"Jeder wirkliche Entschluss tötet eine Möglichkeit" : zur Darstellung und Funktionalisierung von Suiziderzählungen im Werk Heimito von Doderers

"Jeder wirkliche Entschluß tötet eine Möglichkeit" – representation and functionalization of suicides in Heimito von Doderer's oeuvre. Starting from an example of the current, ethically correct but still problematic, treatment of suicide in the media, we examine the portrayal of suicides and attempted suicides in Doderer's novels Jutta Bamberger, Das Geheimnis des Reichs, Ein Mord den jeder begeht and Die Strudlhofstiege. We examine a brief suicide report, a short depiction of a successful suicide, a longer description of a failed attempt and an intricate and complex portrayal of a suicide that constitutes an integral part of the narrative. Common to all representations is that they fulfil a function within the narrative.