Thoughts and Works of Elias Canetti

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25370375
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: European literature
• Research Institution: Nihon University
• Principal Investigator: Suto Haruko (香田温子) 日本大学, 芸術学部, 准教授 (70531888)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: エリアス・カネッティ / ヴェーザ・カネッティ / 亡命 / 遺稿 / ユダヤ人 / 思想 / ドイツ語 / 表象

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This paper reconsiders the thoughts and works of Elias Canetti (1904-1995), the Nobel laureate author (1981), including changes in his literary style, thoughts about power, and descriptions of fictional and real characters. The aim of this paper is to make clear the close connection between his changing style―especially after the WWII―and his identity as Jewish. I made use of Canetti’s books and posthumous works at the Zurich central library and also interviewed Johanna Canetti, Canetti’s only daughter. As a result of my work, it became clear that Canetti is first an author who leaves an enormous amount of personal description based on his characters; second, Canetti is regarded as an Austrian writer by the Austrian government’s cultural and foreign policy after the 1960’s, although he was forced to go into exile from Vienna in 1938. And third, Canetti identified as a cosmopolitan and reflected this throughout in his works and thoughts.

Free Research Field

ドイツ語圏文学・文化