ABSTRACT
To say that literature refl ects the values and beliefs of the socio-cultural environment in which it is produced is a truism; in other words, ideology is inseparable from literature. These two are inextricably linked and what remains to be determined is the nature of that connection. Back in 1983, literary critic Terry Eagleton alluded to literature as a “notably unstable affair” (1983, here 1996:12). He based this notion on the fact that literary writing hinges on value-judgements which, in turn, are temporary as they depend on whatever is valued by certain people in specifi c situations. Eagleton therefore concluded that the “so-called ‘literary canon’ . . . has to be recognized as a construct, fashioned by particular people for particular reasons at a certain time” (1996:11, emphasis in original). Indeed, the fi ndings of this study are consistent with Eagleton’s claim. Setting out to explore the extent to which ideology and politics dominated cultural issues, and in particular the translation of books, this study has identifi ed a defi nite connection between the literary output in East Germany and the doctrine maintained by the small group of people holding the power at that time.
