Anna Mitgutsch has won praise for her descriptive prose and many prestigious prizes during her career, yet her work has been widely categorized as autobiographical writing or as Frauenliteratur. These categorizations have robbed the novels of much of their political impact, and this study aims to redress the balance. The research has centred on an in-depth analysis of Mitgutsch’s fiction, but has also drawn on her academic work, and where relevant, the present study illustrates the important connections between the two, focusing in particular on Mitgutsch’s recent volume of essays Erinnern und Erfinden.
Prior to this study, most academic interest in Mitgutsch has focused on her first novel, Die Züchtigung, as a mother-daughter novel. Mitgutsch, who recently won the Würdigungspreis für Literatur der Republik Österreich 2000 and the Solothurner Literaturpreis, has repeatedly stressed the political aspect of her fiction. Whilst the political content of her most recent novel, Haus der Kindheit, has been recognized, recognition of this aspect of her fiction prior to Haus der Kindheit has been largely absent. The study focuses on Mitgutsch’s critique of Austrian society and her fictional portrayal of its widespread failure to deal with its Nazi past, or implement changes in social behaviour. In addition, this study also offers the first comprehensive overview of Mitgutsch’s fiction and investigates her treatment of the concept of Fremdsein in fiction, and her use of language as both structure and theme. The present study also includes the transcript of an interview with Anna Mitgutsch, conducted in August 2000, which offers valuable new insight into Mitgutsch’s fiction and her view of Austria.