From Ritual Dance to Flight? Glimmers of the Fantastic in Robert Muller’s Tropen: Der Mythos der Reise Wesley Lim The Austrian writer and journalist Robert Muller displayed a natural proclivity for both keenly observing and depicting the moving body. In his novel Tropen: Der Mythos der Reise (1915), Muller’s protagonist, a German engineer named Hans Brandlberger, embarks on a journey into South America to examine not only its lush landscape but also the indigenous Dumara tribe. He thoroughly describes their bodies as they take part in ritual dances: first, the tribesmen in a communal dance and second, the priestess Zana in a series of solos and duets. Lasting an astonishing twenty-four pages, his dance depictions continually hint at developing fantastical and animalistic elements that culminate in the tribesmen Mold donning wings and flying as a result of Zana’s ecstatic dancing. These two scenes are central to Muller’s understanding of dance’s far-reaching power, which he demonstrates by displaying the everyday ritual event as it turns into an uncontrollable, irrational performance. These representations of dance accentuate the animalistic nature of humans and demonstrate a desired disassociation from the self: a break with reality for the dancer, the protagonist, and the reader. In this article, I argue first that Muller creates his own literary expressionist dance (Ausdruckstanz) infused stylistically by performances of Rudolf Laban, Mary Wigman, and others. Second, I posit that Muller goes a step further and differentiates his dance from other expressionist dances by introducing another level of reality, that of the fantastic. Moki’s ability to fly and Zana’s multiple animal metamorphoses serve as transformative moments. This desired state—another valid dimension of reality—is made possible through the power of dance and is used to suspend belief momentarily, on the part of JOURNAL OF AUSTRIAN STUDIES, VOL. 48, NO. 2 © 2015 AUSTRIAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION