Colloquia Germanica Stetinensia

The aim of the article is to examine the meanings of the concept of homeland (‘Heimat’) in Juli Zeh’s novel "Corpus Delicti" and how they change depending on the perspective of the individual characters. The author of the article puts forward the thesis that the home category in this text primarily functions as a specific value space and is accordingly semanticized. In this respect, the homelands depicted in the novel are not primarily of a geographical and spatial nature, but primarily of a normative and social nature. To make this clearer, the author of the article analyzes the tension between the two worlds presented in the text using the characters and their attitude towards the spaces of the values described in the novel. Firstly, this means the presented reality, which takes place in the second half of the 21st century, and secondly, the world of the 20th century, idealized by certain characters, which is only remembered nostalgically. The proposed reading of Zeh's novel also proves to be an inspiration for current socio-political debates, as it is currently becoming a trend that individuals in modern societies feel less and less tied to a place, and instead they increasingly find their real homes in the value systems they share.