Die Sprache der Mode in dem Roman »Menschen im Hotel« (1929) von Vicki Baum

Summary

This paper deals with the meaning of the word »fashion« and tries to adapt the linguistic theories of Saussure and Barthes to a very popular Austrian best-seller of the 1930s written by Vicky Baum: Menschen im Hotel (1929). The linguistic and literary analysis of the characters and events of the novel have demonstrated that »fashion« has an objective and communicative meaning, thanks to which the denotative level of language becomes a connotative one. The best example of this transfer of meaning can be seen in the main character of the novel: Mr. Kringelein, a poor provincial worker, who wishes to emulate his manager chef, Mr. Preysing. The metamorphosis of Mr. Kringelein in his clothing and behaviour testifies — even though only on the surface — his desire to belong to the upper class. The novel ends in showing that the new lifestyle of the character hasn’t changed his rooted provincial nature. It is also interesting how the writer subverts the traditional code that fashion is a female thing and describes the male characters as those who are the only ones in the novel to be influenced by it. Female characters like the classical dancer Grusinskaja prefer not to be »illusioned« by the vanishing power of fashion. The meaning of this is to be found in the new fashion tendency (»Vermännlichung«) in women’s clothing in the 1930’s. The novel describes the hectic anonymous and luxurious life of the Grand Hotel in Berlin in the 1930s from a voyeuristic and kaleidoscopic point of view.