PARADIGMI GEOGRAFICI E IDENTITARI IN ELIAS CANETTI ETHOMAS BERNHARD: UNA PROSPETTIVA COMPARATIVA

This dissertation investigates the works of Thomas Bernhard and Elias Canetti, examining their narratives through an interdisciplinary approach that considers the relationship between geography and literature. The authors, whose personal relationship fluctuated between cordiality and conflict, shared a profound Herkunftskomplex – understood as a troubled relationship with their origins – which significantly influenced their literary engagement with space. The purpose of this study is to investigate how this problematic connection to places tied to their roots shaped the construction of the literary geography within their works, where spatial dynamics function as central narrative elements. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter outlines the theoretical and methodological framework of the study, emphasizing the significance of the ongoing dialogue between geography and literature in contemporary culture. The second chapter delves into the intricate relationship between Elias Canetti and Thomas Bernhard, tracing their personal and literary affinities and divergences. Their acquaintance, initially based on mutual admiration, gradually evolved into a bitter public rivalry. Despite personal tensions, both recognized each other’s literary value. Notably, Canetti’s suggestion that his novel Die Blendung may have influenced Bernhard’s Frost prompts a close examination of the interaction between their poetics. Consequently, the third chapter shows how the concept of Herkunftskomplex is consistently and systematically developed throughout the work of both authors, albeit in distinct ways. Canetti reconstructs his fragmented identity through memory within a cosmopolitan context, while Bernhard uses places as repositories of traumatic experiences, thereby reflecting on the identity crisis of postwar Austria. The fourth chapter undertakes a comparative analysis of Canetti’s Die Blendung and Bernhard’s Frost, examining how these paradigmatic works employ spatial dynamics to shape their narratives. Considering Canetti’s hypothesis regarding the influence of his novel on the genesis of Frost, the comparison focuses on the role of space as a structural narrative element capable of both orienting and disorienting the narrative.