Wenzel, Regina Angela

About the author: Born and brought up in southern Germany, Regina Wenzel moved to England in 1990. After graduating from King’s College London with first-class honours, she completed a master’s degree at Cambridge, then returned to London to write her PhD. Dr. Wenzel now works as a translator in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

Changing Notions of Money and Language in German Literature From 1509-1956

2002 0-7734-7058-1
This study examines the multiple relations between money and language, e.g. abstraction, arbitrary assignment of meaning, ready negotiability and exchangeability, and the way these issues are reflected by and upon in some key works of German literature. It demonstrates how changing notions are explored, affecting not only plots and characters, but also impinging on the very language of the texts themselves. The literary investigation covers Fortunatus, Till Eulenspiegel, Nathan der Weise, Kabale und Liebe, Peter Schlemihl, Faust II, Soll und Haben, Der grüne Heinrich, Buddenbrooks, Von morgens bis mitternachts and Der Besuch der Alten Dame in the light of contemporary world view and man’s role within it, socio-economic developments, monetary practice, and linguistic changes as well as linguistic reflections.