Techniques of Compression and Prefiguration in the Beginnings of Theodor Fontane's Novels

Theodor Fontane repeatedly cited the beginning as key to a novel's construction and development, as exemplified in a letter to his publisher in 1880: -Beim richtigen Aufbau muss in der ersten Seite der Keim des Ganzen stecken-. Through close reading and analysis of the beginnings of five Fontane -Gesellschaftsromane-, this work focuses on Fontane's varied techniques of compression and prefiguration and traces their developing refinement throughout his career as novelist and social critic."