Names in Handke's Die Angst des Tormanns

13 Pages·2015·0.69 MB·English

Literary Onomastics Studies
Volume 12 Article 9
1985
Names in Handke's Die Angst des Tormanns
Russell E. Brown
SUNY Stony Brook
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Repository Citation
Brown, Russell E. (1985) "Names in Handke's Die Angst des Tormanns,"Literary Onomastics Studies: Vol. 12 , Article 9.
Available at:http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/los/vol12/iss1/9
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63
LOS
NAMES IN HANDKE'S DIE ANGST DES TORIVi.ANNS
Russell E. Brown
StateU niversitoyf New Yorka t StonyB rook
PeterH andke'sD ieAng st des Tormannsbe im Elfmeter (1970h)i,s
firsti nternationaslu ccessi,s a good subjecfto ra briefo nanastic
study.F ort hea uthor'uss eo f charactearn dp lacen ames confirms
hisa cknCMledgedde btt o FranzK afka,f ranw hosef ictioHna ndke
derivehsi sh ero's nameJ,o sefB loch, andf romw homH andke'gse neral
techniquoef naming/withholdniamnegs is derived.I n addition,
Handke'sst orye mploys a surprisinvagr ietoyf naming techniquefso r
a smalln umber of named characterrsa,n ging frotmh ed enotative
sprechenNdaem e,p airedn ames, andn ames·w ith etymologiicmapll ica-
tionst o theu seo f an historicalcloyr rec"tr eal"n ame amon g the
fictionaoln es. Therei s alsoa n interesticngl usteorf names, seven
mentioneodn a single page,i n theg eneraeln vironmeonft n ames up-
pression.
The centraclh aractert,h eT ormann,i s naJredJ osephB loch, an
allusivneam e, combiningt won ames froDemr Prozess:J osefK . is the
heroa nd (RudiB)l ock is theo nlyo thern ameda ccusepde rsoni n the
novel.1 i-.osceh aracterasl,t hougnho ta ccuseodf a specificc rime,
aree ssentialilny thes ame situatioans theT ormannw hoh as murdered
a femalea cquaintanacned i s tryingt o escapec apture,t riala nd
by
punishment.( Handke'isn teresitn Kafkai s alsos hCMn hisu seo f
then ameG regor,s uggestiGngr egor Samsao f DieV erwandlungi,n Die
Hornisse(1 965a)n dD ieS tunded erw ahreEmpnf indung (197.5).]
Then ames Blocha ndB lock are,o f cour se,i nterchangeaibnl e
German; Bloch was originaulsleyd f orJ ews whoUnm igrated to Poland
64
LOS
frant he�-e st int hef ourteenctehn tur(yG ottschalDedu:t schNea ­
menskundBee,r lin:1 971)w,h icghi verse levamenatn ingfso rB lock:
Klotz, FelsbGleofcakn,g nipsl,umpe r Menscha,l lo fw hicahp pltyo
hisf ormerr olea sg oalk eeper,a ndo ne,G efangnitso,h isf uture
fatea sa murderer.
While theraer en oo thearl lusiovree mbodienda mesf rom Kafka
inD ieAng St desT ormannHsa,n dkfeo llows Kafka's pgreancetriacolef
thes uppressoifop ne sonarl names. Hisp revionuosv elDe,r Hausierer
(1967),contnaoip nesr sonnaamels ata ll.H eret heraer eo nlyt hree
namedc haractewrhsoa ctualalpype ari nthe novel:J oseBfl ocht;h e
womanh em urderGse,r dTa. ;a ndt hew oman hes eekrse fugew ith,
HerthaO.t hern ameasr eme ntionewdi thoutth eibera rersa ppeariinng
then ovel.A s witht heH ausierneamer, charactearrseu sualldye sig­
by
nated theiorc cupatioornr ole.T heboy friendo fH erthias always
referrteoda s" derS ohnd esG utsbesitzewrhsi)c'rh e call"sd erS ohn
desS chlosskastelilnaK nasf"k a'Dsa sS chlosHsa;n dke'sc haracter
alsol ivei�n a castl(ep .6 4).J usta sK afkas uppresstehsen ame
Schwarzer, preferrdiensgS ch"lSooshsnk astellsaonH sa,n"d kues es
ther oleo ro ccupation desiegvneanwt hieonnt hepe rsonanlam e is
given; Heirstc haal le"dd ieP achterianl"m ost excluswihvielley ,
herd aughteirs a lwaycsa lle"dd ieT ochtedre rP achter"i n.
