Abstract:

The plot of Ödön von Horváths play Hin und her (1933) takes place on a bridge that represents a border between two countries. The protagonist is for administrative reasons forced to leave his country of residence and go across the bridge to the country where he was born. Since he has lost his citizenship and has no valid papers, he is not admitted back into his homeland and gets stuck on this bridge. He runs back and forth from one side to the other in hopes that he will be allowed to enter either of the two countries, so the bridge he finds himself on represents a place of exile and migration, but also a place of sanctuary. This paper examines the multilayered metaphor of a bridge as a place of hybridity and a heterotopia as Michel Foucault defines it. The bridge is smultaneously a place of separation as well as connection; it is a place of despair because the protagonist cannot cross it, but also a place of refuge and a means to get back to his homeland. In view of the current blurring and disappearance of ethnic and cultural differences in the process of globalzation and as a result of great global migrations, the metaphor of the bridge seems to be quite attractive. This is visible also in the numerous times the play can be found on theatre repertoires in German-speaking countries now, proving its relevance for the current situation.

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