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Das Kunstseidene Madchen Essay

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DAS KUNSTSEIDENE MÄDCHEN

Irmgard Keun's 1931 novel, "Das Kunstseidene M&#228;dchen", which has been translated into English as "The Artificial Silk Girl", is one of the most famous of Germany's `Neue Sachlichkeiten' works. This particular novel, in which the protagonist, Doris, a young working class German girl from Cologne, who dreams of the glitz and glamour and bright lights of the big city, Berlin - in her own words, she wants to be a "Glanz"<em>"Glamour Girl" - suffered subsequent censorship at the hands of Hitler's Nazi regime. This was due to the manner in which Doris is portrayed. Her behaviour and attitude towards men and her sexual relationships all greatly disturbed the National Socialist German society, which in …show more content…

This, in comparison to her relationship with Ernst, whereby by this stage he is the only man she is having a sexual relationship with, and the eventual collapse of her and Ernst's relationship caused by Doris' discovery that Ernst is in fact still in love with his estranged wife, would indicate that, although her feelings for Hubert may have been extremely strong and register very deeply in her - "Mein Herz ist ein Gramophon und spielt aufregend mit spitzer Nadel in meiner Brust..."</em>"My heart is a gramophone and plays excitedly in my breast with sharpened needles..." Her feelings are merely those of a young, naive girl who does not yet fully understand the complexities of love. She is perhaps simply infatuated rather than in love. This is again accentuated when she shares one of her experiences of sleeping with Hubert, and immediately regrets it;

."..das machte mich b&#246;se und voll Ekel. Mit einem Fremden schlafen...machte eine Frau schlecht."<em>"that made me feel and bad and totally disgusted. Sleeping with a stranger...makes a woman feel bad."

Her desire for glitz and glamour has made her materialistic, and the only thing that comforts her after this experience is her stolen fur coat.

Infatuation is further insinuated during this part of the novel, when she describes Hubert as a photograph, ."..und habe mit einem Fotografie geschlafen"</em>"I've slept with a photograph" . This

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