Tove Ditlevsen and Elsa Gress

Indicators of a theoretical revival attempt

Abstract

Particularly within German literary research, there is a tradition to work with the concept of kulturkritik (cultural critique). The paper describes the common under­standing and definition of this concept and the challenges to its application that have become visible during recent years. The modern discourse challenges the definition of culture as an entity, as a consistent structure that may be subject to critique. The concept of culture has become fluid. This implies that the concept of cultural critique should also be reconsidered. 

      Taking the literary work of Elsa Gress and Tove Ditlevsen as a point of departure, the article describes a possible path towards a contemporary analytical approach to cultural critique as a concept – a path based on a theoretical foundation that may support future analyses. The paper describes an existential performative cultural critique in which the life and work of the author are parts of a field of synergy, are complementary – and alongside each other establish esthetical events that, to a smaller or larger extend, unfold through public staging.