INTRODUCTION
The main point of this essay is the postmodern investigation ofFassbinder's destruction of the narrative structure as exemplified bybehaviour of his main protagonist - Maria Braun. In addition, Iconvincingly argue that Maria Braun symbolizes the intellectual andeconomic aspects of the post-war Germany, which like herself has toprostitute itself in order to survive. In this case, both her husbandHermann and lover Oswald respectively represent the influence of an old -defeated Germany (in Hermann's case), and the intrusion of West andNATO Pact as represented through Oswald's personality.
Moreover, Oswald himself, is not original German, but rather aFrenchman, whereas Hermann's imprisonment spiritually, intellectuallyand sexually castrates his masculinity, and thus, Fassbinder provocativelychallenges his character using Maria Braun as a fundamental departurefrom a dominant narrative style .

DEVELOPMENT
Fassbinder's experimental subversion of both the verbal and visualconcept of the narrative structure defines his artistic approach asessentially alien to an origin of dramatic discourse and being primarily,although not exclusively aesthetically "detached from the temporality oforiginal creation and repetition" (Readings,56).
Fassbinder viciously attacks the fundamental ego of the bourgeoissociety, by which he assumes a degenerative product of capitalist societyconceptualized by the traditional framework of the "central", "coherent","healthy", "integrated", and "stable" Ego. As such, Fassbinder, initiates a"fragmented,multiple self" as represented by Maria's dynamic andmorally epileptic personality. She plays the role of pendulum relentlesslyshifting between two men Hermann and Oswald. However, she is unableto notice that her life "consists of a dense network of heterogeneous,irreducible private histories, full of contradictions, variations"(Kaes,282)that make her "everyday reality: fragmentary and inconclusive." (Ibid.,) Asa prostitute, at the very beginning of the film, she manipulates others (more particularly Bill) through her seductive andcharming character. At one moment she egoistically says in the film: "I'm a master of deceit. A capitalist tool by day, and by night an agent of theproletarian masses, the Mata Hari of the economic miracle." Her strongwill to success is, furthermore, explained in the next sequence, as sheaffirms "I don't wait for miracles - I prefer making them." At the height ofher career, she buys the house and refuses even her own mother to livewith her.
Conversely, the male characters are highly manipulated in the film, anda very good example of this kind, can be found in the scene when Mariaaccidentally kills Bill, but Hermann insists on taking the blame and is sentto prison. Another male character that is visibly manipulated, is thegrandfather Berger, who is intellectually disturbed, and most of the timespends either sleeping or helplessly observing his family members. Hiswife, however, has a lover, and in this sense, she shows her sexualsuperiority.
The ultimate consequence of Maria's sick eros and pervertedplayfulness refers to the phenomenon of "bad faith." This becomes evidentin her refusal to accept the responsibility by the pretence that she canfreely act as a psychological link between two men - Oswald andHermann. Her psychological splitting and multiplicity are spiritual effectsof her own defensive system. Accordingly, she naively believes that hermanipulative behaviour can potentially heighten her experience. Maria'splayfulness, is best depicted "in playing the male role and in succeeding in aman's world... She has "made it" because she plays by society's rules, and in this society, the rules have been made by men... It is her knowledge ofEnglish and the aggressive language of men that first impresses Oswald inMaria's handling of a drunken soldier on the train, and these are the veryqualities, combined with her sex appeal that lead to her success in thebusiness world as Oswald's private secretary..." (Rheuban,222)
At the end of the film, Maria, however, in the state of her personal alienation and resentment absent mindedly lights a match at the gasstove, and in the "ensuing explosion" both her and Hermann are killed.Her playfulness proves to be highly psychotic and entirely self-destructive.On the other hand, Herbert Zimmermann's hysterical screaming"Deutschland ist Weltmeister" of the last seven minutes of the World Cup championship soccer match between Germany and Hungary explicitly decodes the moral consequences of her playful character that ultimatelyproves to be less liberating than she initially assumed.

CONCLUSION

Maria's sexual and verbal playfulness remains the viewer of a typicallyfeminine concept of sexual ambivalence/polyvalence, as she sexuallygravitates between Hermann and Oswald. As such, Maria's manipulativepersonality progressively subverts the narrative structure of the film, inorder to match not only the failure of "master narrative", but moreimportantly to track her multiple personality disorder. This type ofdisorder, is formed in term of "irreducible difference", that derives fromMaria's ambiguous relationship with both Oswald and Hermann.
The most striking element of Maria's sexual indeterminacy, is the factthat she subconsciously is willing to play "the postmodern game" in whichshe expresses her most fundamental quest for power. In order to defeat"the white males", she masks herself with the mystic and delusionalconception of variety of interconnected "discursive networks" thatsuddenly open up a new way toward her personal liberation, as both, afemale character, and a businesswoman.

