Objektivität und Dichtertum: Fontanes Stilauffassung und ihre Kontexte

Although Fontane has no unified theory of style, his many critical writings contain observations on and definitions of style which this chapter systematizes and analyses within the context of nineteenth-century theoretical writings. While Fontane is often cited as defining style as the greatest possible objectivity, actually he often also argues that personal, subjective style is the mark of the "Dichter". This apparent contradiction has its basis in a fundamental distinction between a writer and a real poet and corresponds to arguments in the 1890s about the relative truth value of objectivity and subjectivity in literature.