The dear fear

The dear fear is the autobiographical debut novel by the writer Liane Dirks . The first edition appeared in 1986 by Hoffmann and Campe . The book is considered to be the first fiction work in Germany to give a voice to children affected by sexual abuse . Liane Dirks' later novel Four ways to bury my father can be seen as an indirect continuation of the book.

content

From the first-person perspective of Anne, who was 11 at the end of the book, the book describes a childhood that was marked by sexual violence by her father. Major biographical upheavals such as relocations and school enrollment are also casually portrayed, as are everyday childhood experiences. The threat to this childhood from violence and the ambivalence of the relationship with the father becomes clear on the first pages. The consolation that the father's fantasy stories mean for the girl burdened by her parents' quarrels is undermined by the wish of a plastic fish (invented by the father) to want to slip into the toddler's "pussy" while bathing. It is already clear beforehand that adults offer no protection or help for the protagonist. Using the example of a radio presenter, the child experiences: "They have soft voices and are so nice every evening and ... don't take you seriously." The experience of not being taken seriously is repeated when Anna and her sister Lou try to find a pastor to inform about the years of abuse against both girls. The pastor gives the children oranges and sends them home without support. A little later Anna has to invite her friend so that the father can see her naked and take pictures. This girl does not keep the law of silence imposed by her father on both girls and she is arrested and sentenced to several years in prison. At first Anna experiences this as a relief. Since she and her sister face massive discrimination from neighbors and classmates, their father's imprisonment is also not a carefree time. In addition, there are blame and unkind behavior on the part of the mother. Anna finally awaits her father's release from prison with a mixture of fear and longing. The family is moving to a new city for the occasion and it quickly becomes clear that the father plans to continue the sexual violence. He tries to stir up Anna's feelings of guilt and fear and intimidate her. However, Anna successfully denied his sexual desires for the first time and then confided in her mother, who actually filed a complaint. The book ends with Anna's testimony to the police.

reception

The novel received numerous praise immediately after its publication. Volker Hage judged in the Spiegel that the book was "remarkably stylish". In 1986 he was shortlisted for the aspekte literature award and the literature award of the city of Bremen . In 1990, then Family Minister Ursula Lehr included the book in her “No violence against children” campaign.

Even today, the book is still recommended in specialist circles as background literature, as it enables an empathy with the lives of girls affected by sexual violence.

expenditure

The novel was first published in 1986 as a hardcover by Hoffmann and Campe. Between 1989 and 1992 four editions appeared as a rororo paperback . In 1996 there was another paperback edition in the btb series from Goldmann Verlag . In 2008 another paperback edition was published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch , which was reprinted in 2015.

Web links

• Life and writing. Liane Dirks, accessed June 19, 2015 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Liane Dirks in conversation with Marie T. Martin “Writing is always an amalgam”. Poetenladen, September 25, 2012, accessed June 19, 2015 . 
2. ↑ Liane Dirks: The dear fear . 1st edition. Goldmann Verlag , Munich 1996, ISBN 3-442-72041-9 , p. 13-14 .
3. ↑ Liane Dirks: The dear fear . 1st edition. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-442-72041-9 , p. 9 .
4. ↑ Volker Hage: Beloved Monster . In: Der Spiegel . No. 19 , 2002, pp. 226-229 ( Online - May 6, 2002 ). Quote: "Liane Dirks has already told the story of this family and the abuse from the victim's point of view: in 1986 in her remarkably stylish debut novel Die liebe Angst "
5. ^ Rolf Everding: Liane Dirks - The art of storytelling. (No longer available online.) Golfwelt, November 13, 2012, archived from the original on June 22, 2015 ; Retrieved June 19, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ Dirk Bange: From the 1980s to the present day - the ups and downs of the debate about sexualised violence against girls and boys. (PDF) City of Hamburg, p. 9 , accessed on June 19, 2015 .