From Ritual Dance to Flight? Glimmers of the Fantastic in Robert Muller's Tropen: Der Mythos der Reise

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    Abstract

    In this article, I examine how the Austrian writer Robert Müller--in his novel Tropen: Der Mythos der Reise from 1915--depicts the protagonist Brandlberger's experience of watching ritual dances of the Dumara tribe in the Amazon. Brandlberger observes two series of dances: first, the tribesmen in a communal dance and second, the priestess Zana in a series of solos and duets. His dance depictions continually hint at developing fantastical and intensifying animalistic elements such as the tribesmen Moki donning wings and flying--as a result of Zana's ecstatic dancing--as well as her multiple transformations into animals. Likely aware of the expressionist dance movement (Ausdruckstanz)--represented by Rudolf Laban, Mary Wigman, and others, Müller, I argue, depicts similar literary dance forms but also departs from these styles by demonstrating how humans can attain fantastic qualities through dance.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)101-120
    JournalJournal of Austrian Studies
    Volume48
    Issue number2
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

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