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5. A fool, а rogue, and a jester: self-presentation in the autobiographical narratives of Thomas Bernhard (OPEN ACCESS)

A fool, а rogue, and a jester: self-presentation in the autobiographical narratives of Thomas Bernhard (OPEN ACCESS)

Novikova S.Y.

Independent researcher, Saint Petersburg, Russia, fotinya@gmail.com

Abstract

This article examines the peculiarities of self-presentation in the autofictional prose of Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard (1931−1989). The protagonist of five novellas (1975−1982), based on the author's biography, is endowed with roguish traits. Within this roguish portrayal, symbolic masks of the fool, jester, and rogue, significant in the development of the European picaresque novel, can be discerned. The study explores the particularities of this stylization and suggests that the roguish character emerges in the autofiction under the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche's ideas, relating to the problem of art and the artist's development. Additionally, the article investigates the literary-historical origins from which the roguish characteristics of the protagonist can be traced back to.

Keywords

the twentieth-century Austrian literature; autobiography; autofiction; rouge novel; Thomas Bernhard

For citing: Novikova S.Y. (2023). A fool, а rogue, and a jester: self-presentation in the autobiographical narratives of Thomas Bernhard. Human being: Image and essence. Humanitarian aspects. Moscow: INION RAN. Vol. 3(55): “Simpleton” and “scribe” in and around literary fiction, pp. 77-94. DOI: 10.31249/chel/2023.03.04

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