868 Reviews shows persuasively that Holderlin did visit Paris, and that he was working on the Sophocles translations already in Bordeaux, but that the manuscript was lost on the sea trip to Soulac/Roy an. Holderlin's use ofthe concept oflove as brotherly love rather than love of God, and his involvement with Huguenot families, recast him as a far more joyful and humane figurethan is often thought. Bertheau sees his consideration in later works of Christ and Christianity not as a reacceptance of Church dogma, but as a way towards new emphases of faith. He points also to a long-standing history of depression and mental illness in Holderlin's family.His mother's business selfishness and moralistic attitudes provide for Bertheau the final cause of Holderlin's eventual madness. With this point the book ends abruptly, perhaps unfinished, but providing some remarkable new insights with six definitive illustrations. It is one that should not be overlooked by any future Holderlin researchers. Mellen University, Iowa Brian Keith-Smith The Literature of German Romanticism. Ed. by Dennis F. Mahoney. (Camden House History of German Literature, 8) Rochester, NY: Camden House. 2004. X+ 419PP. ?65; $90. ISBN 1-57113-236-8. The appearance of this volume in the Camden House History of German Literature is much to be welcomed. First, it is a survey of German Romanticism by experts: the editor himself, Gerhard Schulz, Richard Littlejohns, Gerhart Hoffmeister, Nicholas Saul, just to mention a few. Second, it is in English, and general accounts of German Romanticism in readable English are not common. This one is eminently readable and excellently edited and cross-referenced. Despite the emphases of individual con? tributors, there is an overall coherence of outlook and scope. Yet the volume is not concerned to foster some kind of grey objectivity and uniformity: the authors are very much given their head within a general brief. Some are compendious and allembracing in their approach, with an almost encyclopaedic apparatus of endnotes. Some, conditioned by the aspect of Romanticism under discussion, have a stricter chronological definition of the movement than others. Some branch out into areas of comparative European Romanticism (Schulz, for instance) or take the account far beyond its immediate confines into the later nineteenth and the twentieth cen? turies (Saul). Others, aware that much of German Romanticism is suigeneris, restrict themselves to purely German discourse and practice. Those who tackle large areas (Hoffmeister on the novel, Ulrich Scheck on short prose, Bernadette Malinowski on the lyric, Claudia Stockinger on the drama) have their work cut out and must be se? lective, by and large successfully. Those entrusted with more clearly defined subjects (I single out here Klaus Peter's superbly succinct account of political Romanticism, but the articles on art and music also qualify) have an advantage, but one generally usefully exploited. The articles which come early in the volume establish the chro? nological, literary,and epistemological framework forthe more detailed discussion of individual aspects later,while themselves constituting authoritative statements (Arnd Bohm on Goethe, Littlejohns on early Romanticism). That, at least, is how I take the volume to work on one level. Thus, forinstance, Bohm's article should be seen as arching over to Paul Bishop and Roger Stephenson on the late Goethe; nearly all the cardinal points registered by Littlejohns find their more substantive echo elsewhere. All this contributes to a variety of perspective and of narrative strategy. This is a volume on German Romantic literature. The reader will therefore not finda systematic account of German Romantic philosophy. But at many turnings, and indeed in most contributions, we see how literature and philosophy interpenetrateand sustain each other. No important aspect of German Romantic thought as it affects MLR, 100.3, 2005 869 literature is missing (how could it be otherwise, where Friedrich Schlegel and Novalis are involved?). On other aspects one must respect the emphases of the individual contributors. Absolute compendiousness cannot be the intention of such a volume. The main thing is that no major work fails to get mentioned. One does not want to hear about every novel (although Grdfin Dolores and Dichter und ihre Gesellen might have got a better look-in). Who wants to...
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Feb 29, 2024
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