Liberal Affect and Literary Culture: the Politics of Feeling in Mid-Nineteenth Century German Fiction

LIBERAL AFFECT AND LITERARY CULTURE: THE POLITICS OF FEELING IN MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY GERMAN FICTION Erik J. Grell A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in the Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German Studies Chapel Hill 2015 Approved by: Jonathan M. Hess Eric Downing Konrad H. Jarausch Thomas Pfau Gabriel Trop © 2015 Erik J. Grell ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Erik J. Grell: Liberal Affect and Literary Culture: The Politics of Feeling in Mid-Nineteenth Century German Fiction (Under the direction of Jonathan M. Hess) Liberal Affect and Literary Culture: The Politics of Feeling in Mid-Nineteenth Century German Fiction, develops a new model for understanding the role of literature in the formative years of German liberalism. Traditional narratives about the emergence of liberal ideology in nineteenth-century Germany frequently stress political failure by way of arguing for a Sonderweg approach to German modernity. In partial dissent from these accounts, I explore how German liberalism is significant for what it does achieve, and not only as a result of its failures. Against the grain of teleological accounts of German political development and their narrative of political and institutional miscarriage (e.g., Mommsen, Fischer, Wehler), my research engages the diverse and far-flung culture of popular prose fiction between 1830 and 1860 as a site where German liberalism succeeded during its formative years. In so doing, I am mindful not to conflate liberal success entirely with bourgeois success, an impulse that tacitly informs the basis of Geoff Eley and David Blackbourn’s seminal work. Insisting on the distinctness of the political and the social, my dissertation emphasizes their complex entanglement within literary form and culture, ultimately revealing literature as a crucial site for constituting early German liberalism as a form of Gemütsstimmung (attunement). While a variety of discourses and institutions played a role in the formation of a German model of liberalism, such as philosophy (e.g., Kant, Hegel, Bauer), historiography, and legal theory, this project explores its development by cultural proxy. Following on the heels of iii increased book production and rising literacy rates, narrative prose fiction developed into a pillar of German culture during the nineteenth century. My project examines several key texts and genres written with an intent to intervene within this culture at the level of politics, including Karl Gutzkow’s social critique, Die Zeitgenossen (1837), Heinrich Heine’s fragmentary novel, Florentinische Nächte (1827/35), Berthold Auerbach’s Schwarzwälder Dorfgeschichten (1843), an anonymously published serial novel, Die Geheimnisse von Berlin: Aus den Papieren eines Berliner Kriminalbeamten (1844), Adalbert Stifter’s canonical novella, Brigitta (1844), and Theodor Mügge’s historical and adventure novel, Afraja (1854). By appealing to this broad collection of texts and genre concepts, my project sheds light on an equally broad collection of political concerns, disclosing how literature helped readers negotiate Jacobin and Anglo-Saxon political influences, the concepts of Volk, Nation and Bildung, and a number of eighteenth- century literary and cultural traditions. In particular, I scrutinize these political themes within the context of an eighteenth-century affective model of sensibility, the legacy of which has been inadequately explored by literary scholars and historians alike. I show how early German liberalism appropriates, adapts, and repurposes this model, with each of my chapters locating the historical significance of prose fiction in the way it engaged readers as a form of emotional attunement (Stimmung) with themselves and larger communities. By investigating the figural strategies, including allegory and synecdoche, within these individual works as well as reconstructing their broader historical reception, my dissertation illuminates a tension between literary and historicist modes. My research reveals how the effort to foster politics through literature betrays a fundamental ambivalence at the level of affect and literary form, which necessarily informs the political work performed by nineteenth-century prose fiction. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to extend my deepest thanks to everyone involved in supporting the Carolina-Duke Joint Program in German Studies. Dozens of individuals working behind the scenes helped ensure my success over the last half decade. From generous financial support and administrative diligence to organizational planning and perseverance, I am ever grateful for the nurturing community I discovered in North Carolina. Academically, I am indebted to the faculty in Chapel Hill and Durham who supported me every step of the way. Extra thanks go to Jonathan Hess, my advisor, who has been a constant source of support and encouragement throughout graduate school. I could not have found a better mentor. My committee members also deserve special thanks for shaping my academic development over the years. Eric Downing’s advice and guidance have been indispensible for my growth. Simply put, he is an exemplary scholar and teacher, a role model whose acquaintance I will always cherish. Gabe Trop’s enthusiasm, generosity, and critical insights have aided my intellectual growth in myriad ways. Thomas Pfau’s encyclopedic knowledge and characteristic precision have left me in awe and inspired me on countless occasions. And I was exceptionally privileged to have Konrad Jarausch serve on my committee; his helpful attentiveness gave shape to many of my own research questions. I am very grateful to the near constant support I received from Ann Marie Rasmussen as well. I could not imagine the last several years without her. I’d also like to thank Burkhard Meyer-Sickendiek for welcoming me to Freie Universität in Berlin and enthusiastically supporting my work. And finally, I owe a very special thanks to my former undergraduate mentors Dolores Peters, Karl v Fink, and Jim Farrell. Without their passion and patience, I most certainly would not be where I am now. A number of institutions supported my doctoral research. My utmost thanks goes to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a generous grant that allowed me to spend a year in Berlin. The experience was fantastic for both myself and my family and we will always reflect on our time in Germany with fondness. My gratitude also goes to the staff and scholars at the Staatsbibliothek for providing a quiet respite during my final year of graduate school and the Kita an der Universität der Künste Berlin und an der Technischen Universität Berlin for welcoming my daughter with such open arms. I would like to thank the Duke University Graduate School for an International Dissertation Research Travel Award and the UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate School for both a Dissertation Completion Fellowship and the Jürg Steiner Summer Research Fellowship, generously funded by Harold Glass. Lastly, I would like to share my thanks to a number of graduate school colleagues and North Carolina friends for filling the last several years with engagement, ebullience, and camaraderie. Matt, Tayler, Toby, Rory, Lindsey, Jim, Melanie, Emma, Steffen, and Tres: getting to know you all was the best part. To my families in Colorado and Minnesota, I want to thank you for you long-distance support. From trips to North Carolina and flights to Germany, you’re love and encouragement has been a great source of strength. And last but not least, I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks to Stephanie and her unwavering support, and to Ingrid for the unfathomable joy she has brought to us both. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................. vii INTRODUCTION: .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE – Political Allegory and Erotic Desire in Heinrich Heine’s Florentinische Nächte (1827/36) ................................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER TWO – The Uses of Empfindsamkeit: Liberal Community and Religiosity in Berthold Auerbach’s Schwarzwälder Dorfgeschichten (1843) ............................ 100 CHAPTER THREE – German Crime Fiction and Literary Adaptation: Liberalism and Social Pity in Die Geheimnisse von Berlin: Aus den Papieren eines Berliner Kriminalbeamten (1844) ...................................................................................... 170 CHAPTER FOUR – Homoerotic Travel, Classical Bildung and Liberal Allegory in Adalbert Stifter’s Brigitta (1844/47) ....................................................................................... 238 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 275 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 290 vii INTRODUCTION Literature and Politics: Early German Liberalism as a “Stimmung des Gemüts” In 1837, a small Stuttgart publisher began releasing installments of a work titled Die Zeitgenossen: Ihre Schicksale, ihre Tendenzen, ihre grossen Charaktere.1 Critics of the first two volumes were quick to note the work’s strange form, something that can only be described

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