Published 2022-11-08
Keywords
- inadequate name,
- speaking name/render Name,
- athletic name,
- name function,
- name connotation
- inadequate name,
- speaking name/render Name,
- athletic name,
- name function,
- name connotation
Abstract
Many characters in Theodor Fontane’s novels bear inadequate names, i.e. names indicating a contradiction with a particular feature of the character in
question. Such a contradiction may be based on his/her physical appearance, behaviour or profession. Onymic inadequacy can be either semantically motivated or dependent on the socio-cultural background. In the first case, inadequate names are meaningful names («speaking names» or redende Namen) pointing to a quality the literary character does not possess. In the second case, inadequate names are antithetic and consist of a sophisticated first name and an ordinary surname. The present paper deals with the coinage and function of thirteen inadequate names of characters in Fontane’s novels Irrungen, Wirrungen, Frau Jenny Treibel, Effi Briest and Der Stechlin.