Ingeborg Bachmann
Ingeborg Bachmann: A Life of Literature and Courage
#### Full Name and Common Aliases
Ingeborg Bachmann was born on June 25, 1926, in Klagenfurt, Austria, to Anna Theresia Schück and Carl Jandl. Her full name is Ingeborg Helene Bachmann.
#### Birth and Death Dates
June 25, 1926 – October 17, 1973
#### Nationality and Profession(s)
Austrian poet, novelist, playwright, and essayist.
Early Life and Background
Ingeborg Bachmann was born into a middle-class family in Klagenfurt, Austria. Her father, Carl Jandl, was a lawyer, and her mother, Anna Theresia Schück, was a homemaker. Bachmann grew up speaking both German and Slovenian at home, which would later influence her writing style and themes.
Bachmann's early life was marked by tragedy when she lost her younger sister, Elfriede, in 1929 due to scarlet fever. This loss had a profound impact on Bachmann, shaping her views on mortality, morality, and the human condition.
Major Accomplishments
Ingeborg Bachmann's writing career spanned over two decades, during which she produced some of the most influential works of post-war German literature. Some of her notable accomplishments include:
Literary awards: Bachmann received numerous literary awards, including the Georg Büchner Prize in 1969 and the Austrian State Prize for Literature in 1973.
Poetic innovations: Her poetry collections, such as _Annie Born_ (1949) and _The Thirteenth Chime_ (1957), introduced new styles and themes to German literature, exploring the complexities of language and identity.
Notable Works or Actions
Some of Bachmann's notable works include:
Short stories: "The Caretaker" (1960) and "Simultan" (1972) are considered some of her most significant short stories.
Poetry collections: _Annie Born_ (1949), _The Thirteenth Chime_ (1957), and _Complete Poems_ (1985).
Novels: _Darkness Spreads_ (1965) is a novel that explores the lives of two women in Vienna during World War II.Impact and Legacy
Ingeborg Bachmann's legacy extends far beyond her literary achievements. She was a vocal advocate for social justice, human rights, and women's empowerment. Her writing often explored themes of identity, morality, and mortality, resonating with readers worldwide.
Bachmann's influence can be seen in the work of many contemporary writers, including Elfriede Jelinek, Christoph Ransmayr, and W.G. Sebald.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Ingeborg Bachmann is widely quoted and remembered for her:
Uncompromising honesty: Her writing often explored the complexities of human nature, tackling themes that were considered taboo at the time.
Lyrical prose: Her use of language was innovative and expressive, creating a unique narrative voice that captivated readers.
Courage in the face of adversity: Bachmann's life was marked by personal tragedy, but she continued to write with courage and conviction, inspiring generations of writers.
Ingeborg Bachmann's legacy serves as a reminder of the power of literature to capture the human experience.
Quotes by Ingeborg Bachmann
Ingeborg Bachmann's insights on:
My favorite, how did you put it now? Landscapes, animals, plants? Favorite what? Books, music, architecture, painting? I don’t have any favorite animals, no favorite mosquitoes, favorite beetles, favorite worms, even with the best will in the world I cannot tell you which birds or fish or predators I prefer, it would also be difficult for me to have to choose much more generally.
She has learned not to be nervous in rooms in which people take note of each other, weigh up, write down, write off, avoid, eye up. She doesn’t dream, she is simply at rest. Others seek peace of mind, Miranda had peace of eye.
In the end he’ll find out what’s going on with me, since we still have the rest of our lives. Maybe not ahead of us, maybe just today, but we do have our lives, there’s no doubt about that.
What of those loving, accepting, understanding voices? Do you hear them? Or do you only hear what hurts?
I’ll worship animals in the night, I’ll lay violent hands on the holiest icons, I’ll clutch at all lies, I’ll grow bestial in my dreams and will allow myself to be slaughtered like a beast.
What actually is possible, however, is transformation. And the transformative effect that emanates from new works leads us to new perception, to a new feeling, new consciousness.
A single tear forms, just in the corner of one eye, but it doesn’t roll down my cheek; it merely crystallizes in the cold air, it grows and grows into a second giant globe that doesn’t want to orbit with the world – it breaks off from the planet and plunges into infinity.
The arrogance to insist on her own unhappiness, her own loneliness, had always been in her, but only now did it venture to emerge; it blossomed, ran wild, smothered her. She was unredeemable and nobody should have the effrontery to redeem her, to know the millennium in which the red-blossoming rods that had grown inseparably entangled would spring apart and leave the path open. Come, sleep, come, thousand years, that I may be awoken by another hand.