Der Mensch im Katastrophenuniversum. Zum Verhältnis von Historie, Naturgeschichte und Poetik im Frühwerk Arno Schmidts

Abstract

Among the representations of nature in Arno Schmidt's early texts from the debut novel Leviathan towards his radio features, scenes of diverse loci terribili and destructive forces of nature take a prominent place. In several texts, natural processes and disasters are described as trigger or executor of the apocalypse. Analogous to the duality of the term 'natural catastrophe' - with reference to the extreme natural event itself and to the assessment of its impact on culture and civilization -, Schmidt linked in these literary images scientific data with mythological and other cultural patterns of interpretation. Starting from the concept of nature as Leviathan, Schmidt's view of nature can be traced, where the natural disasters are to be understood not as contingent accidents, but even as the defining moments of nature and natural history. These are by Schmidt closely interwoven not only with culture and human history, but become also a direct expression in his poetological programme. This article focuses on the connections between these three components in the context of German coming to terms the past and the discourse of cultural ecology (especially A. Goodbody, H. Zapf).