“Essentially, it is the story of Theseus and Ariadne: Theseus in the labyrinth, Ariadne cuts off the thread and there he sits. And the labyrinth […] is the political German Catholicism” [Böll, Victor and Renate Matthaei (eds.),
Querschnitte: Aus Interview, Aufsätzen und Reden von Heinrich Böll(Köln: Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1977), pp. 116-17. My translation]. With these words Böll circumscribes the basic plot of
Ansichten eines Clowns[The Clown, 1963], the author's first fictional work to become a bestseller. Böll re-casts this Greek myth to provide the framework for a multidimensional narrative.
Ansichten eines Clownsis a love story, an artist novel, and a critical commentary on the religious and socio-political life of West Germany. These narrative threads are interwoven in…
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Citation: Mundt, Hannelore G.. "Ansichten eines Clowns". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 January 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11633, accessed 22 November 2024.]
