Telling about the Truth: Negotiations of Credibility in German Narratives

Abstract

This dissertation is a study of how various German narratives from the nineteenth century to the present tell stories that are interrupted or framed by discourse on storytelling itself. More specifically, I examine the various means by which authors in different periods have sought to address and undermine the idea that a story must be believable. The classic frame narrative is one example of how the problem of credibility has been confronted, and yet I suggest that frames are often employed by authors for the very reason that contrary to their perceived function, they are inherently unstable. Frame narratives, interwoven stories, unbelievable occurrences, or less than credible storytellers are all ways by which the texts examined here reflect on their own production and create ambiguity about levels of reality and the connections between different story levels.