Wilhelm Raabe's Der Hungerpastor and Charles Dickens' David Copperfield
Subtitle: intertextuality of two Bildungsromane
By: Peter O. Arnds.
Series: North American studies in nineteenth-century German literature ;; v. 20
Publisher: P. Lang; Lang AG International Academic Publishers, Peter
Published: 1997
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 191
Subjects: Raabe, Wilhelm Karl, 1831-1910.; Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.; Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870 -- Influence.; Bildungsromans -- History and criticism.; Intertextuality.
Description: Der Hungerpastor (1864-65) is Wilhelm Raabe's most popular novel. This monograph shows how Raabe borrowed much of the plot and characters from Charles Dickens's best-selling David Copperfield (1849-50). By providing the reasons why Raabe borrowed from Dickens, this study goes far beyond the existing research on the parallels between these two Bildungsromane. A comparison of the heroes, their Jewish antagonists and a number of female characters demonstrates the extent of Raabe's indebtedness to Dickens.

The intertextuality ranges from direct verbal echoes to a mere use of Dickens's ideas upon which Raabe builds a novel distinctly his own.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [169]-183) and index.