«Ich befand mich in einer völlig fremden Welt». Neapels kulturelle Fremderfahrung in den Reisetagebüchern der Goethes

Abstract

The journey to Italy represents for the Goethes a cultural heirloom
which is passed down through three generations (Johann Caspar, Johann
Wolfgang, August). It is a real learning experience discovering
classical antiquity, where their mindscape and emotional world become
wider. Naples embodies the culmination of their Italian
journey, since the city in Southern Italy was usually the last destination
of the Grand Tour in Italy. Foreignness means a positive articulation
of cultural difference as such. In their trip journals, the Reise
nach Süden shapes itself as a perilous voyage to an unknown land: in
Naples they cross inner and outer thresholds between life and death,
heaven and hell. My aim in this essay is to investigate both the different
explorations in their journals and their different cultural relationship
with the Fremde, which is connected to their own stories,
time and social roles.