The Function of Biography in Sebald ‘ s Die Ringe des Saturn

1. The Function of Biography in Sebald‘s Die Ringe des Saturn Lisa Fleischmann and Johanna Heidrich

2. Table of Content • Biographies in General • Joseph Conrad • Roger Casement • Commonalities Conrad/Casement • How Sebald uses Biographies • Conclusion

3. Biographies in General • Sebald presents personalities that came into contact with Suffolk: real/invented, famous/unknown • “Because of their mediation through personal experience, otherwise stale facts, such as […] the colonial rule in the Congo assume the vividness of lived experience” (Gray 2010: 32) • Invention of the gardener William Hazel • Parallels between the lives of Sebald and e.g. Browne, Swynburne, Hamburger, Garrad

4. Joseph Conrad Childhood: • * 1857 in Ukraine as Theodor Josef Konrad Korzeniowski • Father in conspiracy, arrested and temporarily sent to Russian exile • Mother dies of tuberculosis when Joseph is 8 “[des Vaters] Lebenswille ist gebrochen [..], kaum dass er sich der Instruktion seines von so viel Unglück bedrücktem Sohn zu widmen vermag”(Sebald:130) • Joseph becomes rather sensitive, introverted: writes patriotic plays, reads a lot, witnesses father’s dying process • At age 16, he wants to become a sailor, leaves for Marseille, leaves for 16 years

5. Joseph Conrad Life as a seafarer: • does a lot of travelling by ship • travels over the Atlantic sea for the first time in 1875 • travels to "Westindischen Inseln, nach Cap-Haiten, nach Port-au-Prince, nach St.Thomas [..] und St.Pierre" (Sebald:134) to transfer goods Wild days / „französische Lehrjahre“ (137): • "eine aus Adligen, Bohemians, Geldgebern, Abenteurern und spanischen Legitimisten seltsam gemischte Gesellschaft" (Sebald:134f) • illegal businesses, mysterious love affair, mysterious shooting

6. Joseph Conrad Congo experiences: • until 1890 he becomes Captain and British citizen • works for "Société Anonyme pour le Commerce du Haut-Congo“ • sees the work exploitation and abuse of native inhabitants by European companies • "erkennt [..] im Lauf der langen Seereise allmählich den Wahnwitz des ganzen kolonialen Unternehmens" (Sebald:142)

7. Joseph Conrad Congo Reality: Congo Description: uncivilised "von den Segnungen der Zivilisation unberührt" (144) "Finsternis durchbrechen" (144) "edler Zweck" (143) "Kreuzzug" (144) "Jahrhundert des Fortschritts" (144) exploitation suppression no law "Zwangsarbeits- und Sklavensystem" (144) "finsterstes Kapitel des Kolonialismus" (143)

8. Joseph Conrad Congo experiences: • Has to walk through wilderness 40 days, experiences what inspires him to his later book „Heart of Darkness“ • hates working for the Société, disgusted by treatment of natives

9. Joseph Conrad • meets Roger Casement in Congo, perceives him as „den einzigen geradsinnigen Menschen“ (Sebald: 126) • returns, literally sick of colonialism: “krank am Leib und an der Seele, sodass er sich selbst den Tod wünscht“ (Sebald:147) • wrote some of the most famous novels in British literature • † 1924 because of heart failure

10. Roger Casement • “Wer den Oberlauf des Kongo hinauffährt […] vor dessen Augen entfaltet sich die Agonie eines ganzen Volkes in all ihren herzzerreißenden, die biblischen Leidensgeschichten weit in den Schatten stellenden Einzelheiten’” (Sebald:154) Fuchs: ‘Von der Bio- zur Hagiografie’: stylised as a saint Born in 1864, hanged in 1916: high treason Poet Critic of colonialism in the Congo/South America/Ireland Report from 1903:

11. Roger Casement • Activism in South America “Bericht und bedingungsloser Einsatz für die Rechtlosen und Verfolgten” (Sebald:156) • Lifted to the ranks of nobility but “[…] nicht bereit, auf die Seite der Macht überzuwechseln” (Sebald:156) • Emotional tone • Casement as isolated hero • Was involved with imperialism: does not become clear (e.g. Association Internationale pour l’Exploration et la Civilisation en Afrique)

12. Roger Casement • Parallels between the Congo/South America and his home country Ireland “Das den Iren über Jahrhunderte hinweg angetane Unrecht erfüllte immer mehr sein von Mitleidenschaft tiefer als von jeder anderen Regung geprägtes Bewusstsein”(Sebald:157) • Suppression as global phenomenom “weiße Indianer von Irland”(Sebald:157) • Formation of the Ulster Volunteers (1912)

13. Roger Casement • Arrested in 1915 • Imprisoned in the Tower of London: no legal assistance  isolated • Publication of Black Diaries

14. Roger Casement • Revelation of his homosexuality in Black Diaries “[…], dass es möglicherweise gerade die Homosexualitaet Casements war, die ihn befähigte, […] die andauernde Unterdrückung, Ausbeutung, Versklavung und Verschrottung derjenigen zu erkennen, die am weitesten entfernt waren vom Zentrum der Macht” (Sebald:162) • Hagiographic depiction: leaves no space to refer to his supporters • Hanged in 1916 • Exhumation in 1965: reminds of resurrection

15. CommonalitiesConrad/Casement • Were both critics of Colonialism • Wanted to interfere into history and change it positively • Met during their time in the Congo

16. How Sebald uses biographies • Romantische Geschichtsallegorese → selecting and interpreting facts to influence the reader‘s towards a romantic perception of history → filling biographic gaps with biased imagination "Versuch der heroischen Intervention in den Geschichtsverlauf“ (Fuchs:191) • Conrads mythopoetic elevation → men as archetypal, superior figures → everything he does is strong, conscious and meaningful • Depicting Casement as isolated fighter instead of part of movement • Mixing Joseph‘s Biography with novel protagonist Marlow „intertextuelles Verfahren typische Überblendung“ (Fuchs:199)

17. Conclusion • Uses Biographies to present personalities that came into contact with Suffolk • Emphasises those aspects of their biography which support his romantic view of history • Conrad and Casement represent the fight against colonialism which he condems throughout the novel • Biographies illustrate how there are these important heroic figures which shaped the course of history

18. Bibliography Primary Literature: • Sebald, W.G.: Die Ringe des Saturn – Eine englische Wallfahrt. Frankfurt: Fischer Verlag 1995. Secondary Literature: • Fuchs, Anne: Die Schmerzensspuren der Geschichte – Zur Poetik der Erinnerung in W.G. Sebalds Prosa. Köln: Böhlau Verlag 2004. • Gray, Richard T.: Sebald's Segues: Performing Narrative Contingency in ‘The Rings of Saturn’. In: The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory. London: Routledge 2010, pp. 26-58. • Schütte, Uwe: W.G. Sebald. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2011.