This paper examines surrealist traces in selected stories from Walter Serner's Zum blauen Affen (1921). The first section addresses humor as a core feature of Serner's narrative strategy, while the second explores Eros as a central motif. The final section engages with the theoretical perspectives of Walter Benjamin and the French surrealists, probing whether Serner’s use of surrealist elements serves merely as a critique of dada or extends to challenge the avant-garde more broadly—including surrealism itself—by counterposing his own vision of the relationship between reality and fiction, a vision that Serner consistently grounds in parody.

Surrealistische Spuren in Walter Serners Kriminalgeschichten. Beispiele aus dem Band “Zum blauen Affen (1921)”

Silvia Ulrich
2025-01-01

Abstract

This paper examines surrealist traces in selected stories from Walter Serner's Zum blauen Affen (1921). The first section addresses humor as a core feature of Serner's narrative strategy, while the second explores Eros as a central motif. The final section engages with the theoretical perspectives of Walter Benjamin and the French surrealists, probing whether Serner’s use of surrealist elements serves merely as a critique of dada or extends to challenge the avant-garde more broadly—including surrealism itself—by counterposing his own vision of the relationship between reality and fiction, a vision that Serner consistently grounds in parody.
2025
Surrealism’s Undercurrents: German Connections and Affinities
University of Otago
Otago German Studies
32
242
265
978-0-473-75043-5
https://otagogermanstudies.otago.ac.nz/ogs/issue/view/Surrealism_at_100
Walter Serner; Kriminalgeschichten; Surrealismus; Neue Sachlichkeit
Silvia Ulrich
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/2061391
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