Horror Tropes and Magic in the Age of Goethe
Jack Mourouzis
GERM 61: The Age of Goethe
March 9, 2018
The novels of the Goethezeit incorporate a wide variety of themes, motifs, and tropes.
Most notably, these novels – particularly those that draw upon more Romantic and fantastical elements, such as Ludwig Tieck’s der blonde Eckbert and E. T. A. Hoffmann’s der goldne Topf.
These novellas in particular serve as an interesting reference point due to the prevalence of magical elements within the works, which contributes to an overall feeling of uncanniness and, ultimately, the appearance of the fantastic. These magical elements also serve as a clear foundation for common tropes found in modern horror stories, with these ideas stretching even into the 21st Century canon of fantasy and horror.
In this investigation, I have decided to include five works – representative of five significantly different types of stories – that feature one or more of these three major tropes. Two of these works – der goldne Topf and der blonde Eckbert – were featured in the GERM 61 course, and represent the age of Goethe, Romanticism, the German Novella, and the concept of a
Kunstmärchen. The other three works are representative of modern horror, and span the entirety of the genre’s lifespan, from the 1980s to the modern day. Each of them involves one of the major tropes that played a major role in both of the works of the Goethezeit.
The first of the modern horror stories is Stephen King’s It. Based off a novel that was initially released in 1986, the 2017 film proved to be one of the most critically and financially successful horror films of all time.1 The story revolves around:
the self-titled Losers’ Club, seven kids in their young teens… dealing with life in the
small town of Derry. In the aftermath of the loss of George, the six-year-old
brother of Bill, the group’s de facto leader – they all encounter the titular
malevolent presence in one way or the other. Only, It doesn’t simply appear to the
1 “It,” IMDB, 8 September 2017, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396484/. Losers’ Club in the same way each time: instead, it manifests as the thing that
they’re most afraid of. For two of them, the fear is a stereotype, a Wolfman and a
Mummy… For the others, the fear gets more insidious: it takes the form of one of
their own number; as a group of local boys who died where these kids play; and
for Beverley, the group’s only girl, it comes in the form of torrents of blood.2
In the film adaptation (which is set in 1988), Beverly eventually goes missing, and the boys of the Losers’ Club hatch a plan to find her and, in the process, vanquish Pennywise, the clown form that It takes throughout the film. This is different from the Stephen King novel, which also incorporates older versions of the same characters as It returns thirty years later to wreak havoc once again. The film, however, follows only the storyline incorporating the characters as children.
The Scream franchise was created by Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven in the mid-
1990s and encompasses four films, the first of which came out in 1996 and proved the most successful.3 The second two films were released in 1997 and 2000, respectively, with the fourth coming later in 2011. The first film, however, is of particular interest in this investigation. The plot involves “A quiet town with a Mainstreet, USA feel… battered by a series of brutal murders, mostly of teenagers, which seem to be linked to some unsolved murderous malarkey a decade or more ago. The local adolescent population respond by having a party and are knocked off one by one.”4 In particular, the film series focuses on the main character Sidney Prescott, a high school- aged (in Scream, and in later films is older) girl who is repeatedly tormented by a masked killer known as “Ghostface.” Sidney is followed and assaulted by the killer throughout the film until
2 Smythe, James, “Why Stephen King’s It still terrifies 30 years on,” The Guardian, 23 September 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/23/why-stephen-kings-it-still-terrifies-30-years-on. 3 “Scream,” IMDB, 20 December 1996, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117571/. 4 Smith, Adam, “Scream Review,” Empire Online, 11 October 2015, https://www.empireonline.com/movies/scream/review/. the grand unmasking at a house party during the film’s climax.
The Insidious franchise, created by Leigh Whannell and James Wan, rose to prominence with its first installment in 2010, with three installments following in 2013, 2015, and 2018.5 The plot deals with a young couple, Josh and Renai, who move into a new home with their two sons,
Dalton and Foster. After suffering a fall, Dalton slips into a coma. After several months, Renai begins seeing various apparitions in the house, which appears to be haunted. The couple consult a medium named Elise, who, along with her team of ghost hunters, explains that Dalton is the one who is haunted, who is trapped in a different spiritual plane (known as “The Further”) by means of astral projection, and through whom various demons are tormenting the family in the physical world. Ultimately, Elise explains that Josh also has this ability of astral projection, and he proceeds to enter the Further to rescue Dalton from a particularly evil demon.
