Theodor Fontane: The Realism of Assessment

With Theodor Fontane (1819-1898) nineteenth-century German literature fully enters the tradition of European realism, not a moment too soon. His major novels are written at a time when that tradition is about to be superseded by the experimental schools of French and German naturalism, in whose prose works the focus shifts from integrated scenes of social life to blow-ups of discrete, often discontinuous details.