Thes uppressoifot nh en ame ofB loch'sv ictimG,e rda, is more
logicals,i nchee only lehaerrn namse justbe foremu rderinhge r;a
movicea shiesrh,e i sc alle"dD ieK assierertienn"t imesu ntiBll och
LOS 65
begintsof ollohwe rh anfer,a wnh icpho inotn s hei sc alle"dd as
Madche(nn"i ntei mes).B lochf'osr emains c alleodn l"yd ePro l­
ier"h;i sf ormer wifaen dh isd aughtearr eo nliyd entifbyi etdh eir
relatitoonh ime,v ent hough hsepe akst ot hemo nt het elephone.
Otheworrre n Blocmehe tsa rec alle"dd aMsa dche(na"g irhle h as
casuasle xw ith{ pp1.1 -12)o)r," dibeei denF riseurmadc(hpepn."
56-60).
Noc haracetveerar d dresasneost hcehra racbyt eperr sonanla me
int hes toreyv ewnh eint wo uldbe naturaas�i nt hef amilyo f
Herthoar,i nB loch'tse lephcoonnev ersatwiiotnhhsi sf ormerf amily,
orb etweEnt het wo hairdressWehresnG. e rdsau ppliheesrn ame after
hes pentt hen ighwti thhe rwe, read" Blochh attees g arn ichwti ssen
wolle(np". 2 0),a ndo nt hew ayt oH erthwe a leartnh aBtl ocohn ly
knowsh erf irsntame , althougthh ehya dbe enl overs ea(rpl.3i 0e)r.
ThuHsa ndken'asm ingp ractiicnet hes tory reftlheerc etlsu ctaonfc e
hisp rotagonitsout s ep ersonnameals inh iss ocialr elatiownhsi,c h
confortmost heK afka-lliikmei tpeerds pectiv(ee insinnige
Erzahlthuanlg )
•
TurninngON to thet wo worren characteGresr,dt ah,e m urdevri c­
tima,n dH erthtah,e P achtertiown h oBml ocfhl eesa,r el inkebdy
similnaarm ese,a chw itthw os yllabltehsee, r -ap atterann,d even
relatceodn sonanKtasf.k uas endame pairlsi kGer etaen dG regoirn
DieV erwandlaunngda lsbeot weecnh aractenramess' a ndh isow n name,
likSea msa--KafTkhae.s imilaroiftGe yr daa nd Herstuhgag estthsa t
66
LOS
Blochr elatetso both womeni n thes amew ay,a ndi ndeedo nes ensesa
potentiaflo r violentcowea rd Hertha( ando theru nnamewdo meni n the
story)j,u sta s wasa ctuallcya rrieodu tt owardB loch'rse alv ictim,
Gerda.
Gerda'gsi venn ame,a nnouncejdu stbe fore her death,po ssiblya
contributinfga ctort o Bloch'dse cisiotno stranglhee r,i s enlarged
71).
by latern ewspaperre ports,w hichr efert o hera s GerdaT . (p.
Thi!?i s consistenwti thj ournalistic pracitni rceef errintgo victims
ands uspects,b uta lsor ecallJso sefK . of Der Prozess.
