Stephanie Bird presents a detailed analysis of the twin themes of female and national identity within the works of three major twentieth-century German-language women writers. Bird stresses the importance of understanding ambiguity, tension and contradiction in the fictional narratives of Ingeborg Bachmann, Anne Duden and Emine Ö zdamar. She studies the three writers closely and draws on feminist theory and psychoanalysis to clarify the complex nature of individual identity. This book will be of interest to literary and women's studies scholars as well as Germanists.

Stephanie Bird is Lecturer in German at University College London. She is the author of Recounting Historical Women (1998) and of articles in journals, including MLR, Austrian Studies and FMLS.

Introduction; Part I. Ingeborg Machmann: the Todesarten Prose: 1. Franza and the righteous servant; 2. On sharks and shame; 3. Malina: experience and feminism; Part II. Anne duden: The Suffering Body: 4. The short stories: thoughts on the body and ethics; 5. Desire and complicity in Das Judasschaf; Part III. Emine Özdamar: Performance and Metaphor: 6. Tradition out of context; 7. Metaphor's creative spark; Conclusion: das war es; Notes; Bibliography; Index.