The first major trope that is found consistently in the era of Goethe and in the modern horror genre is that of a separate, mysterious world at play in the narrative. This trope incorporates not simply one world – be it magical or realistic – into the narrative, but rather weaves multiple worlds in and out of each other, causing general confusion and unnerving feelings in the recipient. This element is present in four of the noteworthy works: both novels of the Goethezeit, Insidious, and It. In der goldne Topf, this world is perhaps the most clear-cut, distinct, and standalone; the reader learns in the eighth Vigil, during a conversation between the student Anselmus and the magical denizen Serpentina that “In uralter Zeit herrschte in dem
Wunderlande Atlantis der mächtige Geisterfürst Phosphorus.”6 This is the first time that we experience the distinct magical world by name through Serpentina’s detailed explanation of the goings-on in Atlantis to Anselmus, who is newly-introduced to this magical realm. However, up
5 “Insidious,” IMDB, 1 April 2011, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1591095/. 6 E. T. A. Hoffmann, der goldne Topf (Stuttgart: Reclams Universal-Bibliothek, 1953), 67. until that point, his encounters with magic had been quite clear and obvious, such has encounter with the Holunderbaum, three talking snakes, and green fire on the Elbe that he experiences at the conclusion of the first vigil.
In der blonde Eckbert, this world is much less distinct and clear-cut. The reader does not have any direct, ‘confirmed’ interactions with the separate world like in der goldne Topf; however, the world can be implied from the dealings of the novel. Bertha’s first encounter with die Alte – also the reader’s first – serves as a kind of entrance into this mysterious other world:
Ich ging näher und ward an der Ecke des Waldes eine alte Frau gewahr, die auszuruhen
schien. Sie war fast ganz schwarz gekleidet, und eine schwarze Kappe bedeckte
ihren Kopf und einen großen Teil des Gesichtes, in der Hand hielt sie einen
Krückenstock.
Ich näherte mich ihr und bat um ihre Hülfe; sie ließ mich neben sich niedersitzen
und gab mir Brot und etwas Wein. Indem ich aß, sang sie mit kreischendem Ton
ein geistliches Lied. Als sie geendet hatte, sagte sie mir, ich möchte ihr folgen….
Als wir heraustraten, ging die Sonne gerade unter, und ich werde den Anblick und
die Empfindung dieses Abends nie vergessen. In das sanfteste Rot und Gold war
alles verschmolzen, die Bäume standen mit ihren Wipfeln in der Abendröte, und
über den Feldern lag der entzückende Schein; die Wälder und die Blätter der
Bäume standen still, der reine Himmel sah aus wie ein aufgeschlossenes Paradies,
und das Rieseln der Quellen und von Zeit zu Zeit das Flüstern der Bäume tönte
durch die heitere Stille wie in wehmütiger Freude. Meine junge Seele bekam jetzt
zuerst eine Ahndung von der Welt und ihren Begebenheiten. Ich vergaß mich und
meine Führerin, mein Geist und meine Augen schwärmten nur zwischen den goldenen Wolken.7
Though there is no explicit entrance for Bertha into the magical world, the reader can infer a difference occurring upon her encounter with die Alte, as evidenced by the vivid description of her surroundings on this particular occasion; something is clearly difference once she
(figuratively) breaks bread with die Alte. Finally, this shift in world is implied by her forgetting herself through the experience – something that would not have happened without the influence of magic and the presence of the separate magical world.
This trope of a separate, mysterious, and magical world is also present in two of the horror works of interest: Whannell’s Insidious and King’s It. In the Insidious franchise, this world plays a major role in the storyline, and is both defined, dynamic, and self-contained. In the film, Elise (the spiritual medium called in to help the family with their haunted house situation) explains to Josh (the father in the haunted family) that their son Dalton is lost in a separate realm known as the Further, “a world far beyond our own, yet it’s all around us, a place without time as we knw it. It’s a dark realm filled with the tortured souls of the dead, a place not meant for the living.”8 In the film, the viewer receives first-hand depictions of this world; it shares physical locations with the real world, as one sees the family’s home as a major location in the Further.