The etymologyo f the women'nsam es maybe mentionedB.o tha re
fran Germanic mythology: Gerdaw ast he wifoef theG od Freyerw,h ile
Herthai s equivalteon Nte rthust,h eM otherE artho f oldG erman folk­
lore. It seems likely tthheastea rea ccidentaelc hoes justa s would
occurw ith macomnmoy n Germang ivenn ames.M orei nterestiinsg t he
allusivqeu alitayt tainefdo rH ertha'nsame by thef actt hatB lochi s
a former footballp layer:H erthai s then ame of a well-knowBne rlin
team. 'lhuisn a senseB loch regainast leasta nominal proxitmoi ty
hiso lds port by travellintgo "Hertha."
The mostf amilianra mingd evicei n literaturies thes prechende
Name,t het agn ame whichd enoteas qualittyh rougthh en ormamle aning
of then ame- word.W hens peakintgo Gerdabe fore the murder, Bloch
20).
mentiontsh en ameo f anothefroo tballp layerS,t umm( p. The
namei s givena dded importbayn cteh ef actt hatB lochw ritesi t on a
newspapewrh ichi s lefti n Gerda'sap artmenatn ds ervesa s a cluei n
LOS 67
thes earcfho rt hemurde rer, asr eportedi nn ewspaper(sp .1 07).T he
themoef d umbness, inarticulateness,tpehnenbo eradteerts own setting
tow hicBhl ochg oes aftehri sd eed.A missiboyng therwhoe isl ater
foundd rownebyd Blochh imsel(pf . 6i2s)r eferrteoda s" derst ..l'l'T'Il'e
SchUle(rp". 7 2).A schoolc ustodiatne llBsl ocht hata llt he
childroefnt hen eighborhooda reh ardlayb let o speakc ompletsee n­
tences:" 'Eigentlsiicnhda llmee hrod er wenisgperre chbehindert,'
sagtdee rS chuldien(epr."8 9)." Sprechbeheirntd,a"s we ll as
"stt.mn;'i su sed about them issiboyng (pp.3 1,1 07).O fc ourse,
JoseBfl ochh imselsfh aretsh ev illapgreo bloefmc c:mru nication
difficultsoi etsh,a ta ftehri st orturaetdt empttso c onverseh,i s
finaell oquenatn alysoifsa goalie's irnoa l geame has been viewed
by sane critiacssan acto fl iberatioornro ontalr ecoveryC:h rista
K. Dixoinn S prachku3n (s1t9 72H)., 1 ,p p.7 5-9a7n dG ustav ZUr­
cher inT extu ndK ritiHk 2 4/24(a1 976p)p,. 38-56.
In addititoonS t1..IITO"!\,B locahl sor efertso " Viktore inB e­
.••
kanntevro nm ir"( p.5 9);t hisc ouladl sobe vieweda sa denotative
tag-namien thceo nteoxfta sportsc areeorf v ictoriaensdd efeats.
Immediatbeefloyr e,in i dentifyhiinmgs etloft het wo Friseur­
madchenh eh asj usmett , hes tatetsh ath eh asbe en a football
goal keeper." Ere ri<Uirted,a ssT orhi.ltlearn geark tisve in
konntaelns F eldspiel'eZra.mo rwaa rs chon ziemliaclht ,s'a gte
Bloch"( p.5 7).I nc ontratsotS tumamn dV iktorZ,a roc>rai sa n
historifciaglu reR:i carZdaomo rap layed internationally for Spain
68
LOS
betweetnh ew orlwda rs.O ne otfh ebe st goalieosf the perihode,
neverthelseusfsf eredg reaa fta ilurien a gamea gainsEtn glanwdh ere
hea lloweds everaela sy goalast t heb eginningT.h ush e wasi n
disgraced,i screditwehdi,c whe c ani maginmea yh avebe en thef ateo f
Bloch,w hoi su nablteo a ccephti se arlrye tiremenftr om professional
sports.
