Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Resources Supplementary Information 1997 Im Nonnengarten : An Anthology of German Women's Writing 1850-1907 Michelle Stott aJ mes Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sophsupp_resources Part of the German Literature Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation James, Michelle Stott, "Im Nonnengarten : An Anthology of German Women's Writing 1850-1907" (1997). Resources. 2. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sophsupp_resources/2 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Supplementary Information at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Resources by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. lm N onnengarten An Anthology of German Women's Writing I850-I907 edited by MICHELLE STOTT and JOSEPH 0. BAKER WAVELAND PRESS, INC. Prospect Heights, Illinois For information about this book, write or call: Waveland Press, Inc. P.O. Box400 Prospect Heights, Illinois 60070 (847) 634-0081 Copyright © 1997 by Waveland Press ISBN 0-88133-963-6 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America 765432 Contents Preface, vii Sources for further study, xv MALVIDA VON MEYSENBUG 1 Indisches Marchen MARIE VON EBNER-ESCHENBACH 13 Die Poesie des UnbewuBten ADA CHRISTEN 29 Echte Wiener BERTHA VON SUTTNER 45 Si vis pacem ... MARIE HIRSCH 55 Im Nonnengarten ILSE FRAPAN 65 Wie stehn wir? HERMINE VILLINGER 73 Der letzte Schuler GERTRUD FRANKE-SCHIEVELBEIN 85 Der groBe Versohner CHARLOTTE NIESE 93 Was Mahlmann erzahlte IDA BoY-ED 105 Not ISOLDE KURZ 115 Vom Leuchtkafer, der kein Mensch werden wollte LUISE WESTKIRCH 121 Schneid HERMIONE VON PREUSCHEN-TELMANN 141 Meine Freundin ALOISIA KIRSCHNER 159 Die Schlange EMILIE MATAJA 163 Die Kindheit ein-Paradies LEONIE MEYERHOF 171 Die Wahrheit im Dunkeln HELENE BOHLAU 183 Die Ratsmadchen laufen einem Herzog in die Arme MARIA JANITSCHEK 193 Konigin Judith GABRIELE REUTER 209 Das Opernglas FRIDA ScHANZ-SOYAUX 215 Wie der Gianino zu Ehren kam ANNA CROISSANT-RUST 227 Kirchweih ADINE GEMBERG 237 Vision CLARA VIEBIG 241 Am Totenmaar Lou ANDREAS-SALOME 257 Vor dem Erwachen ELISABETH HEINROTH 283 Zwei Liebespaare RICARDA HUCH 305 Liebe MARIE EUGENIE DELLE GRAZIE 313 Volkslied ELSA BERNSTEIN 331 Das Marchen vom Leid ELSBETH MEYER-FORSTER 341 Worte HELENE KESSLER 349 Kameraden SOPHIE HOECHSTETTER 363 Das rote SchloB Illustrations cover Illustration by Wilhelm v. Kaulbach, in Goethe-Gallerie, Friedrich v. Spielhagen (Munich: Friedr. Bruckmann's Verlag, n.d.), 110 page xviii Design by Franz Stassen, in Bucher der Weisheit und Schonheit, Karl Freiherr v. Fircks, edited by Jeannot Emil Freiherr v. Grotthuf3 (Stuttgart: Greiner und Pfeiffer, 1904), endsheet 12 Illustration by E. Voigt, in Tochter-Album 39, edited by Thekla v. Gumpert (Glogau: Verlag v. