Framed by Language

Elfriede Jelinek's wide-ranging literary production has brought her to the forefront of the Austrian literary scene. The fifteen essays collected here demonstrate the significance of this major literary voice, addressing Jelinek as a master of modernist prose, of post-modern critique of literary genres, and of stage and screen. Hers is a strong voice against domestic violence, pornography, oppression of women, and the continuance of the fascist legacy in the everyday world of contemporary Austria and Germany. Jelinek is represented in this volume with an essay on translation and is further introduced by an interview. The remaining fifteen contributions by eminent scholars from both Europe and the United States illuminate Jelinek's writings through discussions of her major works. These critical analyses of her prose and drama and their attendant bibliographies make Jelinek's fascinating and highly relevant literary world available to English-speaking readers for the first time.