However, everything is very dark, there is a large amount of fog and mist hanging in the air, strange spirits and beings lurk around in the darkness, and there are also new locations in the house, such as the red door that serves as the entrance to the demon’s lair. The viewer also experiences this distinction between the two worlds through Elise’s hypnotic words that accompany Josh’s entrance into the Further: “With each breath, let the life around you fade into the background… The universe is deathless. It is deathless because having no finite self, it stays
7 Tieck, Ludwig, der blonde Eckbert (Stuttgart: Reclams-Universal Bibliothek, 1952), 8-9. 8 Whannell, Leigh, Insidious, Film, Directed by James Wan, USA: Blumhouse Productions, 2010. infinite. A sound man, by not advancing himself, stays the further ahead of himself. Now you’re outside. Let my voice be your guide. Keep a steady stride. Into the Further you go.”9 In this scene, Josh sits in a chair with his eyes closed while Elise’s voice calls out, and once she is done speaking, he opens his eyes and is in the realm of the Further. Here, the world is quite obviously distinct and separate from the ‘real’ world, but is still very real, despite its magical, mysterious properties.
In Stephen King’s It, this world is less clearly-defined, but still exists and plays a major role in the story. In this story, the world has no name, and is only experienced by a small group of people (namely, the Losers). This world exists separate from the normal world in the sense that only the Losers are able to experience certain phenomena together, whereas others are not.
This is most evident in the scene at the Neibolt House, where the group enters a derelict old house where they believe that Pennywise resides. Inside, they encounter various visions and situations that they know do not exist; in many instances, the house even changes before their eyes. In another scene, Beverly, the only girl in the Losers’ Club, experiences a symbolic eruption of blood from the sink in the bathroom at her home. Her abusive father is unable to see the blood which covers every inch of the room; the other Losers, however, are able to see the blood and even help Beverly to clean it from the walls of the bathroom.10 In this case, the world is not self-sustaining and distinct from the ‘real’ world as in the case of der goldne Topf and
Insidious, but rather exists more in the style of der blonde Eckbert – the reader and viewer do not understand the world fully, but are able to experience its effects, even though the true essence of the world cannot be known.
The second trope present in both the works of the Goethezeit and modern horror is that of
9 Whannell, Insidious. 10 King, Stephen, It, Film, Directed by Andy Muschietti, USA: New Line Cinema, 2017. third-party disbelief in the existence of magic, and lack of experience with magic. In this situation, other characters – figures who play a role in the story, but are neither main protagonists nor antagonists – are informed by the protagonists about the existence of magic, but, being unable to experience the magical occurrences, do not believe the protagonists and thus deny the magic’s existence. This trope is particularly evident in der goldne Topf at the beginning of the first vigil, just after Anselmus’ encounter with the Elder Tree, the three snakes, and the green fire in the Elbe. A woman walking by sees him and proceeds to comment on his current state:
“Der Herr ist wohl nicht recht bei Troste!“ sagte eine ehrbare Bürgersfrau, die, vom
Spaziergange mit der Familie heimkehrend, stillstand und mit
übereinandergeschlagenen Armen dem tollen Treiben des Studenten Anselmus
zusah. Der hatte nämlich den Stamm des Holunderbaumes umfaßt und rief
unaufhörlich in die Zweige und Blätter hinein: „O nur noch einmal blinket und
leuchtet, ihr lieblichen goldnen Schlänglein, nur noch einmal laßt eure
Glockenstimmchen hören! Nur noch einmal blicket mich an, ihr holdseligen
blauen Augen, nur noch einmal, ich muß ja sonst vergehen in Schmerz und heißer
Sehnsucht!“… „Der Herr ist wohl nicht recht bei Troste“, sagte die Bürgersfrau,
und dem Anselmus war es so, als würde er aus einem tiefen Traum gerüttelt oder
gar mit eiskaltem Wasser begossen, um ja recht jähling zu erwachen.11
Here, Anselmus is so moved by the experience that he is desperately shaking the elder tree, crying out to the snakes he has just encountered. The woman, who was also nearby and was unable to see any of the things Anselmus was able to, completely denies his experience, claiming that he must be somehow out of his mind. However, as the reader learns as the story goes on, this
11 Hoffmann, 12. magical experience that Anselmus had is very much real; indeed, his various dealings with
Atlantis make up the bulk of the novella.
