Jane K. Brown 
Goethe’s Cyclical Narratives 
Die Unterhaltungen deutscher Ausgewanderten and Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre

The novelty of this study lies in its techniques for understanding the deliberate narrative contradictions and elusive parody in Goethe’s work. Interpretation of the entire
Unterhaltungen, including the Marchen, establishes Goethe’s principles of cyclical composition. By pursuing the elaboration of these principles in the
Wanderjahre–the undependable narrator, multiple perspectives, and parody of popular eighteenth-century figures–the author interprets the cultural and social significance of Goethe’s most sophisticated novel.