GEORG BÜCHNER'S 'LEONCE UND LENA' AND 'WOYCECK': ON THE ROLE OF GROTESQUE IN THE DEPICTION OF SOCIAL CONDITIONS

Abstract

One of the main topics in Georg Büchner’s work is the critique of the stablished social circumstances in Vormärz-Germany. In his dramas, he criticises the hypocrisy and lewdness of the upper classes as well as their oppression of the lower ones to reinforce social hierarchies. Following Martin’s (2015, 2017) contribution to the historic and conceptional parallelism of Büchner’s last works Leonce und Lena and Woyzeck, this article tries to show, how the grotesque plays an important role in the depiction of social conditions in Büchner’s mentioned works. The analysis focuses on the grotesque elements and motifs which contribute to the representation of the different social spheres. These include inter alia the automats, the abolition of the limits between animals and humans as well as the madness of the main character in Woyzeck. For the analysis of grotesque motives, two different conceptions will be considered: Kayser’s and Bakhtin’s theories, since the confrontation of both exemplifies the ambivalence of this aesthetic category.