Grillparzer-Studien by Konrad Schaum

Abstract

AUSTRIAN STUDIES, II, 2OO3 213 Grillparzer-Studien. By Konrad Schaum. Berne: Lang. 2001. 316 pp. 57,90 (excl. VAT); ?38?? ?ISBN3-906758-92-3. Konrad Schaum's scholarship on Grillparzer was rewarded as long ago as 1980, when he received the Grillparzer Ring from theAustrian Ministry forArt and Education. That scholarship has never been turned into a monograph, but the current volume might be seen as late compensation for themissing magnum opus. It cover fortyyears ofhiswork on Grillparzer, startingwith his i960 essay on Ein treuer Diener seines Herrn and ending with two new contributions on the portrayal of the ruler and onDas Kloster beiSendomir(the thirdofwhat are indicated as new essays has since appeared in themuch delayed 2002 number of theGrillparzer yearbook). The essays divide neatly into two groups: general cultural and philosophcal issues in the firsthalf, followed by essays on individual works. The brief preface underlines what is apparent from the titles of the essays: Grillparzer is seen predominantly as an historical writer who is somewhat at odds with his own revolutionary age. According to the opening of one of the two new essays, 'kaum einer der neueren Dichter deutscher Sprache hat sich in seinen reiferen Jahren so intensiv und umfassend mit der Geschichte befa?t wie Grillparzer' (p. 93), but history is tobe seen not as something past but as something endlessly recurring, ifin new manifestations, and hence as the catalyst for revealing human nature. In a manner that especially in the earlier essays is viewed in existential terms,men are compelled to leave any timeless idyll and confront the reality of lifebut also the reality of their own existence, 'dasWesensgesetz ihrer Seele' (p. 141). The more recent essays have a slightly different emphasis: Grillparzer is concerned with 'dasMa? des Menschlichen' (pp. 21, 63) which is revealed as man responds to the historical process, to 'eigenm?chtige und unkontrollierbare Lebenszusammenh?nge' (p. 56) that are independent of the individual. For Schaum, there is no sense of individual fate or redemption on the grand scale (as in Schiller); the often tragic events are triggered by rather insignificant incidents, such as Ottokar's separation from Margarethe, but what is important is thewider context, as forexample the fate of theEmpire or, inEin treuer Diener, the royal family, that is acknowledged by unheroic heroes such as the two Rudolfs or very obviously fallible characters such as Bancbanus. The essays have been reproduced mainly as firstprinted and with only minor rephrasings; the only substantial change discovered is the removal of the final paragraph of the 1964 essay on Das goldeneVlie?,which with itsclaim that Medea's fate reveals 'universal laws' might have seemed more extreme than the more cautious, less existential tone of the later essays. The individual essays undoubtedly remain of interest although they all follow a similar line in treating themes of guilt, tragedy and the clash of the individual with external fate or historical forces. The essays concentrate on the plays that reflect such themes: Vlie?,Bruderzwist,Ottokar, TreuerDiener, and significantly one of the two otherwise unpublished articles deals with 'Schuld und S?hne' inDas Kloster beiSendomir. The essays on Des Meeres undder LiebeWellen, especially the 1995 essay, which sees the death of the lovers caused by the fanatical priest who turns religious obedience into an absolute, are something of an exception to the general tenet of the volume. What isnot to be found in these essays isany sense of the inner,psychological complexity ofGrillparzer's characters, or indeed an investigation of the dramatic or theatrical qualities of the plays. In 214 Reviews essays concerned somuch with history, little impression emerges of themodernity ofGrillparzer's plays. The volume isgenerally well presented, although even thenewer essays are in the old orthography, and there are a number of printing errors. A four-page bibliography lists items up to 1995 but isdominated, perhaps understandably, by earlier criticswho will have helped to shape Konrad Schaum's views (it is interesting that one of the two unpublished articles contains no footnotes or bibliographical references). University of Reading Ian F. Roe Erz?hlungen aus demj?dischen Familienleben. By Salomon Hermann Mosenthal and ed. by Ruth Kl?ger. G?ttingen: Wallstein. 2001. 218 pp. 22,00. isbn...