Margarethe von Trotta's Sisters and the Grimms' Fairy Tales

Margarethe von Trotta's Sisters and the Grimms' Fairy Tales Peter G. Christensen Marquette University Although most critical attention devoted to Margarethe von Trotta has centered on Marianne und Juliane because of its overt treatment ofthe German political situation, we should not forget that the less "topical" Schwestern oder die Balance des Glücks, or Sisters, also treats social problems that are specifically encoded as "German." In Sisters one of the chiefproblems under consideration is the legacy ofthe Grimms' fairy tales. For the contemporary artist, do they represent the dead weight of the past or a source of inspiration? In an analysis of this question, several published materials are useful : the screenplay, interviews with the director, and critical discussion. The screenplay was published under the film's title by Fischer Verlag in 1979, the year of the film's release. However, it is not identical in every respect to the film, particularly in the last scenes. This edition also includes an extensive interview with von Trotta and a partial diary ofthe shooting. More interview material is available through Jeune Cinéma ("Retrouver la force du rêve"), the New York Times (Insdorf), and the Village Voice (Rickey). Critics have been particularly concerned with the contrasting personalities ofthe two sisters. Carol Bergman astutely observes that von Trotta "use[s] the theme of sisterhood in [her] films as a metaphor for exploring the divided self of modern Germany." The dark characters, Miriam in Sisters and Ruth in Sheer Madness represent the unconscious, repressed part ofGermany. These "Jewish" women arejuxtaposed with the Aryan, efficient types such as Olga in Sheer Madness and Maria in Sisters (47). E. Ann Kaplan, writing mostly in reference to Marianne und Juliane, feels that von Trotta shows in her films the "strong attraction that women feel for qualities in other women that they themselves do not possess" and the "difficulty women have in establishing boundaries between self and Other" (107). Hans-Bernhard Moeller believes that von Trotta concurs with Marcuse in Eros and Civilization in that "both feel that female attributes would be desirable for mankind as a whole" (60). Other critics have disliked what they feel is a schematization of the sisters. Renate Möhrmann (202) finds Sisters pretentious and didactic. Wolfram Schütte (70) agrees, noting the "exaggerated clarity of [the 211 212Rocky Mountain Review sisters'] different modes ofbehavior." For him, the characters are types rather than fully realized creations. Christian-Albrecht Gollub points out that critics in West Germany "found that there was insufficient motivation on the part of the three 'sisters' to justify their actions" (298). Viewers often have differing opinions as to whether the ending ofSisters works or not. For example, Thomas Elsaesser (175-76) feels that Maria cannot learn much from her experience with Miriam. Anna Kuhn sees the possibility that Maria will develop into a fully integrated woman (84).1 In contrast, Paul Coates finds the ending simply ineffective (40). The question of Maria's potential for growth and change is one example of Germany's attempt to come to grips with its own cultural past. In the 1970s in West Germany two sisters, in their twenties, lead a life of unhealthy emotional dependency. Maria, the elder, is a private secretary who finances Anna's studies in biochemistry. When Maria falls in love with Maurice, the boss's son, Anna kills herself and promises to haunt her. Maria, extremely distressed, finds a co-worker, Miriam, to take Anna's place. However, when the younger woman discovers Anna 's revelations in her diaries, she flees in horror. Maria resolves to unify both sisters within herself and put together a new, better life. In explaining how she came upon this story, von Trotta told Carrie Rickey ofthe Village Voice, "I was impelled to reinvent Grimm. Bruno Bettelheim was on my mind, and I just had to make a fairy tale, because it's in fairy tales that when you have a cruel feeling, you can overcome it" (44). Von Trotta's sympathetic reading of Bettelheim's conservatively Freudian The Uses ofEnchantment is well worth probing , as many women have had strong reservations about the value of its pronouncements. Her statement implies an acceptance...