Open Access

Libor Marek

• Der Beitrag enthält eine Analyse des 1927 erschienenen Romans Der Sprung ins Ungewisse von Paul Zifferer, einem wenig bekannten, aus Mähren stammenden österreichischen Schriftsteller. Dieses Prosawerk bietet eine bemerkenswerte Auffassung des Phänomens Zentrum und Peripherie aus territorialer, sozialer, psychologischer, kultureller und politischer Sicht. Überdies stellt es ein wenig erforschtes Kapitel der literarischen Moderne dar.
• In conclusion, it could be noted that the novel by Paul Zifferer Der Sprung ins Ungewisse 'The Leap into the Uncertain' (1927) covers a broad scale of applications of the centre and periphery dichotomy. It concerns various fields: politics, economy, psychology, culture. Finally, this topic receives predominantly an ethical and metaphysical dimension. The symbolic initiation act at the beginning of the novel, Anton Muhr's attempt at suicide, did induce that. The novel provides a link between aesthetic modernism and the modern, pragmatic industrial world. The interculturality and multiplicity of identity of the modern man represent basic parts of the new world order. The main character Anton Muhr is searching for truth and the meaning of things in the reality of modern world. Paul Zifferer's work (1879-1929) belongs to unexplored chapters of German or rather Austrian literary history. This contribution should initiate such research.