Auch ich in Arkadien? The Allure of Italy for the German Traveller in Goethe’s Italienische Reise, Eichendorff’s Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts and Heine’s Reise von München nach Genua

Abstract

In the early nineteenth century, Italy was linked with the experiences of Goethe and his Italienische Reise in the German imagination. Consequently, a later generation of writers could challenge Goethe and distance themselves from his influence by offering an alternative experience of the South. Eichendorff’s Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts and Heine’s Reise von München nach Genua directly respond to Goethe and subvert his representation of Italy. Eichendorff rejects Goethe’s concept of Bildung, while Heine disapproves of Goethe’s emphasis on antiquity and focuses instead on Italy’s present poverty and oppression. The texts represent three key exponents of competing and largely contemporaneous literary movements, which were played out in the German imaginings of Italy. This article examines how, in spite of these differences, the texts also resemble each other in significant ways: each traveller attempts to escape an uncomfortable home environment, only to realize that an idealized Italy remains beyond his grasp. The German traveller is prevented from adopting a new life in Italy by his own cultural identity that he cannot escape.