Poetik des Scheiterns. Eine Analyse von Gregor von Rezzoris Der Schwan

Gregor von Rezzori’s novel Der Schwan presents a highly symbolic narrative struc-tured on important dichotomies such as life and death, beginning and end, childhood and adulthood. The young narrator experiences different situations, such as the suicide of his uncle, the unwished-for separation from his beloved sister, his first encounter with a girl, and the murder of a swan, to all of which he reacts in a passive way. However, he remains entan-gled in his family bonds and all these experiences come to symbolize the predestined nature of his life, which is and will be characterized by a series of failures and by his decline.