Being a Star and Being Loved Rachel Lynch College

Irmgard Keun’s 1932 novel The Artificial Silk Girl opens a window into the life of a young woman in the early 1930s. Doris, the protagonist, is a young woman from a working-class family navigating life in Germany in 1931. Doris is uneducated and resents the way she is looked down upon because of her social status; she longs to become a star as a way to finally have a place in a world where she struggles to belong. Her desire for stardom is not truly about fame itself, but about the social adoration that comes with fame. Keun makes it clear from the start of the novel that Doris’ quest to become a star is actually about Doris’ need to be loved, though Doris herself does not admit this until the end of the novel. Through her experiences with men, Doris discovers that what she really wants out of life is to be good to someone, not the glamour she exalts at the novel’s start.

Doris’ initial craving to become a star seems to stem from her rejection by Hubert. Though Doris does not consciously associate her goals of stardom with her recent parting from Hubert, the loss and insecurity she feels at Hubert’s leaving her likely factor into her decision to reach for fame. Hubert and Doris began seeing each other when Doris was only...