Allo ft hes"eo thern"ame s inD ieA ngstd esT ormanns-nameosf
personwsh od on ota ppeairn t hes to�are mentioneidn t woc onver-
sationwsi thwome n,i nbo th ofw hicBhl ochf eeltsh es ame disorienta-
tionbe causeo fh isp artnerwsa'y o fs peakingt:h eiars sumptioofn s
sharekdn owledgceo ntrawsitt hh isp edantciocr rectnesIsn.t he
firstG,e rdame ntionas "Freddya"n da placet,h e" Stephanskeller,"
whilhee mentionhsi sf ormers upervistohre" Poliearn"d a "Fussball-
20).
spielenra mens St(upm.m "
Int hes econcdo nversatiwoint,ht het wo" Friseurmadchen,"
Bloch mention"sZ amora"( p.5 7)," Viktora"n da "Schiedsrichat er,"
footbalrle fere(ep .5 9). Inbe tweent het wo girlsp roducea little
explosioofn g ossiwph icihs reportiendd irectly.
Ausserdem sprsaicevh oenn Dinugnednv ora llem von Per­
sonend,i ee rn ichkte nnen konanltseo ,b e rs iek ennen
mUsstuen de ingeweihste i.M ariah abe Ottod ieK roko­
dilledertaasucfhd ee nK opfg eschlageDenr. Onkels ei
hinuntienrd enK ellegre omkme n,h abe Alfreidn d enH of
gejagutn dd iei talilenisKc0chhei nm ite ineBri rkenrute
geschlageEnd.u arhda be siea nd erA bzweiguanugs steigen
lassens,o d asss iem itteinn d erN achtz uF ussn achH ause
gehemnu sstes:i es eid urchd enK indsmorderwgaelgda ngen,
damitW alteurn dK arls ien ichatu fd emA uslanderweg
69
LOS
gehesna henu,n d hasbec hliessldiicehB allschuahues gezo­
gen,d iei hrH errF riedrigcehs chenhkatbe . (p.5 8}
Thisa pparentrlayn dofmr eea ssociatimoonnt agei nw hich not
even thei ndividusapela keri sd istinguishedt-wo- tghier lasr e
treateads a unit,l iket hed reiz ummerherirne nK afkDai'esV er­
wandlung--inse vertheltehsemast icallrye latetdo t hee ventosf t he
story.V iolencaend a ggressibevhea vioirn erotic situaetcihoon s
thed epictiendc idenitnst hel ifeo fB loch.W hilteh eM aria-otto
incideinsto bviousulnyr elatteodt heu ncle'bsr eakiunpgo fa n
apparenttr ysbett weenA lfreadn dt heI taliacnoo k, thef ollowing
"siew"h oi sp uto uto fE duardc'sa rm ayr efetro o neo ft heF riseur-
rnadcheno r,a swo uldbe gramma ticallcyo rrectto,t hel astme n-
tioned feminpeirnseo n,t hec ook. Herf oreignnreeslsa tetso the
"Aiooricanmo"n eym otifa ndt ot hel ocation Gorfe nzorwhte rte he
actioins t akinpgl acea,s wella st ot heg eographidce signation
"Auslanderwwheigc"fh o llows.T heo therl ocatiomne ntioned,
"Kin dsmorderwalrde·l,a"t etso t he" sumtme SchUler,w"h ow as
believetdo habeveen ••rurderTehdel. oc ationasr ea lsol inked
phoneticailnlv ya riou\s, Jyass, weret hen amesG erdaa ndH erthat;h e
"Krokodilledertasicshl ei"k et he" Ballschuhaen,du t"hBei rkenrute"
relatetso " Abzweigunagn"d " Wald."
Rathetrh ant ryingt og rastph es equencweh,i chha st hei nner
logico f a dream,t her epetitioonfsa modern poem asa wholeB,l och
LOS 70
drivetsh er eporteidn cidefnutrst haepra rbyt specifiqcu estions
whicihs olatthee s eparaitteems .
