Thomas Bernhard Almanca konuşulan ülkelere ait edebiyatın yirminci yüzyıldaki en önemli isimlerindendir. Sadece vermiş olduğu eserlerle değil, aynı zamanda asi karakteri ve edebiyat etkinliklerinde neden olduğu skandallarla da büyük bir üne kavuşmuştur. Vefat ederken arkasında romanlar, anlatılar, tiyatro eserleri ve şiirlerden oluşan oldukça önemli bir külliyat bırakmıştır. Bernhard'ın yazmış olduğu eserlerde "araştırma" (Studie) kavramı son derece önemli bir yer tutmaktadır. Yapılan bir araştırmaya göre Bernhard'ın 1963-1968 yılları arasında yazmış olduğu büyük kapsamlı düzyazı metinlerinin en az yarısı "araştırma" motifi etrafında şekillenmiştir. Söz konusu eserlerdeki araştırma kavramına konu olan alanların başlıca üç guruba ayrılması mümkündür. Bunlar; sanatçı biyografileri, tabiat bilimleri araştırmaları ve felsefe araştırmalarıdır. Thomas Bernhard'ın 1970 yılında yayınlanan "Das Kalkwerk" adlı eseri de "araştırma" motifi üzerine kurgulanmış bir romandır. Eserde duyum organı hakkında o güne kadar yapılmamış nitelikte bir araştırma yapmak amacıyla eski bir kireç fabrikasına çekilen Konrad'ın hikâyesi anlatılmaktadır. Konrad duyum organı hakkındaki araştırmasını kendince tamamlamış ve bunları kâğıda dökmek için uygun anı beklemektedir. Ama bu amaç Konrad'ın kendisinden kaynaklan nedenlerden dolayı asla gerçekleşmemektedir ve hikâye trajik bir cinayetle son bulmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, araştırma motifinin eserde üstlenmiş olduğu işlevlerin tespit edilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bunun için öncelikle roman kahramanı Konrad'ın hayalindeki araştırmanın nitelikleri ortaya konulmuştur. Ardından da ilgili motifin romanın kurgusuna nasıl etki ettiği maddeler halinde ele alınmıştır

Thomas Bernhard is one of the most important figures in the twentieth century in German-speaking countries’ literature. It has achieved great fame not only with the works it has given but also with the scandals which are caused by his rebellious character and literature events. When he died, he left behind a very important collection of novels, stories, theater works and poetry. The concept of "research" (Studie) is extremely important in works written by Bernhard. According to a survey, at least half of the large-scale prose texts Bernhard wrote between 1963 and 1968 were shaped around the "research" theme. It is possible to distinguish three main groups of fields that are subject to the concept of research in the works. These are artist biographies; natural science researches and philosophical researches. Thomas Bernhard's "das Kalkwerk", published in 1970, is a novel based on the "research" theme. The story tells the story of Konrad, who was taken to an old lime factory in order to conduct a research on the hearing organ that was not made until that day. Konrad has completed his research on the hearing organ and is waiting for the appropriate moment to put them on paper. But this aim never occurs because of Konrad's own reasons, and the story ends with a tragic murder. In this study, it is aimed to determine the functions that the research theme has assumed in the novel. For this, the qualities of the research in the dream of the novel hero Konrad were first put forward. Then, how the theme influenced the fiction of the novel was handled in the form of materials Thomas Bernhard is one of the most important figures in the twentieth century in German-speaking countries’ literature. It has achieved great fame not only with the works it has given but also with the scandals which are caused by his rebellious character and literature events. When he died, he left behind a very important collection of novels, stories, theater works and poetry. The concept of "research" (Studie) is extremely important in works written by Bernhard. According to a survey, at least half of the large-scale prose texts Bernhard wrote between 1963 and 1968 were shaped around the "research" theme. It is possible to distinguish three main groups of fields that are subject to the concept of research in the works. These are artist biographies; natural science researches and philosophical researches. Thomas Bernhard's "das Kalkwerk", published in 1970, is a novel based on the "research" theme. The story tells the story of Konrad, who was taken to an old lime factory in order to conduct a research on the hearing organ that was not made until that day. Konrad has completed his research on the hearing organ and is waiting for the appropriate moment to put them on paper. But this aim never occurs because of Konrad's own reasons, and the story ends with a tragic murder. In this study, it is aimed to determine the functions that the research theme has assumed in the novel. For this, the qualities of the research in the dream of the novel hero Konrad were first put forward. Then, how the theme influenced the fiction of the novel was handled in the form of materials. The functions of the research motif can be considered under five main headings. The quality of the research: the research of the novel hero Konrad's dream must be an excellent work that no one has ever done about the sensory organ until that day. There are two reasons for choosing the sensory organ as a study area. The first one is hearing the province is the first step of the thinking process. The brain acquires the knowledge necessary for thinking and hearing through sight. The second is that there is no good work done in this area. According to Konrad, it is not enough for a person to be a doctor or a philosopher to do such an investigation. Also, he must be a mathematician and a physicist. As you can see, the Hero's expectations are extremely high. And because of these high expectations, Konrad will never succeed. "Research" as the cause of existence: Konrad wanted to study natural sciences at university in his youth, but this desire didn’t come true because of his family's opposition. Although he has not received any training, he believes he has a great ability in natural sciences. He has not been successful in a job throughout his life and wants to prove himself by doing an excellent work on the sensory organ. Since the death of the Konrad family, he has devoted himself to researching and research has become the cause of his existence. From that day on, Konrad is only living for research, designing his whole life accordingly, and he is not avoiding any sacrifice on this path. "Research" as the cause of social isolation and as a means of social criticism: Abstinence from society as an important feature of "spirit men" in the works of Thomas Bernhard. This isolation involves not only social b, but also a spatial abstraction. The hero of the work, Konrad, has been socially and spatially isolating himself from the society in order to be able to conduct his dream research. This isolation provides the quiet environment necessary for heroic work to be carried out. In addition, the possibility of making a public criticism of Bernhard, the novelist, is emerging. Because Konrad explains the reasons of isolation from the society where he is in conflict, he is actually criticizing society from the author's point of view. "Research" as the cause of material collapse: The hero has purchased an old lime mine belonging to a relative in order to conduct his research. But his relative, who knows how he wants to buy the lime mine anyway, has sold a very high price. Since the mine was not operated and there was no other source of income, Konrad always borrowed the bank. After a while, the valuable goods at hand were started to be sold and the family faced a material disaster. Konrad's purchase of a lime mine and the start of his research also constituted the beginning of material collapse. "Research" as the cause of marriage with a disabled woman: In the works of Thomas Bernhard, especially the women are dragged to the edge of extinction because of men's disrespect and ruthlessness. Hero's wife, Mrs. Konrad, is one of these unfortunate women. When Konrad marries his wife, he never thinks of building a family. His only objective is to use his partner as a guinea pig in his investigations because she has walking disability. "Research" as the reason for your lack of love in marriage: Famous critic Reich-Ranicki Thomas Bernhard is not a writer interested in love affairs. There is no trace of love in his works. Also, in the work of "Das Kalkwerk" there is no trace of love. Konrad's torture using his wife as a guinea pig for research and blaming her for failing her research prevented her from having a lover. "Research" seems like the most important reason preventing love. Result "Research" is one of the motifs most frequently used in Thomas Bernhard's works. However, in the novel "Das Kalkwerk", "research" has emerged from a common motif, and has become a fundamental building block of the work. It is not very common for a motif to perform such important tasks. Another noteworthy dimension is the paradox that "research" has. The motive is, on one side, the cause of Konrad's existence, but also the cause of his disaster.