Chr. Martin Wieland's Oberon: Religious Sense of Mission or Ironic Distance?

Abstract

The interrelations between the Orient and the Occident have a long tradition. These relations have been intensified especially during the Middle Ages. The monotheistic religions have always played an important part in this context. The interrelations between the Orient and the Occident have manifested themselves in both fictional and nonfictional texts. Especially European intellectuals were fascinated by the Orient. In a large number of texts they invented images of the Orient as the embodiment of the "Other". This is especially true for the Enligthenment period. Wieland's Oberon is a representative example. He elaborates intensely on the differences between the Islamic Orient and the Christian Occident. The knight Hion undertakes an adventurous journey to the Middle East. My article tries to elucidate how the relations between the East and the West are portrayed here and what kind of images are presented in Oberon.