ABSTRACT
Wolfgang Hilbig’s 1993 novel “Ich”1 is particularly well suited for an illustration of my thesis concerning the authenticity claim and the workings of literary rationality for two reasons: on the one hand because the novel itself centers on (explicitly thematizes) the problem of the subjectivity and authentic identity, and on the other hand due to the novel’s acclaim as an aesthetic success. The discussion of the novel would be aided by a brief consideration of Hilbig’s biographical background and a short overview of the critical appraisal of Hilbig’s oeuvre. For this purpose I will rely in the following on a comprehensive collection of autobiographical and critical essays on Hilbig.2
