Marie Berndt

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, IAAK, Graduate Student

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Marie Berndt has studied a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in English Literatures and Cultures at the universities of Bonn, Swansea and Perugia. Her MA thesis, “‘Jamaicans wid ah different flag’: Representations of Precarious LGBTQ Lives in Jamaican Fiction of the New Millennium”, has been nominated for the Queen’s Prize and has won the GAPS Graduate Award in 2019 and is published on the website of the Association for Anglophone Postcolonial Studies. Marie is currently employed as an academic researcher at the Department for English, American and Celtic Studies of the University of Bonn where she will be teaching her first MA class this winter semester. She is also working on her PhD project with the preliminary title “Precarious Lives in Contemporary Anglophone Caribbean Literature”.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Barbara Schmidt-Haberkamp

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Papers by Marie Berndt

The Role of the British in the Biafran War: Historical Reality and Literary Representation in the Novels "Destination Biafra" by Buchi Emecheta and "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This BA-Thesis begins the analysis of the role that the state Great Britain and its people as an ... more This BA-Thesis begins the analysis of the role that the state Great Britain and its people as an entity played in the Biafran War by elaborating on the historical circumstances that led to its outbreak. In a background chapter, it first discloses the extent of British influence before and during the time of colonialism and examines the role Britain played in Nigeria's acquisition of independence in 1960, as well as its involvement shortly before and during the war. In the analysis chapters, it is analysed how Britain as a state and British individuals were perceived in Nigeria - and vice versa - insofar as this is displayed in the two novels. Beginning with Emecheta's text, it will become obvious, that the basic information given is in close accordance to the known historical circumstances depicted in the previous chapter. Her character Alan Grey, as the main representative of the United Kingdom, is examined with regard to his appearance, actions and opinions, his relationship to Debbie Ogedemgbe and the reaction Nigerians show upon meeting him. Other British characters featuring in this book are briefly discussed as well. Special attention is given to the opening and the closing scene of Destination Biafra. Moving on to Adichie's novel, it is shown, that her novel does not give such a well structured overview of the political events in comparison, but the little information given on the topic will be collected. Then, the British main character Richard Churchill is analysed with regard to his personality, his involvement in politics, his relationship to Kainene Ozobia and the way her is perceived by others. In doing so similarities and differences between Emecheta's character Alan and Adichie's Richard are pointed out. Finally, the character Susan is assessed as an alternative, perhaps more typical image of colonial Britishness.

"Manderley, our Manderley": The Central Role of the Country House and Garden in Rebecca

In the main part of this term paper, I argue that the country house and its adjacent gardens and ... more In the main part of this term paper, I argue that the country house and its adjacent gardens and landscape have three main functions in relation to the plot of Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca: First, the depiction of Manderley adds to the analysis of the two main female characters, Rebecca and the second Mrs de Winter. Second, descriptions of Manderley and the gardens are intended to create a gloomy atmosphere that is typical for Gothic novels and they foreshadow the novel's plot line – including the murder secretly conducted by Maxim de Winter and the fire that eventually destroys Manderley. Third, the estate is the immediate cause of Rebecca's death. The second part of this paper is concerned with the various meanings that can be read into the destruction of Manderley at the end of the novel.

Kei Miller's "First Book of Chronicles" and "Second Book of Chronicles" as Postcolonial Rewritings of the Bible

"There Is an Anger that Moves", Kei Miller's second poetry collection contains numerous reference... more "There Is an Anger that Moves", Kei Miller's second poetry collection contains numerous references to the Jamaican enactment of religion in general and the Bible in particular. The fifth chapter of the collection is named Testament and consists of a sequence of ten poems, of which each bears the title of a different book of the Old Testament. Thus, a clear connection to the Bible is drawn, even though the poems themselves do not always appear to be religious at first sight. The questions in the focus of this paper are: What is the relation between Kei Miller's Testament and the biblical Testament? Is there a connection whatsoever, apart from the title? Can his poetry be considered a postcolonial rewriting of the Bible, in a narrow or wide sense of the word?