This trope is also important in It, as it plays a major role in characterizing the magical elements that are at play. On several occasions, various members of the Losers’ Club experience the manifestations of fear created by Pennywise. One member, Mike, sees his parents burning in a meat locker, and Pennywise soon after; Beverly sees the sink in her bathroom erupt into a fountain of blood; and Bill, the leader of the group, encounters his lost younger brother Georgie, who appears in his flooded basement alongside Pennywise. However, in each of these occasions, someone else is there to witness the magic, but does not experience what the Loser does in each set of circumstances. As Mike gazes into the meat locker, he is assaulted by a group of racist bullies, who do not see the figure of a clown looming in the locker; after they speed away in their car, the butcher steps out of the meat locker and asks Mike if he is okay, having apparently been working in there the whole time. Similarly, as the sink erupts into a cascade of blood in
Beverly’s bathroom and she cowers in the corner, petrified with fear and crying for help, her abusive father enters and asks what is wrong. When she says “There’s blood,” he is confused, and says that she worries him; the viewer is led to believe that he is unable to see the blood.
Finally, in the case with Bill, he is coping with his stress by sitting in his dead brother’s old room; while sitting on his bed, he hears a noise outside the room, and follows it to the flooded basement, where he sees Georgie standing in the corner. Georgie morphs into a deranged, corpse-like figure, and Pennywise emerges from the water and chases Bill up the stairs. Soon after, Bill’s father arrives to see what is wrong; he goes down into the basement to check things out and comes back up confused, as he did not see anything.12 There are even several more
12 King, It. instances similar to this; only the Losers are able to see these events and experience the true powers of It. Ultimately, the purpose this serves is to establish the magical nature of It, who is able to create these fantastical images in the minds of certain people to achieve his fear-inducing, terroristic ends.
The third trope that plays a role in these stories is that of a mysterious, omnipotent antagonist. This antagonist is of mysterious, unknown origin – the reader and viewer learn very little about him – and both is able to do and know things that ‘normal’ people could not. This trope is particularly noteworthy because of its universality within the horror genre; in essence, it is really the basis for all supernatural horror, as works of this nature inherently incorporate such antagonists. In the literature of the Goethezeit, this trope is most evident in der blonde Eckbert, specifically the character of die Alte. Throughout the work, she displays a mysterious knowledge of various dealings, and even takes on the form of other characters. The reader is in fact led to believe that die Alte takes on the form of Hugo and Walter as die Alte confronts Eckbert at the end of the story: “Eine krummgebückte Alte schlich hustend mit einer Krücke den Hügel heran… „Siehe, das Unrecht bestraft sich selbst: niemand als ich war dein Freund Walter, dein
Hugo!“13 Die Alte herself reveals this, and based off the rest of the evidence in the novel, the reader has no reason to doubt her claim. In addition, just after this confession, she tacks on another revelation: “Und Berta war deine Schwester!”14 This piece of information is noteworthy not only because it is shocking and new to Eckbert, but also because there is no reason or explanation as to why die Alte should know that. However, this is not the first instance in the story of die Alte knowing something that she realistically ought not know. As she is in the form of Walter, she invokes the name of the dog, Strohmian. This information, however, also ought
13 Tieck, 24. 14 Ibid. not to be known to her; indeed, Berta appears shocked and confused by this:
An jenem Abend sagte Walter beim Abschiede plötzlich zu mir: ‚Ich kann mir Euch recht
vorstellen, wie Ihr den kleinen Strohmian füttert.‘ - Ist das Zufall? Hat er den
Namen erraten, weiß er ihn, und hat er ihn mit Vorsatz genannt? Und wie hängt
dieser Mensch dann mit meinem Schicksale zusammen? - Zuweilen kämpfe ich
mit mir, als ob ich mir diese Seltsamkeit nur einbilde, aber es ist gewiß, nur zu
gewiß.15
She has no idea how Walter – really die Alte – could have possibly known this information, and no answer to this question is provided; thus, die Alte is characterized further as mysterious, and indeed omnipotent to the point of having magical qualities.
