'Philomela's revenge': Challenges to rape in recent writing in German

This article uses Ovid's Philomela myth to trace ideas of resistance to rap e within six recent German texts: Libuse Monikova's Eine Schadigung, Christ oph Hein's Der fremde Freund, Annen Groschner's Maria im Schnee, Stefan Sch utz's Schnitters Mall, Regine Nossler's STRAFE MUSS SEIN and Karen Duve's R egenroman. The myth offers three forms of resistance. Firstly, Philomela we aves a garment for her sister recounting the story of her violation. This a ct raises the notion of storytelling as form of challenge in itself. If the weaving is seen as female art it also questions what role art can play in opposing violence. Secondly, Philomela and Procne serve the rapist his own son for dinner. Here the women adopt the traditionally masculine form of vi olent resistance, subverting the simplistic dichotomy of powerful man/power less woman characteristic of patriarchal societies. Thirdly, all three char acters are changed into birds. Philomela, tongueless, becomes a nightingale , an ironic metamorphosis which again suggests the importance of music and art in retelling rape stories, but also goes further, offering the possibil ity of changing oneself, the adoption of a difference and fictional persona in order to cope with the violence perpetrated upon the real body. Within this framework, the article seeks to analyse the differing and fascinating ways in which all six modern texts develop the subversive potential inheren t in the classical myth.