“Ganz gewöhnlicher Ekel”? Disgust and Body Motifs in Jenny Erpenbeck’s Geschichte vom alten Kind

Erpenbeck's 1999 novella Geschichte vom alten Kind is characterised by pervasive physical metaphors, in particular depictions of bodily disgust, which can be read allegorically as referring both to the GDR and to post-Wende issues. The author's symbolic use of the body is mirrored on a thematic level in that the protagonist communicates primarily through a form of 'body language'. These bodily motifs, especially disgust with its ambiguous double role in both protecting yet threatening boundaries, are extremely successful in expressing the fluidity of social structures. However, the novella may reproduce potentially misogynistic stereotypes of the adult female body as inherently unruly, irrational or disgusting.