Aesthetic Dimensions in Novels by Writers from Banat

Abstract

Writers belonging to cultures once subordinated to the Austrian Empire display a dual attitude
towards the Centre: both rejection and nostalgia. These circumstances are translated into a
multitude of cultural, behavioural, psychological and psycholiterary features, as well as a wide
range of literary procedures. Sorin Titel, Miloš Crnjanski—as well as Danilo Kiš, Herta Müller
and others—are writers who lived the moment of the disintegration of the Empire, with
everything that this meant for the European literature, in general, and for the literature of the
Banat region, in particular. This study examines how such writers analyse the history of the
nations they belong to and the local perception of the Centre (administration, religion, political
leaders) while exploring how they approach themes such as exile, migration, and the trauma of
being separated from the place of birth. Moreover, it highlights the aesthetic dimensions of the
literature from Banat and the presence of the Danube as a natural link associated with the
Central-European space, together with other relevant hydronyms and toponyms.