La importancia del criminal en los orígenes de la novela policíaca alemana

Abstract

The criminal as a character has been treated in various ways in the history of the crime novel. This literary figure has been pushed into the background in the development of the genre as the figure of the investigator has gained in importance. The present article aims to study the characterization of the criminal in the origins of the German crime novel and will consider the characters in three key novels of German literature: Der Verbrecher aus verlorener Ehre, Die Judenbuche y Unterm Birnbaum. In this analysis the aim is to describe the common features of the criminal, his attitude towards crime and justice, the role of justice itself and the ideological message, which is to be understood according to the literary treatment of the criminal in this period of German literature.