Family discourses on RAF terrorism: Elfriede Jelinek’s Ulrike Maria Stuart and Bernhard Schlink's Das Wochenende

This article examines the role of family structures in the representation of RAF terrorism in contemporary German-language theatre and literature by comparing Elfriede Jelinek’s Ulrike Maria Stuart (2006) and Bernhard Schlink’s Das Wochenende (2008). In the case of Elfriede Jelinek’s play, we explore its sources (both in Schiller’s eponymous tragedy and in popular discourses on terrorist "chic") in order to assess its critique of the family and gender stereotypes underlying the portrayal of the female terrorist. Our discussion of Bernhard Schlink’s novel focuses on the representation of intergenerational conflicts and the question how family structures and emotions may enable former terrorists to reintegrate into society even when there is no sign of remorse. In both cases, we discuss which aesthetic strategies and family structures both writers use and enact to either prevent or enable cathartic responses to the violence of terrorism