Patterns of Childhood (Masterplots II: World Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Christa Wolf
- First Published: 1976
- Type of Work: Social realism
- Time of Work: 1932-1947 and 1971-1975
- Setting: L. (Landsberg, Germany; later, Gorzow Wielkopolski, Poland); Mecklenburg, in the Soviet Occupation Zone; and the German Democratic Republic
- Principal Characters: Nelly Jordan, Charlotte Jordan, Bruno Jordan, Lenka
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: Dictators, Maturation or coming of age, 1970’s, Family or family life, Self-discovery, Memory, Politics, 1940’s, World War II, 1930’s, Nazism or Nazis, Germany or German people
- Locales: Mecklenburg, Germany, Landsberg, Germany
The Novel
Patterns of Childhood is an intricate interweaving of three narratives: Nelly Jordan’s childhood under National Socialism; her trip with her husband, daughter, and brother to her former hometown (now in Poland); and the difficult process of recollecting and recording her unsettling memories. In July, 1971, a two-day trip to L., which the narrator has not seen since fleeing with her family in late January, 1945, sets off a string of associations, dreams, and memories about her childhood. She is unsuccessful in organizing these recollections until...
[The entire page is 3238 words long]
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