Romantic literature and politics

Abstract

La description animee des chefs-d'œuvre donne bien plus d'interet a la critique que les idees generales qui planent sur tous les sujets sans en caracteriser aucun. (III 328/4) L'on pourrait parvenir a adapter au gout francais, peutetre le plus pur de tous, des beautes originales qui donneraient a la litterature du dix-neuvieme siecle un caractere qui lui serait propre. Delphine, p.85. LITERATURE An old axiom states that there is no such thing as proof in literary criticism. In the past two centuries, monographs have called Stael both too faithful and too unfaithful to her German subjects, in literature, politics, and philosophy – her alleged sources are plentiful, but we jump from fact to hypothesis in the gap between her naming a source and her echoing someone else. Several reviews go so far as to split her text, remarkably, into ‘true’ and ‘false’ Stael. ‘Stael maintained her independence,’ writes Walzel, ‘when judging writers and literature. In almost all questions of culture, science, religion, and fine art, she crossed over into the Romantic camp. When she presents viewpoints different from the Romantics, these are in general earlier achievements, the fruits of her relation with Villers.’ Monchoux finds traces in her third and fourth Parties of the ‘mysticisme bizarre de Mme de Krudener […] Mais le spiritualisme qui inspire l'ensemble de l'ouvrage est plein de sante et de bon sens. Il semble prudent, non seulement de distinguer ces deux attitudes, mais meme de n'admettre entre elles aucune parente.’