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VARIATIONS IN THE INTERPRETATION OF GOTTFRIED KELLER'S ROMEO UND JULIA AUF DEM DORFE by Anita K. Oser A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the College of Humanities in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida June, 1972 VARIATIONS IN THE INTERPRETATION OF GOTTFRIED KELLER'S ROMEO ---UND -----JULIA ---AUF ---DEM DORFE by Anita K. Oser This thesis was prepared under the direction of the candidate's thesis advisor, Dr. Ernest L. Weiser, Department of Languages and Linguistics. It was submitted to the faculty of the College of Humanities and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: ) \.,_, , _ I ' ) ) ;; , . .,/ "- t. - ~( / · l ~c ,o._(_ \... (Thesis Advisor) .. (. lt~l-7 / ~>l-: / 1 /;> J J-.~~t't ( Languag~s v /) ) L-- (d ~ 1 ii To My Mother And Father iii ABSTRACT Author: Anita K. Oser Title: Variations in the Interpretation of Gottfried Keller's Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe Institution: Florida Atlantic University Degree: Master of Arts Year: 1972 This study examines the major differences that exist among critical interpretations of Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe. Included is a survey of the creation of the novella, the various revisions made by Keller, and Keller's own feelings about the work. This is followed by the thorough discussion of the differences in interpretation of the structure, the characters, the symbols, the overall meaning, and the classification of the novella as a tragedy. Some attempt is made to point out the interpretations that are best substantiated by the text. The results of the study indicate that some of the interpretations show a strong influence of the particular premise of the critic. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT . iv INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTER I. GOTTFRIED KELLER AND ROMEO UND JULIA AUF DEM DORFE 3 CHAPTER II. VARIATIONS IN THE INTERPRETATION OF ---------ROMEO UND JULIA AUF DEM DORFE 10 CONCLUSION . 28 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 37 v 1 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to identify and discuss the major differences that exist among the critical interpretations of Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe that have appeared over the years. The findings of this study will be based primarily on the more detailed interpretations. This puts the main emphasis on the critical literature of the twentieth century since most of the reviews of the nineteenth century tend to be overly general. 1 Gottfried Keller's Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe was first published in 1856 as a part of the first volume of Die Leute von Seldwyla. Although it was highly praised by some, it aroused little attention among the public. In fact, the reception of the book was so poor that the original five-hundred copies printed met the demand for almost twenty years. 2 Fifteen years later, in 1871, the novella was included in Paul Heyse's Deutscher Novellenschatz and in 1874 it again appeared, in revised form, as a part of the new edition of the first volume of Die Leute von Seldwyla. Although Keller's Sieben Legenden, published in 1872, had had a rather favorable reception, this revised version of Die Leute ~ Seldwyla still met with limited success. It was not until such prominent figures as Jakob Baechtold, J.V. Widmann, Adolf Frey and Julius Stiefel openly praised Keller that Keller's image began to improve and with it the acceptance of his works. 3 From this time onward Keller's fame steadily grew and at the time of his death he was regarded as one 2 of the foremost writers in the German language. 4 So it was also with -----Romeo ---und Julia ---auf ---dem Dorfe. This novella which had aroused so little interest when it was first published, is today considered to be one of the best novellas of the nineteenth century. 5 Chapter I of this study is devoted to Gottfried Keller and his conception of the novella. Included is a discussion of the creation of the novella, the various revisions made by Keller, and Keller's own feelings about the work as gleaned from his letters and diary. Chapter II contains a thorough discussion of the differences that exist among the interpretations. First the disagreements among the critics pertaining to the structure are indicated. This is followed by a discussion of the differences in opinion about the evaluation of the character~ the symbols, and the overall meaning of the story. Finally, the various reasons given for classifying the novella as a tragedy are mentioned. The Conclusion includes an evaluation of the information gathered in the previous chapter. This is followed by a bibliography of all the materials used in the course of the research. 