New motherhood and eugenics in German women's political and popular fiction around 1900

Fictional texts have long functioned as a testing ground for new impulses in society. At the turn of the twentieth century many German feminists were demanding greater influence for women in public life not despite but because of their role as mothers. At the same time writers, scientists and activists from across the political spectrum were fascinated by eugenics, seeing this new ‘science’ as the answer to many social ills. Hopes and remedies for the ‘new generation’, formed within the paradigm of evolutionary biology and a growing faith in science, were thus the focus of much public discourse and the impetus for a range of well-documented social movements. These ideas were also shaping a new direction for prominent women writers of the day, such as Ilse Frapan and Clara Viebig. Here I examine two novels which exemplify the trend and consider the extent of these writers' involvement with the circles of influence which were helping to spread eugenic ideas in the German-speaking world around 1900.