students to study at German universities by the end of the 19th century.13 There were various established exchange programs, for example, the one between Harvard University of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Humboldt University in Berlin which facilitated American academic interests. Indeed, many American scholars such as the Harvard theologian Edward Everett and the Germanicist George Ticknor appreciated Germany as a most delightful place for their studies.14 An extensive insight into the German university culture with all of its advantages is provided by Henry E. Dwight′s Travels in the North of Germany (1829). It included detailed descriptions of the

^{11 Konrad H. Jarausch, "Huns, Krauts or Good Germans?: The German Image in America," in Heritage and Challenge: German-American Interrelations, ed. by James F. Harris (Tübingen: ATTEMPTO Verlag and Tübingen University Press, 1985), p. 148.
12 Ibid., p. 147.
13See Waldemar Zacharasiewicz, Das Deutschlandbild in der amerikanischen Literatur (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft), p. 29.
14 See Jarausch, op. cit., p. 148.}

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distinguished libraries, the common academic spirit at the universities, and the achievements of numerous German scholars. Moreover, Dwight contrasted the well-established position of the German professors, their specializations, and salaries with the unsatisfying situation in New England.15
On January 18, 1871, the Kaiser announced the achievement of German unification, which was an important landmark in German history. Shortly before the formation of the German empire, Charles Goethe Baylor wrote the following verses in a poem called America to Germany:
All hail! O Bible Land
Grand `mid the nations stand
By God′s decree
For thru the Cloud that lowers
Deep `neath the blood pours
We see their cause as ours
Dear Germany.16
In these lines Baylor illustrated the American acceptance of Germany′s achievements and put emphasis on the countries′ common ambition: the quest for nationhood.17
At the same time, the first indications of a shifting image of German culture appeared. While scholarly admiration and popular kinship continued, the political relations between the United States and the emerging world power were fraught with uneasiness. The Americans took particular offense at the Prussian influence on the entire country, which promoted the German militarization, imperialistic politics and naval race during the last third of the 19th century. Due to his statements and behavior the Kaiser became a typical symbol of the nation′s aggression and autocracy.18 James Kendall Hosmer′s The Giant in the Spiked Helmet (1871) offered a vivid illustration of the military presence within the German public. The country′s transformation into an ascending imperialistic power was also outlined in Francis Marion Crawford′s novel Greifenstein (1889). In connection with the stereotypical depiction of German university life and its customs, Crawford pointed out the

^{15 See Zacharasiewicz, Das Deutschlandbild in der amerikanischen Literatur, pp. 31-35.
16 Charles Goethe Balyor, "America to Germany," Boston Daily Journal (January 1871), quoted in Clara Eve Schieber, The Transformation of American Sentiment Toward Germany: 1870-1917 (New York: Russell and Russell, 1973), p. 23.
17 In the following years both countries struggled for nationhood. In the United States the Civil War and in Germany the wars of unification proceeded.
18 See Eckhardt Marten, Das Deutschlandbild in der amerikanischen Auslandsberichterstattung (Wiesbaden: Deutscher Universitätsverlag, 1989), p. 126.}