Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, zur rezeption und wirkung eines dilettanten

Abstract

It is the fate of many writers that their works die with them or even before them, as was the case with Leopold vorr Sacher-Masoch (1836-1895). As a result of being ill-received by his contemporaries who repudiated him as a pornographer and malcontent he was relegated to obscurity. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to examine if Masoch's "literary death" was in fact warranted.

Working from the premise that Sacher-Masch was ahead of his time, and consequently defies categorization within the context of standard period-definitions, we have endeavoured to establish meaningful criteria for a re-evaluation of his works. Foremost of these was the need to examine his socio-historical background in order to prove the inherent indivisibility of Sacher-Masochs life and work. One the basis of this we attempt to establish the true extent of his reception as an author as well as his role in anticipating future literary movements in Germany and abroad.