Scream also features this trope, albeit in an admittedly non-magical way. The killer,
Ghostface, repeatedly attacks the protagonist, Sidney, in ways that seem to be impossible for a human being. Thus the viewer is left with the inclination that this killer is possibly supernatural, despite his appearance as a simple man-in-a-mask. During the opening scene, as Ghostface is attacking a different girl (and pulling off various stunts that would be very difficult for a person do accomplish), she pulls off his mask, revealing nothing but blackness where the face ought to be.16 During this scene, the killer also knows various information about the girl that he ought not to know, such as her exact location in her house. This is the viewer’s first introduction to the killer, and one comes away from the opening scene with the idea that the killer is much more than he appears. These near-supernatural qualities attributed to the killer continue throughout the film. Towards the end, during the climactic confrontation at the house party, Sidney rushes out to a parked police car to try and mount an escape. Ghostface follows her out, and as she tries to
15 Tieck, 20. 16 Williamson, Kevin, Scream, Film, Directed by Wes Craven, USA: Woods Entertainment, 1996. lock the doors and turn on the car, she realizes that the keys are missing; the killer taps on the window and reveals that he possesses the vehicle’s keys. He then disappears, silently and invisibly enters the vehicle through the trunk, and attacks Sidney from inside the car. She manages to get away, and runs away from the car for only a second or two before turning back to look; when she looks back, however, Ghostface is nowhere to be seen.17 Up until the grand reveal, the viewer is left believing that this killer is, in some way, magical or supernatural; interestingly, it is revealed that there is in fact not one perpetrator, but rather two people working together, which explains much of how they were able to arrange their crimes the way they were.
However, there are still several questions that this revelation does not explain, such as the killer’s mysterious disappearance from the vehicle. The uncanniness of the situation, however, cannot be denied.
The trope of a mysterious, omnipotent antagonist with supernatural tendencies is also present in It in the form of the clown, Pennywise, who tends to take on the form of the victims’ worst fears, or at least addresses one of their major character shortcomings, in both direct and symbolic ways. Mike, who lost his parents in a fire, sees their burning bodies and hands reaching from behind a locked door. Bill, whose younger brother Georgie had been kidnapped and murdered by Pennywise, continues to see his brother. Eddie, a hypochondriac, is chased by a leper after dropping his pills on the ground. Beverly, who is sexually abused by her father and accused of being promiscuous by bullies at school, sees her bathroom sink erupt in a cascade of blood in a symbolic representation of her burgeoning womanhood.18 It is clear from the fact that no one other than the Losers’ can experience these apparitions that the ‘attacks’ are targeted and specific to the victim. They are in some way effected by Pennywise, as they otherwise would –
17 Williamson, Scream. 18 King, It. and could – not occur. Furthermore, they establish It as not only omnipotent (in the sense that he is able to know the internally-imprinted fears of his victims), but also as having the magical abilities to be able to create such ‘real’ apparitions in the experiences of his victims. In this film in particular, the antagonist is most clearly established as being supernatural in nature.
These various tropes and experiences with mysterious, even magical dealings can be viewed quite effectively by the frame provided by Tzvetan Todorov in his writings on the concept of the Fantastic. In his 1975 work The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary
Genre, Todorov describes three central concepts in the pursuit of defining ‘fantastic’ literary works: the fantastic, the uncanny, and the marvelous. The fantastic is described most in-depth:
In a world which is indeed our world, the one we know… there occurs an event which
cannot be explained by the laws of this same familiar world. The person who
experiences the event must opt for one of two possible solutions: either he is the
victim of an illusion of the senses, of a product of the imagination-- and the laws
of the world then remain what they are; or else the event has indeed taken place, it
is an integral part of reality--but then this reality is controlled by laws unknown to
us… The fantastic occupies the duration of this uncertainty… The fantastic is that
hesitation experienced by a person who knows only the laws of nature,
confronting an apparently supernatural event.19
In other words, the fantastic refers to the moment of uncertainty when one encounters some kind of supernatural occurrence, having only the context of the ‘real’ world with which to interpret and deal with it; it is the intersection of magic and reality.
Todorov also describes two other phenomena that can be used to view magical
19 Todorov, Tzvetan, The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1975), 25. phenomena in literature. The uncanny – a term derived from Freudian psychoanalysis – is used to refer to events that “are related which may be readily accounted for by the laws of reason, but which are, in one way or another, incredible, extraordinary, shocking, singular, disturbing or unexpected, and which thereby provoke in the character and in the reader a reaction similar to that which works of the fantastic have made familiar.”20 In the spectrum of mysterious occurrences, the uncanny is somewhere below the fantastic; it is wholly normal, realistic events that simply appear to be strange, even though they can technically be explained as natural.
