Myth, Matriarchy and Modernity: Johann Jakob Bachofen in German Culture. 1860–1945

Peter Davies

Published by De Gruyter 2010

Myth, Matriarchy and Modernity

Johann Jakob Bachofen in German Culture. 1860–1945

Peter Davies

Volume 7 in the series Interdisciplinary German Cultural Studies

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110227093

Overview
Contents

About this book

This study explores the prevalence in German culture of myths about ancient matriarchal societies, discussing their presence in left and right wing politics, feminist and antifeminist writing, sociology, psychoanalysis and literary production. By tracing the influence of the works of the Swiss jurist and theorist of matriarchy, Johann Jakob Bachofen (1815–1887), and the controversies about the reception and interpretation of his work, this study shows how debate about the matriarchal origins of culture was inextricably linked with anxieties about modernity and gender identities at the turn of the twentieth century. By moving beyond the discussion of canonical authors and taking seriously the scope of the discussion, it becomes clear that it is not possible to reduce matriarchal theories to any particular political ideology; instead, they function as a mythic counterdiscourse to a modernity conceived as oppressive, rational and masculine. Writers considered include Ludwig Klages, Hofmannsthal, Kafka, Hauptmann, Lou Andreas-Salomé, Sir Galahad, Clara Viebig, Mathilde Vaerting, Thomas Mann, Elisabeth Langgässer, Ilse Langner, Otto Gross, Franz Werfel, and many others.

Author / Editor information

Peter Davies, University of Edinburgh, UK.

Reviews

"Die [die Arbeit von Peter J. Davies], das muss an dieser Stelle ganz ausdrücklich hervorgehoben werden, ein Meisterwerk ist. Wissenschaftliche Akribie und Sorgfalt, stupende Sachkenntnis über die Grenzen einzelner Wissenschaftsdisziplinen hinweg gehen hier einher mit gedanklicher Schärfe und sprachlicher Luzidität."
Elke Pahud de Mortanges in: Schweizer Zeitschrift für Religions- und Kulturgeschichte, 105 (2011)

Topics

Frontmatter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	I
Contents Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	IX
Preface. An Uncomfortable Influence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 1. Bachofen in the Nineteenth Century: Myth, Gender, Modernity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
Chapter 2. The Nature of Authority and the Authority of Nature: Anthropology, Marxism and Germanic Mysticism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
Chapter 3. Mother Right and the Women's Movement Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	107
Chapter 4. Matriarchy and the Literature of the Fin-de-siècle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	163
Chapter 5. 'Psychoanalyste avant la lettre?' Bachofen, Mythic Motherhood, and Psychoanalysis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
Chapter 6. Prophets of Matriarchal Revolution: Otto Gross and Expressionism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	243
Chapter 7. 'The Struggle for Johann Jakob Bachofen' Philology and Politics in the 1920s Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	285
Chapter 8. Myth, Symbol, Modernity: Bachofen in Literary Works of the 1920s Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	311
Chapter 9. Feminine Myth and Masculine Politics: National Socialism and Matriarchy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	351
Chapter 10. Antifascist Bodies and Dialectical Mythologies: Bachofen in the anti-Nazi Struggle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	389
Backmatter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	421

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Academics, Institutes, Libraries
Pages
- Front matter: 10
- Main content: 462
Keywords: Johann Jakob Bachofen; Matriarchy; Modernity

eBook

Published: February 26, 2010
ISBN: 9783110227093

Hardcover

Published: February 17, 2010
ISBN: 9783110227086