A Difficult Marriage (2004-2006)

Gender, politics and the romance in literary accounts of German unification

Professor Alison Lewis
ARC Discovery Project (2004-2006)

This project focused on the interrelationship between gender, politics and the romance in literary accounts of German unification. Through an exploration of how the political "marriage" between East and West Germany, with its conventionalised gender roles, is mapped onto literary marriages, the project examined the challenges and opportunities that unification has afforded men and women. It yielded insights into the ways in which unification has rewritten the scripts for femininity and masculinity and forced a transformation of intimacy. Its findings enhanced knowledge of gender relations in post-communist Europe and the relationships between gender, the nation and modernity.