Finally, above the fantastic – representing the wholly magical – is the idea of the marvelous, the
“class of narratives that are presented as fantastic and that end with an acceptance of the supernatural.”21
This concept characterizes all of these works, as all of the protagonists deal with the
(sometimes only seemingly-) supernatural in one way or another. In der blonde Eckbert, Berta and Eckbert are left confused and wondering how die Alte is able to know what she does, in addition to how she was able to take the form of both Walter and Hugo. In der goldne Topf, this internal conflict of Anselmus plays a role from his first encounter with Atlantis to the closing words of the novel, which inquires as to the very nature of the world with which the novella has dealt: „Waren Sie nicht soeben selbst in Atlantis, und haben Sie denn nicht auch dort wenigstens einen artigen Meierhof als poetisches Besitztum Ihres innern Sinns? - Ist denn überhaupt des
Anselmus Seligkeit etwas anderes als das Leben in der Poesie, der sich der heilige Einklang aller
Wesen als tiefstes Geheimnis der Natur offenbaret?“22 At the very end, the existence of Atlantis is called into question; however, for the purposes of the novella, it has very much been truly real.
These films also utilize Todorov’s concept of the fantastic to an effective degree. In
20 Todorov, 46. 21 Ibid., 52. 22 Hoffmann, 101-102. Insidious, this doubt informs much of the actions of the family; they continue treating Dalton via mainstream medical procedures until everyone has experienced the effects of the Further. Josh’s hesitation continues up until the very moment that he actually enters the Further; as Elise is providing her words of mediation, Josh interjects, claiming “It’s useless. I have no idea what I’m doing.”23 Only moments later, he enters into the fantastic world. This hesitation is important because it allows the characters to recognize the distinction – and the associated interplay – between the two worlds.
In It, the Losers take a while to accept their circumstances as true, and dance around this moment of hesitation for the bulk of the film. One character in particular, Richie, holds out on believing until he is nearly killed by Pennywise’s apparitions. As the protagonists are being assaulted by various apparitions in the Neibolt House, Bill reassures Richie, saying “This isn’t real. Remember the missing kid poster? That wasn’t real, so this isn’t real.” Then, soon after this remark, Pennywise appears and, while on the verge of murdering Eddie, malevolently inquires
“This isn’t real enough for you Billy? I’m not real enough for you? It was real enough for
Georgie!”24 The magical world continues to be questioned until its existence is expressly undeniable. The distinction between the fantastic and the marvelous, however, is still present; in the case of the fantastic, these magical events are very much real, yet recognized to be supernatural, and it is their encroachment on the natural world that is the source of the conflict.
In the case of the marvelous, it is the supernatural that is taken as a given, and the natural world which is the anomaly.
Scream, however, seems to occupy a different niche, namely that of the uncanny. As aforementioned, the character of Ghostface is only presented as being supernatural. Though he is
23 Whannell, Insidious. 24 King, It. able to achieve many strange, seemingly impossible feats such as disappear into thin air, appear with blackness in the place of a face, and know the exact location of people without being visible to them, the film confirms that nothing supernatural is occurring; indeed, he is able to achieve these feats due to the fact that there are two individuals masquerading as Ghostface and perpetrating the murders. In this film, the ‘supernatural’ occurrences do not qualify as the fantastic; since they are explainable through natural means, they qualify instead as the uncanny.
However, the overall effect of horror is still achieved, and the viewer is left in the same state as he would be with any of the supernatural horror movies in the tradition of Todorov’s fantastic.
The supernatural-dealing tropes first presented in the works of the Goethezeit have played an influential role in the development of traditional Romantic literature into works of the modern horror genre. While the direct relation between the initial works and modern film trends cannot be substantiated, the connection is evident and noteworthy. These timeless magical elements – many of which are uncanny, supernatural, and even frightening – are at work not only in the works of Tieck and Hoffmann, but in countless works since the age of Goethe. The works of the
Goethezeit are not just important for their role in literature; they are important because of their overall contribution to creative investigation of the fantastic.
Bibliography
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