3 CHAPTER I GOTTFRIED KELLER AND ROMEO ---UND JULIA ---AUF ---DEM DORFE Gottfried Keller's many comments about Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe make it possible to trace the creation of the novella from its very beginnings to its final form. Many of these references not only shed light on the various stages of development, but also give some indication of Keller's own personal feelings about the novella. Thus these statements should be of help in considering the interpretations. Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe is the story of two young people, Sali and Vrenchen, who fall in love but cannot be happily united because of a family feud. An actual event that occurred near Leipzig, Germany on 16 August 1847 gave Keller his basic plot and the Romeo and Juliet theme inherent in it. Keller became acquainted with the situation through an article that appeared in the 3 September 1847 issue of the Z~richer Freitagszeitung: Im Dorfe Altsellerhausen bei Leipzig liebten sich ein J~ngling von neunzehn Jahren und ein M~dchen von siebzehn Jahren, beide Kinder armer Leute, die aber in einer tHdlichen Feindschaft lebten und nicht in eine Vereinigung des Paares willigen wollten. Am 15. August begaben sich die Verliebten in eine Wirt­ schaft, wo sich arme Leute vergnligen, tanzten daselbst bis nachts ein Uhr und entfernten sich hierauf. Am Morgen fand man die Leichen beider Liebenden auf dem Felde liegen: sie hatten sich durch den Kopf geschossen.l When he ultimately used this factual event as the basis of the novella, he made only a few minor changes. Keller did not alter the sequence of events, but he did change the location from Germany to Switzerland, 4 the time of year from August to September, and the cause of death from shooting to drowning . He also added the theme of peasant greed as the cause of the family feud. This association of the basic plot and the Romeo and Juliet theme with the theme of peasant greed occurred within two years after the appearance of the newspaper notice. Although this latter theme also dates back to 1847, it nevertheless was an idea or motif that existed independently of the Romeo and Juliet theme in the mind of the author. It must have held a great deal of interest for Keller, for he made it the topic of a paragraph that appears in his diary on 20 September 1847: Zwei stattliche, sonnengebr~unte Bauern pfl~gen mit starken Ochsen auf zwei Xckern, zwischen welchen ein dritter grosser brach und verwildert liegt. W~hrend sie die Pflugschar wenden, sprechen sie ~ber den mittleren schgnen Acker, wie er nun schon so manches J ahr brach liege, weil der verwahrloste Erbe desselben sich unst~t in der Welt herumtreibe. Frommes und tiefes Bedauern der heiden M~nner, welche wieder an die Arbeit gehen und jeder von seiner Seite her der ganzen L~nge nach einige Furchen dem verwaisten Acker abpfl~gt. Indem die Ochsen die Pfl~ge langsam und still weiterziehen und die heiden Z~ge h~ben und dr~ben sich begegnen, setzen die 11 b e~. d en Bauern e~nton~g. II • ~• h r Gesprac II h f art u b er d en bgsen Weltlauf, f~hren dabei mit fester Hand den Pflug und tun jeder, als ob der den Frevel des andern nicht bemerkte. Die Sonne steht einsam und heiss am Himmel. 2 This paragraph is in essence the opening scene of Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe. Already in 1849 Keller was planning to use the two themes as the basis of an epic poem. He mentions this fact in a letter to Wilhelm Baumgartner dated 28 January 1849: 11 Jenes epische Gedicht 5 von den zwei jungen Leutchen und den Bauern, welche pflligen, habe ich auch angefangen."3 Keller actually did write the first seven stanzas of this poem, but the attempt was not successful and he abandoned the plan. It was not until 1855 that he again attempted to combine these two themes. This time, however, it was in the form of a novella and the result was Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe. The title and opening paragraph of this novella, according to Keller, serve to reveal to the reader the main motif of the story and to emphasize that this universal theme had actually manifested itself again. This desire to prepare the reader for what is coming was one of Keller's basic principles. Already in 1851 he had expressed in a letter to Baumgartner his dedication to simplicity, clarity, and "m~glichst vollkommene libersicht und Voraussicht des Zuschauers alles dessen, was kommt, und wie es kommt."4 When Auerbach criticized the title because of its association with a literature "die nicht vom Leben ausgeht, sondern von der gedruckten Welt und ihren Erinnerungen," Keller defended the title with the assertion that their own works too were printed and that Shakespeare is "obleich gedruckt, doch nur das Leben selbst und keine unlebendige Reminiszenz."5 He also rejected Weibert's suggestion that the opening paragraph be dropped for the 1875 edition of Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe.

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