Description:

In this PhD thesis, the representation of “Gypsies” in German language prose and dramatic texts is analysed through the investigation of the development of common themes through time. In the figure of the “Gypsy”, obsolete elements of the convention for fictionalising women were able to survive. It is also shown that the elements characteristic of the fictional portrayal of “Gypsies” are subject to change and contain the potential to be transcended towards a more complex representation which gives Romanies themselves a voice, while recognising the imaginary “Gypsy” to be a construct. Allowing Romanies to take ownership of the discourse about them appears to be a first crucial step towards an improvement of the socio-economical as well as political situation of Romanies in Europe today.