The Function of Biography in Sebalds Die Ringe des Saturn Lisa Fleischmann and Johanna Heidrich

Table of Content Biographies in General Joseph Conrad Roger Casement Commonalities Conrad/Casement How Sebald uses Biographies Conclusion

Biographies in General Sebald presents personalities that came into contact with Suffolk: real/invented, famous/unknown Because of their mediation through personal experience, otherwise stale facts, such as […] the colonial rule in the Congo assume the vividness of lived experience (Gray 2010: 32) Invention of the gardener William Hazel Parallels between the lives of Sebald and e.g. Browne, Swynburne, Hamburger, Garrad

Joseph Conrad Childhood: * 1857 in Ukraine as Theodor Josef Konrad Korzeniowski Father in conspiracy, arrested and temporarily sent to Russian exile Mother dies of tuberculosis when Joseph is 8 [des Vaters] Lebenswille ist gebrochen [..], kaum dass er sich der Instruktion seines von so viel Unglück bedrücktem Sohn zu widmen vermag (Sebald:130) Joseph becomes rather sensitive, introverted: writes patriotic plays, reads a lot, witnesses fathers dying process At age 16, he wants to become a sailor, leaves for Marseille, leaves for 16 years

Joseph Conrad Life as a seafarer: does a lot of travelling by ship travels over the Atlantic sea for the first time in 1875 travels to "Westindischen Inseln, nach Cap-Haiten, nach Port-au- Prince, nach St.Thomas [..] und St.Pierre" (Sebald:134) to transfer goods Wild days / französische Lehrjahre (137): "eine aus Adligen, Bohemians, Geldgebern, Abenteurern und spanischen Legitimisten seltsam gemischte Gesellschaft" (Sebald:134f) illegal businesses, mysterious love affair, mysterious shooting

Joseph Conrad Congo experiences: until 1890 he becomes Captain and British citizen works for "Société Anonyme pour le Commerce du Haut-Congo sees the work exploitation and abuse of native inhabitants by European companies "erkennt [..] im Lauf der langen Seereise allmählich den Wahnwitz des ganzen kolonialen Unternehmens" (Sebald:142)

Joseph Conrad uncivilised "von den Segnungen der Zivilisation unberührt" (144) "Finsternis durchbrechen" (144) "edler Zweck" (143) "Kreuzzug" (144) "Jahrhundert des Fortschritts" (144) exploitation suppression no law "Zwangsarbeits- und Sklavensystem" (144) "finsterstes Kapitel des Kolonialismus" (143) Congo Description: Congo Reality:

Joseph Conrad Congo experiences: Has to walk through wilderness 40 days, experiences what inspires him to his later book Heart of Darkness hates working for the Société, disgusted by treatment of natives

Joseph Conrad meets Roger Casement in Congo, perceives him as den einzigen geradsinnigen Menschen (Sebald: 126) returns, literally sick of colonialism: krank am Leib und an der Seele, sodass er sich selbst den Tod wünscht (Sebald:147) wrote some of the most famous novels in British literature 1924 because of heart failure

Roger Casement Fuchs: Von der Bio- zur Hagiografie: stylised as a saint Born in 1864, hanged in 1916: high treason Poet Critic of colonialism in the Congo/South America/Ireland Report from 1903: Wer den Oberlauf des Kongo hinauffährt […] vor dessen Augen entfaltet sich die Agonie eines ganzen Volkes in all ihren herzzerreißenden, die biblischen Leidensgeschichten weit in den Schatten stellenden Einzelheiten (Sebald:154)

Roger Casement Activism in South America Bericht und bedingungsloser Einsatz für die Rechtlosen und Verfolgten (Sebald:156) Lifted to the ranks of nobility but […] nicht bereit, auf die Seite der Macht überzuwechseln (Sebald:156) Emotional tone Casement as isolated hero Was involved with imperialism: does not become clear (e.g. Association Internationale pour lExploration et la Civilisation en Afrique)

Roger Casement Parallels between the Congo/South America and his home country Ireland Das den Iren über Jahrhunderte hinweg angetane Unrecht erfüllte immer mehr sein von Mitleidenschaft tiefer als von jeder anderen Regung geprägtes Bewusstsein (Sebald:157) Suppression as global phenomenom weiße Indianer von Irland (Sebald:157) Formation of the Ulster Volunteers (1912)

Roger Casement Arrested in 1915 Imprisoned in the Tower of London: no legal assistance isolated Publication of Black Diaries

Roger Casement Revelation of his homosexuality in Black Diaries […], dass es möglicherweise gerade die Homosexualitaet Casements war, die ihn befähigte, […] die andauernde Unterdrückung, Ausbeutung, Versklavung und Verschrottung derjenigen zu erkennen, die am weitesten entfernt waren vom Zentrum der Macht (Sebald:162) Hagiographic depiction: leaves no space to refer to his supporters Hanged in 1916 Exhumation in 1965: reminds of resurrection

Commonalities Conrad/Casement Were both critics of Colonialism Wanted to interfere into history and change it positively Met during their time in the Congo

How Sebald uses biographies Romantische Geschichtsallegorese selecting and interpreting facts to influence the readers towards a romantic perception of history filling biographic gaps with biased imagination "Versuch der heroischen Intervention in den Geschichtsverlauf (Fuchs:191) Conrads mythopoetic elevation men as archetypal, superior figures everything he does is strong, conscious and meaningful Depicting Casement as isolated fighter instead of part of movement Mixing Josephs Biography with novel protagonist Marlow intertextuelles Verfahren typische Überblendung (Fuchs:199)

Conclusion Uses Biographies to present personalities that came into contact with Suffolk Emphasises those aspects of their biography which support his romantic view of history Conrad and Casement represent the fight against colonialism which he condems throughout the novel Biographies illustrate how there are these important heroic figures which shaped the course of history

Bibliography Primary Literature: Sebald, W.G.: Die Ringe des Saturn – Eine englische Wallfahrt. Frankfurt: Fischer Verlag Secondary Literature: Fuchs, Anne: Die Schmerzensspuren der Geschichte – Zur Poetik der Erinnerung in W.G. Sebalds Prosa. Köln: Böhlau Verlag Gray, Richard T.: Sebald's Segues: Performing Narrative Contingency in The Rings of Saturn. In: The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory. London: Routledge 2010, pp Schütte, Uwe: W.G. Sebald. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2011.