ABSTRACT
Switzerland and its literature are often viewed as constituting an island in the middle of Europe-an appropriate image, as long as one bears in mind that the closed world of an island is also the symbol of travel, refuge and escapism. Historically speaking the Swiss have always tried to ‘escape’ their boundaries (in 58 BC Julius Caesar sought to halt their general exodus). The fragmentation of Switzerland, with its late absorption of some of the French-speaking cantons, means that Swiss identity is often constructed in contradistinction to other nationalities.
