The Invention of the Impossible

This study examines the development of Elfriede Jelinek`s writing from its beginnings to the 21st century against the background of the development of the literary field, i.e. taking into account the poetics existing at the time in the German-speaking world. It is shown that Jelinek`s writing takes up various tendencies of the literary field in the respective phases of her work but at the same time turns against them, or paradoxically combines them in a way not previously thought possible. The monograph understands Jelinek`s work in terms of the contemporary aesthetic context, but also its innovativeness. The `formation phase` from 1970- 1990 is central, but there are also glimpses of the period after her Nobel Prize of 2004. The aspect of intertextuality, which is immensely important for Jelinek, is examined in detail, as are issues of intermediality, authorship and gender.