Die Totenmaske als Medium der kleinen Form

Abstract

The following article examines feuilletonistic texts and short prose in which death is treated as the incommensurable. These small pieces appeared in scattered places and explored symbolic behavior and thus the historical point of view taken towards the dead and the past. In these 1920s texts, my article discusses memorial functions shaped by nationalistic and masculinist codes. The cult surrounding the dead-mask plays a central role here. My readings show that it is precisely the small modernist form in its brevity, scarcity, and ephemerality, that takes on an archival function and, in the age of the masses, goes beyond commemorating the »individual spirit« (Hofmannsthal). In conclusion my article will contrast the 1920s pieces with 21^st century essayistic short prose by Durs Grünbein und Mary Ruefle. When these contemporary authors address dead-masks or death cults, they critically question idealism, or, as in the case of Mary Ruefle, heighten it with an almost intimate gesture into the uncanny and grotesque.