Literarische Onomastik und Psychoanalyse

eine Fallstudie

Abstract

Why did the German author Jean Paul Richter (1763 ‒1825) choose the isle of Isola Bella in Lago Maggiore as the locale for the first chapters of his novel Titan? He had never been to Italy and had known this place only from travel guides and etchings. Moreover, this completely artificially modelled island, a terraced garden in the Italian style, could not suit his taste which clearly tended to the more recent English style of gardening. In this article the point is made that he chose the place for its name which contains the personal name Isabella. To prove this the psychoanalytical method as developed by Freud and Lacan is employed, starting from the assumption that the poet’s choice of his names is largely dominated by subconscious motives.