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The Marquise Of O— And Other Stories (1978)

The Marquise of O— and Other Stories (1978)

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Rating
3.93 of 5 Votes: 4
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ISBN
0140443592 (ISBN13: 9780140443592)
Language
English
Publisher
penguin classics

About book The Marquise Of O— And Other Stories (1978)

I originally gave The Marquise of O - three stars (“I liked it”) but upon reflection I feel I have to round it up to four. There are no clunkers in the collection of Heinrich von Kleist’s short prose work (he was also a poet, playwright, and wrote operas) and the translations are excellent, retaining the robust, Teutonic sentences of the original German without sacrificing readability.Von Kleist is another one of those fortuitous discoveries that I wish I had made before entering my twilight years (if I had known about him during my days slaving over German texts, I might have invested greater effort). His stories address themes that interest me such as the arbitrariness of life; the meaning, extent and possibility of justice; and the irrationality of humans. I am an Enlightenment Romantic, which may be a contradiction but I think it describes why I enjoy these stories. Like von Kleist (1777-1811), I am heavily influenced by Enlightenment ideals yet recognize and despair at their limits, the human propensity for irrationality and the Universe’s utter indifference to it all.In order of preference:“The Betrothal of Santo Domingo” – “Betrothal” takes place during the Haitian slave revolt against the French and involves the doomed love of Gustav, a white man, and Toni, a mixed-race woman. It’s a bit like Romeo and Juliet and with an equally tragic ending.“The Earthquake in Chile” works in a similar vein. It too is about star-crossed lovers (in this case the Santiago of 1647) and tragic. As the story begins both Jeronimo and Josefa are condemned to death for fornication – Josefa is being led to the gallows, and Jeronimo is preparing to hang himself in his cell – when an earthquake miraculously frees both. The tale recounts their miraculous survival, the extraordinary acts of kindness found among the refugees, and the lovers’ brutal murders at the hands of a self-righteous mob when they return to the city.“Michael Kohlhaas” is the best known of von Kleist’s prose works. It’s based on real-life events around the time of the Reformation, and recounts one man’s attempt to achieve justice. It’s a fast-paced tale and it swept this reader up as Kohlhaas goes from ordinary merchant to insurrectionary and nearly brings about war between Prussia and Saxony.“The Foundling” is the story of the eponymous wastrel Nicolo and the tragedies that ensue when his jealousy destroys the lives of his benefactors (and his, as well).“The Duel” and “The Marquise of O-” follow the same patterns and deal with many of the same themes as the stories above but they end happily. As a sentimental pessimist, I didn't find the stories to be as powerful as the tragedies. And I imagine that some modern readers may have qualms about the rape (and its denouement) that forms the central event of “The Marquise.” Von Kleist certainly doesn’t dwell on it:(Count F- having just saved the marquise from being raped by a gang of Russian soldiers) “led her into the other wing of the palace which the flames had not yet reached and where, having already been stricken speechless by her ordeal, she now collapsed in a dead faint. Then – the officer instructed the Marquise’s frightened servants, who presently arrived, to send for a doctor; he assured them that she would soon recover, replaced his hat and returned to the fighting.” p. 70I’m not entirely convinced or understand the marquise’s eventual accommodation to what happened but I think I grasp part of what von Kleist is saying about society and human nature and the rape is an integral part of that story, however distasteful.In “St. Cecilia and the Power of Music” von Kleist writes about religious mania. “The Beggarwoman of Locarno” is a straightforward ghost story.In terms of stars, the first two stories are definitely 4.5-5 starworthy, and the last two are solid threes, the rest falling somewhere between. As I wrote above: “no clunkers.”This translation of von Kleist is highly recommended with two minor quibbles: (1) There’s an egregious typo in the table of contents where “The Beggarwoman of Locarno” is written “The Beggarwoman of Lacorno,” which is inexcusable. (2) I echo another reviewer’s admonishment to NOT READ the “Introduction” until after you’ve read the stories (if then).

