university of oklahoma graduate college the life and work of gretel karplus/adorno

177 Pages·2004·1.52 MB·English

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
GRADUATE COLLEGE
THE LIFE AND WORK OF GRETEL KARPLUS/ADORNO:
HER CONTRIBUTIONS TO FRANKFURT SCHOOL THEORY
A Dissertation
SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
BY
STACI LYNN VON BOECKMANN
Norman, Oklahoma
2004
UMI Number: 3147180
UMI Microform3147180
Copyright2005 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company.
All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against
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THE LIFE AND WORK OF GRETEL KARPLUS/ADORNO:
HER CONTRIBUTIONS TO FRANKFURT SCHOOL THEORY
A Dissertation APPROVED FOR THE
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
BY
_____________________________
Prof. Catherine Hobbs (Chair)
_____________________________
Prof. David Gross
_____________________________
Assoc. Prof. Susan Kates
_____________________________
Prof. Helga Madland
_____________________________
Assoc. Prof. Henry McDonald
© Copyright by Staci Lynn von Boeckmann 2004
All Rights Reserved
To the memory of my grandmother,
Norma Lee Von Boeckman
iv
Acknowledgements
There a number of people and institutions whose contributions to my work
I would like to acknowledge. For the encouragement that came from being made
a Fulbright Alternative in 1996, I would like to thank the Fulbright selection
committee at the University of Oklahoma. I would like to thank the American
Association of University Women for a grant in 1997-98, which allowed me to
extend my research stay in Frankfurt am Main. Without their assistance, this
project may not have had the opportunity to get off the ground. I want to thank
the women of the Belleville Branch of the AAUW, especially Carol Jean Peters,
for their interest and dialogue about my project in 1999-2000, where I was
fortunate enough to meet some of the faces behind the generous grant program
to which each Branch contributes.
I want to turn now to the point when the project first became “real” to me
with my arrival in Frankfurt am Main and to the woman who showed me which
doors needed to be opened and who gave me the courage to knock on them:
Dr. Gisela Engel of the Center for Early Modern Studies at the University of
Frankfurt. In addition to her own engagement with my project throughout nearly
every stage of its progress, Dr. Engel gave me the opportunity to present my
early research in a lecture series in women’s studies sponsored by her Center,
which put me in contact with students and professors whose input further
fostered the growth of my ideas and enriched the project in important ways.
Over the years since we first met in 1996, her friendship has become an
invaluable source of intellectual stimulation, humor and excellent food.
I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance over the years
of Elisabeth Matthias, librarian at the Institute of Social Research. Though the
library is not officially open to the public, Ms. Matthias allowed me to look through
its collection for any traces of Gretel Adorno it might contain. She shared her
extensive knowledge of the Institute’s holdings to steer me in the right direction,
dialogued with me daily about my findings, no matter how small, and brain-
stormed approaches to telling the life of “Mrs. Adorno.”
Jochen Stollberg, Director of the Archive Center of the University of
Frankfurt, which houses, among others, both the Horkheimer and Löwenthal
Archives, deserves special thanks for a variety of reasons – not least for making
my archival research one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of this
project. He creates a sense of camaraderie among those using the archive at
any given time through his “coffee breaks” during which we all discussed our
projects and progress in a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere. I was lucky
enough during my time in his archive to meet two fellow doctoral students,
Thomas Wheatfield from Boston College and Eric Oberle from Standford, who
shared their own extensive knowledge of the Frankfurt School and its history with
me, and enlivened my own research with their curiosity and enthusiasm.
Thanks goes as well to my friends and colleagues formerly of the
University of Frankfurt: Änne Söll, Astrid Wilkens, Iris Bachmann, and Katja van
v
de Rakt. They were the circle who most closely followed my project and pushed
me toward its completion, helping me rethink approaches as problems arose.
Our evenings belaboring translations over a bottle of wine and our afternoons
volleying ideas in Frankfurt’s cafes were some of the loveliest moments in the
history of this project.
My most recent back-up comes from my newest friend, Sally
Ziegelgänsberger, whom I would like to thank for my Friday afternoons at the
libraries of the University of Munich, where things finally came together once and
for all. She not only encouraged me not to give up, but by watching my two year
old daughter on these afternoons, made it possible for me to have uninterrupted
time to write at least that one sacred day of the week.
My parents, Jim and Vicki Von Boeckman, receive my eternal gratitude for
their steadfast support throughout my entire education. Their financial, logistical
and emotional assistance, especially during my doctoral studies, has been far
above and beyond that of any normal parental “obligation”. My father, especially,
has been waiting for this moment for a long time. He can be proud of his
contribution to my achievements.
My indebtedness to my husband, Dr. Stephen L. Starck, spans the entire
spectrum of things involved in completing this dissertation. He has been with me
since I wrote the first word of my project proposal through to the bitter end. He
has celebrated my discoveries, wept with me at my disappointments and kept me
going during difficult times. He has born the lion’s share of the burden of
supporting our family for the last three years so that I could devote time to writing
and has spent all his free time watching Hattie, so “mommy” could work – all the
while putting his own writing on hold. Above all, I am pleased to be able to return
the favor now and let him get back to his calling.
I want to thank the members of my committee for their patience and
support despite periods of hesitation on my part and, finally, my chair, Professor
Catherine Hobbs, whose commitment to me and this project has been
extraordinary. Her support in every aspect of its coming-into-being has been
integral to my success. She is an outstanding educator and a tremendous
human being.
vi
Table of Contents
Dedication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 1: Feminist Critiques of the Biographical Tradition . . . . . . . 26
Chapter 2: Gretel Karplus/Adorno: Reconstructing a Life, Part I . . . 51
Chapter 3: Felicitas, The Correspondence of Gretel Karplus and
Walter Benjamin, 1933-1940 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Chapter 4: Reconstructing a Life, Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
List of Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
vii
List of Abbreviations
HGS Horkheimer Gesammelte Schriften
AHBW Adorno/Horkheimer Briefwechsel
ALBW Adorno/Lenk Briefwechsel
WBGS Walter Benjamin Gesammelte Schriften
WBGB Walter Benjamin Gesammelte Briefe
CC Adorno/Benjamin Complete Correspondence
viii
Introduction
Origins and evolution of the project
I became interested in Gretel Karplus when I read the Correspondence of
Walter Benjamin, while preparing for my doctoral examinations. I had not known
until then that Benjamin had enjoyed a close relationship with Adorno’s wife. I
had always and only ever heard of the intimate, intellectual ties between the two
men. Thus, it struck me as peculiar that in the letters of this volume such a
significant number were addressed to Karplus. These letters reveal a close
friendship based on mutual trust. Benjamin discusses his daily life, his worries,
his hopes, and his work with Karplus, particularly the Passagenarbeit, on which
he worked so passionately during his Paris exile. Turning to the index of
correspondents in the back of the volume of letters, I was further intrigued to find
that Karplus had held a PhD. She was an accomplished woman, who had
intimate intellectual ties to two of the most influential philosophers of the 20th
century.
These appearances of Karplus in the margins of Benjamin's writing were
complemented by Horkheimer and Adorno's reference to her in the preface to the
1969 edition of Dialectic of Enlightenment as nothing less than a collaborator.
There they write, “In the extension of our theory and the accompanying mutual
experiences, Gretel Adorno has been a precious helper” (x). Karplus is further
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