Her psychotic behaviour and inability to fully comprehend everydayreality, are the key aspects that subvert Fassbinder's narrative filmstructure. In a total amortization of the narrative structure, Fassbindergradually destroys "the linear habit of thought" (Landow,81) and "alsoprovides the passage with an illusory centre whose force is intensified bysuch selection." (Ibid.,)
Furthermore, Fassbinder's postmodern visual analysis decenters the"creative potential" and subsequently liberates the individual ego, whosetendency centers toward "Bakhtin's concept of "heteroglossia", a termdescribing the conflicting plurality of voices in the discourse..." (Kaes,286).Consequently, "the sheer mass of messages tends to overwhelm thespectator... Reflecting... Ambiguities, double meanings, andindeterminacies which activate the spectator's search for the mostpersuasive reading." (Ibid.,) Objectively, the process of indeterminacy isdisseminated as a simulation phenomenon that structurally speaking, isboth, condensed and manifested by Maria's personal quest for sexualdomination and financial independence.

In summary, I persuasively decode Maria's playfulness as a"psychological state where the boundaries between self and the worldremain labile and fluid." (Hubert,66) In this playful system, Maria becomes"a transitional object, one that is neither fully part of the self nor anexplicitly external object." (Ibid.,) However, she rejects this paradoxicalstatus, and it ultimately becomes one of the main reason of her personaltragedy.

WORKS CITED

Hubert, Christian. Playtime. Architectural Design, Vol.66 No. 5/6 (MayJune 1996)
Kaes, Anton. History, fiction, memory: Fassbinder's The Marriage ofMaria Braun. New York: Methuen, 1986
Landow, George. Hypertext. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins UniversityPress, 1992
Readings, Bill. Introducing Lyotard. New York: Routledge, 1991
Rheuban, Joyce. The Marriage of Maria Braun: Rainer WernerFassbinder. Rutgers, The State University, 1986

Clearly you put much thought into the ideas behind your paper. However, the essay does
not convey those ideas faithfully. To start, you need to focus your essay topic more. You
cover too many ideas for this length of paper. Ideally, you should pick one of the topics
you put forward in your introduction: 1) Maria's behavior as a metaphor for the deconstruction of
the narrative structure, 2) Maria symbolizes post-war Germany, and how
her prostitution reflects this, 3) The symbolic effects of Hermann's imprisonment and the
effects it has on any metaphorical interpretations. These three topics would, I believe,
satisfy the demands of the assignment. However, trying to cover all three theses ensures
that none of them get the proper consideration that they deserve.

My second recommendation is that you proofread your papers thoroughly, or find
someone who can edit them for you. The last sentence of your introduction starts by
explaining Oswald's nationality, moves to the result of Hermann's imprisonment, then it
states that Fassbinder challenges Hermann's character, and it finally ends with Maria's
character subverting narrative style. My point is that your ideas are too entwined and that
they get disseminated by excess wordiness. First, create an outline for your paper and
follow it, so that your ideas follow one another in a logical order and build your thesis.

Make sure your points are valid and consistent. Grandfather Berger's wife is not
cheating on him; she is dead. It is his daughter, Maria's mother, who has taken a lover.
Maria does not have multiple personality disorder. If she did, she would have two (or more)
separate and distinct personalities controlling her psyche. What she does have are
conflicting ambitions and desires, different aspects of one personality. Finally, don't take
two sides of the same argument. Near the end of your "development", you state that she
absent mindedly lights the stove. In your last sentence, you state that her action was a
rejection of her paradoxical status, and therefore a conscious act.

In short, try to simplify your writing. Create a clear and logical procession of ideas
that support your thesis. Exclude everything that does not directly support that thesis. Use
specific discourse when necessary, otherwise it detracts the reader's attention. Double
check the details that you are going to use to support your arguments. I cannot stress
enough the usefulness of editing and proofreading.

Once these points have been adressed, I am sure that your essay would be insightful and
entertaining. However, as it stands, I can only suggest a "D" grade, for it needs much
improvement.