"Your darkest actions, nay, your privat'st thoughts, will come to light": Incestuous Brother-Sister Relationships in John Webster's Revenge Tragedies

When reading John Webster's two revenge tragedies "The White Devil" and "The Duchess of Malfi", a... more When reading John Webster's two revenge tragedies "The White Devil" and "The Duchess of Malfi", a great number of excessive crimes against morality can be pointed to immediately, be it intrigue, adultery, cruelty, or murder in any form imaginable. Others, like incest, can only be discovered at closer inspection and need to be read from between the lines. This paper analyses and compares two extraordinary brother-sister relationships, namely those between Vittoria and Flamineo and of the Duchess and Ferdinand, and proves that they are strongly sexualised to a degree that might be labelled incestuous.

"We Don't Forget": Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book as a Revaluation of Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli-Stories

Rudyard Kipling is one of many authors who catered to a newly intensified interest in the years o... more Rudyard Kipling is one of many authors who catered to a newly intensified interest in the years of childhood and adolescence that emerged in the Victorian era. From today's point of view, however, his works are not unproblematic: he and his contemporary authors have often been accused of promoting values like white and male supremacy which are rooted in imperialism. Especially The Jungle Books, published in 1894 and 1895, are often seen critically. Although the corresponding world views might have been rarely questioned during Kipling's lifetime, they are for the most part considered outdated and untenable today. These accusations raise the question if and why his works should even be read by children nowadays. Neil Gaiman seems to have attempted a rewriting in this sense when he authored The Graveyard Book (2008). The aim of this paper is to identify the values and morals a child might take from either work. Has Gaiman changed the value system of The Jungle Books and if so how? Did he leave out themes that were covered by Kipling or add new facets to the original material? Has the message for children been recognisably changed through his rewriting? A strategic comparison of Kipling's and Gaiman's works is conducted in this thesis to answer those questions.

"I will tell yu de other half of my story": Reversing Ethnic Stereotypes and Derogatory Terms in Guyanese-British Poetry

The immediate result of the power of description in any heterogeneous society is inevitably a bia... more The immediate result of the power of description in any heterogeneous society is inevitably a biased representation in favour of the dominant culture. During centuries of colonialism an entire canon of derogatory terms and stereotypes has been established in the English language with the implicit purpose of securing the supremacy of 'white' over 'black' people. However, a postcolonial literature has long been developing in which the ‘periphery’ of the British Empire writes back to the imperial centre, attempting to invalidate and reverse discriminatory language. The poems selected for discussion in this paper illustrate how Guyanese-British writers John Agard and Grace Nichols contributed to this endeavour of resistance by reversing stereotypes and racist derogatory terms in their poetry. The specific poems analysed here are Grace Nichols's "Thoughts drifting through the fat black woman's head while having a full bubble bath", "The Fat Black Woman Composes a Black Poem" and "The Fat Black Woman Remembers", and John Agard's "Half-Caste" and "Coconut's Reply".

The London Underground in English Popular Culture: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere

This paper departs from two notions: first, it considers the city, in this case London, as a pali... more This paper departs from two notions: first, it considers the city, in this case London, as a palimpsest, casting one layer of history and subjective experience over the next. Second, it considers the city map, or more specifically the London Tube Map, as a simulacrum, "a model of a real without origin or reality" (cf. Baudrillard). While the first concept plays with the idea of hidden layers underneath the visible surface, the second leaves a gap between the factual reality and its more common representation which may be filled arbitrarily. In his novel Neverwhere (1996), Neil Gaiman utilises these concepts to destabilise fixed perceptions of the London Underground as a whole and to reinvent the individual identities of several London Tube stations. Knightsbridge, Earl's Court and Blackfriars are discussed in particular. Throughout the paper, Gaiman’s novelisation will present the foundation of the analysis. References to the comic book version, the TV series and the audio play will be referred to occasionally when they offer additional information or show significant changes in content or narration.

A Question of Gaps and Exchanges: Representations of Poverty in Zadie Smith's Swing Time

Zadie Smith's 2016-novel Swing Time is not centred around the theme of poverty. To the contrary, ... more Zadie Smith's 2016-novel Swing Time is not centred around the theme of poverty. To the contrary, there are many themes and issues that are more or at least equally prominently featured throughout the book – be it hobbies such as singing and dancing, relations between friends and family, political developments, or simply the various crises of growing up. However inequality, both racial and economic, crucially influences all of these matters. Therefore, this paper asks first, what exactly is meant by the term ‘poverty’, and second, why it is a topic worth discussing in literary works and criticism. Then, the four main female characters - Aimee, the narrator's mother, Tracey, and the narrator herself - are presented successively and their views and attitudes on the issue of economic inequality are analysed.