Die konservative Seite des Lachens. Sebastian Brunners Romansatire «Die Prinzenschule zu Möpselglück» (1848)

Abstract

This essay investigates the literary work of Sebastian Brunner (1814-1893), a politically conservative Austrian writer. Focusing on his satirical novel «Die Prinzenschule zu Möpselglück» (1848), it argues two theses. First, it will show that the religiously and politi­cally conservative worldview the novel articulates is not a regression behind Enlightenment ideals. Second, it argues that this novel, despite its strong polemic against the political agenda of the Jungdeutschen, is a direct heir to their aesthetic innovations of the genre.