Writing Careers

The Swiss novelist and playwright Max Frisch (1911- 1991) has long been known both as the 'angry man of Swiss letters' and as a major European writer who boldly confronted problems of human identity in the modern world. This book provides a new and illuminating perspective on Frisch's achievement by examining a neglected dimension of his fiction: the professions exercised by his major characters, and the extent to which these professions satisfy and fulfil them. That this was a fundamental preoccupation of Frisch is revealed by an examination of Frisch's own mid-career switch of profession, from successful architect to writer. Proceeding from this, the study demonstrates that the professional careers of Frisch's fictional creations Anatol Stiller, Walter Faber and Theo Gantenbein are to be seen as an essential feature of the personal struggle of each to find and assert a meaningful identity, not just in an economic or social, but ultimately also in a metaphysical sense. This original approach provides an abundance of fascinating new insights into the work of Frisch.