Malicious Objects, Anger Management, and the Question of Modern

323 Pages·2012·2 MB·English

Malicious Objects,
Anger Management, and the
Question of Modern Literature

Malicious Objects,
Anger Management, and the
Question of Modern Literature
Jörg Kreienbrock
fordham university press New York 2013
this book is made possible by a collaborative grant
from the andrew w. mellon foundation.
Copyright © 2013 Fordham University Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kreienbrock, Jörg, 1969–
Malicious objects, anger management, and the
question of modern literature / Jörg Kreienbrock. —
1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8232-4528-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8232-4529-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Anger. 2. Emotions. 3. Anger in literature.
4. Emotions in literature. I. Title.
BF575.A5K74 2013
809'.93353—dc23
2012027145
Printed in the United States of America
15 14 13 5 4 3 2 1
First edition
To Ella, with all the love in the world

contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: How (Not) to Do Things with Doors 1
1. “When Things Move upon Bad Hinges”:
Sterne and Stoicism 22
2. Annoying Bagatelles: Jean Paul and the Comedy
of the Quotidian 67
3. Malicious Objects: Friedrich Theodor Vischer
and the (Non)Functionality of Things 122
4. Igniting Anger: Heimito von Doderer
and the Psychopathology of Everyday Rage 172
Epilogue 225
Notes 245
Bibliography 279
Index 305

acknowledgments
The writing of this book profited immensely from conversations
with my friends and colleagues Michal Ginsburg, Marcus Moseley,
Helmut Müller-Sievers, Rainer Rumold, Thomas Schestag, Samuel
Weber, and Kirk Wetters. Peter Fenves should receive special recogni-
tion. Without his valuable insights and comments the writing of this
book would not have been possible. Paul Fleming’s and John Ham-
ilton’s careful reading of the manuscript helped to shape its central
arguments. I am especially thankful to Benjamin Robinson, Robert
Ryder, and Christian Pinawin, who worked with me on the transla-
tion of such difficult authors as Jean Paul, Friedrich Theodor Vischer,
and Heimito von Doderer.
The completion of the manuscript was made possible by a faculty
fellowship from Northwestern University’s Kaplan Institute for the
Humanities for the 2010–11 academic year.