The Intercontextuality of Self and Nature in Ludwig Tieck’s Early Works

One of the major challenges in Western literature and philosophy today is seeking non-dualistic perspectives of the world. This study examines the German romantic Ludwig Tieck (1773-1853) with just such an end in mind. It focuses on how Tieck’s early works combine multifaceted narrative contexts, like framing tales and the mixing of genres, with ambiguously defined connections among the various figures and the natural world in order to reveal unexpected and often inexplicable interdependencies. It also demonstrates how Tieck’s early novellas and novels, when considered in light of the intercontextuality of the figures in their layered tales, suggest a much less autonomous subject.