Three compositional aspects of Joseph Roth's novel Das Spinnennetz

Abstract

Depending upon the emphasis in any effort to interpret a novel, the discussion will usually center upon one of the three traditional categories we speak of when we are discussing novels. These three categories are; plot or narrative developments characterization and narrative manner or technique. Many modern and contemporary novels, of course, present problems in this sort of endeavor because of the nature of the work and, in some instances, we cannot speak of all three categories since the particular work may not really contain a "plot” at all, for example, or one of the other two aspects may not be present in such a clear or dependent way. In the case of Das Spinnennetz, by Joseph Roth, we are able to speak of all three categories, and it is within these three frames of reference that this thesis will consider the novel. The plot, characterization and the narrative manner will be considered so that this discussion of the novel will be concerned principally with the work from the viewpoint of its composition, rather than its general content and the significance thereof. The general content of the work will be alluded to only in the context of the threefold analysis which has been mentioned, and only to the extent that ouch discussion is relevant to the problems which are presented by the three aspects of plot, characterization, and narrative technique. The definitions which will be used in the thesis are, for the most part, taken from the critical writings of authors who have dealt with the problems of narrative prose works and whose definitions of terms are generally accepted In this sort of discussion. These definitions of terms and concepts will be considered only within the context of Das Spinnennetz.