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.