Fiction, Truth and Reality in Sigrid Combüchen's Tale Parsifal
Author
Summary, in English
<p>
The frame story in Parsifal is situated in a dystopian Europe, devastated, war-weary and in a state of shock and decay. Main protagonists are a retired general, Piscator (cf. Fisher King) and a middle aged unemployed female journalist, Perle Vaus (cf.Perlesvaus/Perceval/Parsifal). With her questions Perle is trying to help the general to write his memoirs in a truthful way.
</p>
<p>
The game with time and memory is part of Sigrid Combüchen's narrative strategy. The Grail Legend is employed as subtext and palimpsest. The novel contains four historical levels, combined with segments of 'dirty' Realism, Fantasy and Science Fiction.
</p>
<p>
However, this Paper will focus upon the concluding dialogue between Perle and the General. The General needs assistance to tell about the most shameful incident in his career, the hunting and killing of a group of school girls. However, in his memoir writing he is still focused on describing a successful and honorary military career. Perle's maieutic questions leads the General to an evading narrative strategy, where fiction and different kinds of cultivated digressions become substitutes for the naked truth. This also leads to a Double bind representation of reality. The General's shaded reality comprehension is also based on his life long prejudiced gender assumptions.
</p>
The frame story in Parsifal is situated in a dystopian Europe, devastated, war-weary and in a state of shock and decay. Main protagonists are a retired general, Piscator (cf. Fisher King) and a middle aged unemployed female journalist, Perle Vaus (cf.Perlesvaus/Perceval/Parsifal). With her questions Perle is trying to help the general to write his memoirs in a truthful way.
</p>
<p>
The game with time and memory is part of Sigrid Combüchen's narrative strategy. The Grail Legend is employed as subtext and palimpsest. The novel contains four historical levels, combined with segments of 'dirty' Realism, Fantasy and Science Fiction.
</p>
<p>
However, this Paper will focus upon the concluding dialogue between Perle and the General. The General needs assistance to tell about the most shameful incident in his career, the hunting and killing of a group of school girls. However, in his memoir writing he is still focused on describing a successful and honorary military career. Perle's maieutic questions leads the General to an evading narrative strategy, where fiction and different kinds of cultivated digressions become substitutes for the naked truth. This also leads to a Double bind representation of reality. The General's shaded reality comprehension is also based on his life long prejudiced gender assumptions.
</p>
Department/s
Publishing year
2008
Language
English
Document type
Conference paper
Topic
- Languages and Literature
Conference name
Scientific Symposium "Fiction, Truth and Reality: An Interdisciplinary Approach"
Conference date
2008-10-24 - 2008-10-26
Conference place
Katowice, Poland
Status
Inpress