18 - High Concept: Time, the Universe, and Everything

Summary

THIS FINAL CHAPTER is not intended as a “mop-up operation” for German SF narratives that do not fit into the thematic strands explored thus far. In fact, each of the following examples could have easily found a home in one or more of the strands discussed before. But what sets them apart is an elusive quality of transcendence, a search for epiphanic moments, a desire not to be too specific in their anticipation of the future but rather to act as artistic statements—about concepts like time, love, or the meaning of life—that the readers or viewers will have to come to terms with for themselves.

Marlen Haushofer's novel Die Wand (1963) is a perfect example of this type of text: an unnamed forty-year-old woman spends her vacation in a hunting lodge in the Austrian Alps. Overnight, a transparent wall appears that separates the woman and the mountain region around her from the outside world. There is no sign of life outside the wall; in fact, beyond the wall animals (and a single person visible in the distance) seem to be immobile while plants continue to grow. The woman is left not simply to survive on her own but also to develop the resilience to cope with her loneliness. She quickly rules out ending her life:

I lay in bed shivering, wondering what to do. I could commit suicide or try to dig under the wall, something that would most likely turn out to be a more laborious way of killing myself. Of course, I could simply stay and try to remain alive. I wasn't young enough to seriously contemplate suicide. What really prevented me from going through with that was the thought of Luchs and Bella [the dog and the cow], and a certain curiosity. The wall was an enigma, and I would have never been able to steal away while there was a riddle to be solved.

With hard work, she manages to eke out a life, having only a dog, a cat, and a pregnant cow as her companions. She learns to look after the animals and secure food, and she spends the summer months further up the mountains in a hut on the alpine pastures, experiencing moments of inner peace and acceptance of her situation.