Endlifcrha gteer ,o bA lfreidh rF reunsde io;b i mmere ine
Birkenrauutfde e mS chralnikeg e;o bH erFrr iedriecihn
Vertretseeri u;n do bd erA uslandedrewsewegge ns o
hiesswee,i elr v ielleiacnhe ti neAru slandersiedlung
vorbeifUhr(ep.. 5 9)
Ont heo nomastliec veIl a ppliae ndumbe r oft esttso t hes even
namesi nt heF riseurmadcsheeqnu encSei.n cEe. M .R ajehca sp ub-
lishead c omplestteu doyf K afkan'amess (Namen undi hrBeed eutungen
imW erkFer anKza fkasB.e rn: Peter LanIg c,o u1lq9du7 i7c)k ly
establtihsahte achn ame,e xcepWta lteocrc,u rreidn o neo ra nother
ofK afkawo'rsk s,b uti nn ome aningfupla ttern.( Ofco urseu ncles
andc ooks occuri nK afkaas w ell). We seemt oh avaec cidenrteape-l
titioonfsc ommo n Germanname s, evetnh ought hee mbodiedn ameo f
JoseBfl oclhe aduss t os earcfho ro theKra fknaame allusions.
Mariias t hen ame of Handownk e'mso thebru,t h isf athername 's
wasB runoa,n dc onnectitooon tsh efri guriensH andkeown' sl ife
could ben oets tablishVeadr.i oaunsa graanmd a crostpiact terns
coulndo tbe discoverneodrd, � �t heg rouspe em tobe prefiguirned
anyh istoricpoalli,t icaolr,l iteranraym see t.A pparently Handke
ish eres bnplyu singr ealisntameisc, appropritaott hee s ocialc lass
andg eographicsaelt tiongf t hes peakewrist,h oeuxtp loittihnge
allusiovred enotatiovpepo rtunity prbyo tvhiidcsel du ster of names
ina texott herwise noftoarpb rloepe rn ame avoidance.
LOS 71
Onerrci ght sayf inalltyh atH andke'uss eo fp ersonnaamels isn ot
verys ystematic.A fewc leaerx ampleosf s ignificnaanmetp laybo,t h
allusiavned d enotatiavree,n ots upportebyd otheerx ampless,u ch as
thisn ame grouwph ichis purelsye lfc ontainaendd i nwardolryg aniz�d
likea dreamo ra poem , withouetx ternraelf erence.
Turnintgo t hei dentificaotfil oocna lei nD ieA ngstd esT or­
mannsi,t m aybe notetdh atn os pecifipcla cnea mes, eitrheearl o r
fictionaalr,ep rovidiendt hes tory.T hec ountr(yA ustriias)n ot
named,a lthoupglha cewsh erBel och'tse am plaayberdo aldi ket he
UniteSdt ateosr B razialr ei ndirectrleyf errteod ( p.8 4).N either
thec ityi n whicthh es torbeyg ins( Viennan)o rt hebo rdert own to
whicBhl ocfhl eeasf tetrh emu rder( identifbyi ecdr iticass J enners­
dorfi nB urgenlainsdn )a medi n thet ext.T hisc orrespondtso t he
maskinpgr oceduroef K afkaw,h on ever mentiPornasg ueA,u stria­
Hungaroyr C zechosloviankhi ias f ictioDans; UrteilD,i eV erwandlung
andDe r Prozestsa kep lacien a nu pspecifiheodme cityw,h ilKea rl
Rossmangnoe s outt oa nA merikaf ullo fe xactc,o rrecptl acnea mes.
Handket'wos localaerse n ott reateidn exactltyh es ame way.
Fort heo peningc ityma,n y clueasr ep rovidwedh ich miatk cel ear
thatwe arei nV iennaa,l thougthh ec ity-namei ss uppressetdh:e
Prate(rp .1 6)t,h eN aschmarkt( p.7 ),t heS tephanskel(pl.e2 r0 )a,s
wellas thez weiterBe zirk( pp.1 6,2 1,2 3)w herBel ochl ives,clearly
reveatlh eV iennelsocea tion.K afknae vegri vewsi dely-knPowrna gue