Besprechungen / Reviews H ELEN C HAMBERS : Humor and Irony in Nineteenth-Century German Women’s Writing. Studies in Prose Fiction 1840-1900. Rochester, N.Y.: Camden House, 2007. 222 pp. $ 75. Helen Chambers undertakes the study of the neglected role of humor and irony in fiction by women authors of the mid to late nineteenth century: Annette von Droste- Hülshoff, Ida Hahn-Hahn, Ottilie Wildermuth, Helene Böhlau, Marie von Ebner- Eschenbach, Ada Christen, Clara Viebig, Isolde Kurz, and Ricarda Huch. Rather than pursue what she sees as the more normal feminist reclamation of women authors - which focuses on «writing that can be instrumentalized in political arguments supporting a broadly feminist, left-wing agenda» (1) -Chambers demonstrates that women authors, when they write about gender issues, also avail themselves of the humor and irony men have routinely denied they possess. Because humor and irony imply intellectual distance this undercuts essentialist theories emphasizing emotionalism in women and women authors. And women authors have faced family pressure, educational disadvantages, social and critical prejudice. Rather than applying a theoretical straightjacket Chambers aims, over the long run, to integrate these authors into the canon of nineteenth-century German authors by serving «gender-sensibel-kanonkritische Forschungsinteressen,» as Gudrun Loster-Schneider has described it. In the process she does not apply strict taxonomy related to definitions of humor or «agonize over fine distinctions between the connotations of ‹humorous› and ‹comic› […]»; instead, she explores the «spectrum of related techniques, ranging from verbal slapstick to biting satire» (7) in individual authors, sometimes comparing them. For irony, the «literary technique that allows the reader to infer more than one level of meaning in a text and to think beyond its surface meaning» (4), she draws on the approach of Linda Hutcheon’s Irony’s Edge. The Theory and Politics of Irony. This model plots the range of the affective impact of irony in various categories (such as reinforcing, complicating, ludic, distancing irony) along with positive or negative vectors (like emphatic or decorative) (8). Chambers thoughtfully provides brief biographical information and a short introduction to the works of each of these relatively unknown authors. Proceeding in rough chronological order, Chambers first addresses the best known of these authors, Droste-Hülshoff, who is paired with Hahn-Hahn. Both use ironic devices to highlight human contradictions. This irony might lie in the narrative voice or in the juxtaposition of pieces of narration. Droste’s humor provides relief at dark points, Hahn-Hahn’s from high emotions. Of the two, Hahn-Hahn uses humor and irony to point out gender norms more often. Both Wildermuth and Böhlau work consciously and consistently as humorists to portray the domestic sphere as an arbitrary construction. Double standards, smallmindedness and self-importance in this sphere are objects of their ultimately benign CG_42_2_s097-192End.indd 183 CG_42_2_s097-192End.indd 183 23.12.11 22: 06 23.12.11 22: 06 184 Besprechungen / Reviews satire. Here older women often appear to act out domestic roles while actually holding social order together. Realist humorist Ebner-Eschenbach, a writer who deserves many more readers, demonstrates humane and bitter-sweet irony in portraying modern culture in conflict with more traditional sentiments. Not necessarily feminist in orientation, her work nevertheless shows great sensitivity toward gendered power relation-ships. Humor and irony are integral to her work and self-understanding. Both Ada Christen and Clara Viebig avail themselves of humor to portray the often painful moments of life in working-class milieus. Here laughter more often serves to relieve oppressive situations, distance as self-defense. Oblique humor in these naturalist writers eases access for readers unaccustomed to this environment. Both Kurz and Huch reject this naturalism and approach strong subject matter - sexuality, illicit passion, violent death - through ironic narrative perspectives. Their humor and irony frequently express an «incongruous discrepancy between body and intellect, between nature and spirit, between the physical and the metaphysical» (190). Their playful jest and ironic adaptation of fairy tales were also discovered in Ebner-Eschenbach, though others (like Bettina von Arnim) are not referenced. There is much to digest in this broad survey. Just one of the interesting threads, frequently treated with only a few sentences at the end of a chapter, is the degree to which a particular woman author may, in fact, have influenced others coming after her. These points of influence merit further work. Is there one, in particular, who stands out for multiple others? How may one account for this? Another interesting, but still largely unexplored thread is the occasional reference to particular authors of the male tradition. For a critic like Chambers, who justifiably wants to demonstrate the heretofore marginalized participation of women in «the» canon - as well as their unique perspective - these connections and congruities represent important fields for investigation and deserve to be pursued further. How, if at all, do the humorous or ironic treatments of men in women’s writing differ from that of women in men’s writing? If Keller appreciated Ebner-Eschenbach’s humor, are there stylistic parallels that may be drawn? Is her humor different from his? These two issues - female tradition and its intersection with the canon - would seem to be natural points for focused and prolonged discussion in a book whose author wants to integrate women’s literature into the canon while still representing their unique voice. Any work covering a large body of work which is relatively unknown to most readers faces the problem of introducing those texts and contexts for the first time. Much information may be presented, but the reader may become overwhelmed and unsure what to make of it. All the more reason, one might argue, for drawing bold distinctions and potentially provocative arguments. This book provides a general overview of its tantalizing topic, but in the end does not meet this more particular challenge. Brown University Katherine Goodman CG_42_2_s097-192End.indd 184 CG_42_2_s097-192End.indd 184 23.12.11 22: 06 23.12.11 22: 06