CAROSSA, HANS

born Dec. 15, 1878, Tlz, Ger. died Sept. 12, 1956, Rittsteig, W.Ger. poet and novelist whose contribution to the development of the German autobiographical novel was considered to be outstanding and unique in the 20th century. Carossa, a physician who practiced in Passau, Nrnberg, and Munich, lived most of his life in Bavaria, whose people and their Roman Catholic Christianity, pagan folklore, and superstitions are described and pondered in much of his work. Carossa's literary career began with a book of lyric poetry, Stella Mystica (1902; Mystical Star), in which a reflective, philosophical attitude dominates the expression of emotions. This attitude of detachment toward his own life and a desire to seek and bring forth the most noble in humankind remains dominant throughout his work. His first novel, Doktor Brgers Ende (1913; The End of Doctor Brger; revised and republished in 1930 as Die Schicksale Doktor Brgers, The Fortunes of Doctor Brger), in which a young doctor, driven to despair by the suffering around him, commits suicide when he fails to save the woman he loves, is an exploration of, as well as a variation on, Goethe's Werther themeCarossa expressed his indebtedness to Goethe in Die Wirkungen Goethes in der Gegenwart (1938; Goethe's Influence Today). Rumnisches Tagebuch (1924; A Roumanian Diary; republished in 1934 as Tagebuch im Kriege, War Diary) is an evaluation of Carossa's observations as an army doctor in Romania during World War I and a probe into the deeper mysteries of life; it was the first of his books to gain recognition outside of Germany. More directly autobiographical works are Eine Kindheit (1922; A Childhood), Das Jahr der schnen Tuschungen einer Jugend (1941; The Year of Sweet Illusions), Verwandlungen einer Jugend (1928; Boyhood and Youth), and Ungleiche Welten (1951; Different Worlds). Carossa's last and unfinished work, Der Tag des jungen Arztes (1955; The Day of the Young Doctor), is essentially an exploration of the conflicts between his duties as a physician and his responsibilities as a writer.