Metamorphoses in Postmodern Literature Using the Example of Michael Krüger’s Novella The End of the Novel

Abstract

Through critical studies on Ovid’s Metamorphoses and on transformation paradigms in Western culture, this study identifies and analyses several types of metamorphoses in Michael Krüger’s "Das Ende des Romans" which regard both the narrative structure and the main character of the novella. The study also reflects on the critical strategies deployed by Krüger’s postmodern metatext to circumvent readers’ expectations and to stage the production of a literary text.