There is a dichotomy of the good/evil rapist and an ultimate happy ending CAN be achieved if one is using senses. What a great quandary- almost like a sitcom in its farcical simplicity- yet its extremely daring and controversial topic could never be televised for today‚s prudish audiences. For its bold controversial risks, I loved the opening scene with the newspaper advertisement requesting the anonymous father of her child to respond and marry her. This reader is hooked in to watch the unfolding of the Marquise‚s predicament.After a sexual assault by soldiers who overtook the Italian citadel, her father the Commandant has lost at war, a gallant French-speaking Russian Count saved the Marquise. The family is, of course, grateful for this civility during the hostile takeover. When they catch wind that the savior‚s been shot, the Marquise is moderately upset she never got to personally thank him in her faint condition. Months later, the Russian Count, appears at their door having survived and proposes marriage. She, widowed with two kids, had vowed to herself never to remarry. Yet, the count has fallen hard for the Marquise. No one in her family can understand his romantic urge towards her. Yet I questioned them not him.A frequently recurring theme is doubt. Regarding the Counts‚ insistence, her brother wondered, „What on earth∑ could be the motive of this post-haste wooing?‰ and her father, the Commandant said, „The whole thing was beyond his comprehension∑‰ Regarding her being with child, neither Giulietta nor her mother believed the doctor‚s diagnosis of her, even though Giulietta has had two children and recognized the symptoms. Finally when they do accept her pregnancy after a midwife confirms it, no one in her family believes Giulietta‚s innocence. Even though her mother is initially moved by Giulietta‚s passionate and solemn declarations, she changes her mind and demands a confession. Receiving none, her family banishes her from home and they try to trick her to reveal her deceit. Upon learning she was truly innocent, she was asked back to her family‚s home and everyone was forgiven. Throughout all this, the Count‚s love remains consistent and non-conditional.There were two issues I had with this story. When the Marquise returned home after her proven innocence, the Marquise and her father sit as lovers. Her head was back, she sat on his lap and he kissed her mouth ardently. I wanted to think her own father impregnated her without her knowing! I read and reread this story and could not make myself write a reaction because I was annoyed at the last line. Giulietta had not wanted to marry Count F when he showed up on the day her newspaper ad requested the anonymous father‚s presence. She thought him a devil because she had originally thought him an angel. I didn‚t truly believe he‚d had his way with her in the citadel- it was left to my imagination and I didn‚t believe that was his underlying reason to marry her. I believed in his passion.How ironic that this story is full of people who don‚t trust another and yet that is the feeling I come away with at the end!

Do You like book The Marquise Of O— And Other Stories (1978)?

After reading The Betrothal for a course, I decided to read the rest. The classic is "slow," riddled with dense vocabulary, names unique to Europe (particularly Germany), multiple themes, and some hackneyed plots. It wasn't my cup of tea... “The Earthquake in Chile” is similar to The Scarlet Letter. Dona Josefa (the daughter of a rich noblemen) and her tutor (and father of her child), Jeronimo, are ostracized by a religious and relentless society. After an earthquake, they believed that God is o
—Dianne

This book is slow going for me...I can't seem to read it before bed without falling asleep, and have even put it into my bathroom so that I'll be forced to read it while I'm on the can.For some reason, it doesn't seem to take.Perhaps I should familiarize myself with him as well as the time frame he's operating in, and give it another go.Michael Kohlhaas had me hooked though. Need to read it again. I feel like this book is a workout for my brain, which can be good if you're in the mood for it, a straight down walk in a man's life, to see the absurdity of it all.enjoyed it. read it slow. absorb it.
—Lucia

Reading Kleist is an exhilarating experience that can be very unpleasant. I don’t think any stories have ever moved me the way Kleist’s do, but I’m having a hard time describing this effect in words. I’d like to say that his sentences manage to capture the beauty and anxiety of a single moment, but that makes absolutely no sense. Maybe I can get to it by thinking about something else. Do expectations ruin our experience of the future, or do they help us tolerate it? The answer is both. Moreover, expectations themselves become a sort of experience that can be both positive and negative. I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels more alive when they’re striving to achieve a goal than when they actually achieve it. Nor am I the first person who has become stressed over something that turned out to not be very bad at all. Kleist’s style thrives on the managing of expectation. The chain of events he describes follow a natural progression so that you can guess how a story will end after reading the first page. At the same time, however, you’re afraid that it really will end that way. Reading his stories, expectations neither ruin the experience of the ending nor help you tolerate it. Every sentence carries a finality outside of the plot of the story. In the Earthquake in Chile, for example, there are no distractions. Every line shapes the story in the same way that the things you do shape the person you become which shapes the things you do in the future. Every action leads to a thought that leads to an action and so on. Every need to act leads to a need to think and after every thought there is a need to act. This is all very obscure. Ultimately, it’s unpleasant to read Kleist stories because you want to be able to tell his characters to not get their hopes up, or to have faith, or to not go to the church, or that you support them, but you can’t because they’re not real. It’s unpleasant because it reminds you of the times you’ve wanted, in hindsight, to tell yourself to not believe something or to not do something, producing the same anxiety that comes anytime you realize you cannot change the past. It’s unpleasant because his plot, and the speed with which he writes it (and all of the transitions), mimic the thing responsible for your bad decisions. Time moves, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it, so you’re forced to act. And when we’re afraid of acting we think, and that’s the most tragic part because thinking doesn’t help anything. Doing the thing that will result in the most positive outcome is the only thing that matters. When we’re looking at things in hindsight we accept a fatalism that makes any thought, any attempt at trying to control our destinies, to be a tragic setup for disappointment and failure. The anxiety from Kleists’s stories comes from feeling that the character’s stories is already written, but they’re so alive (why do they feel so alive? I think it has to do with their totally believable sense of expected surprise ) that when they think they can control their future, you feel pity for them.This is a long way of saying that Kleist is an uncomfortable, but masterful writer who everyone should at least give a try.
—Yadel

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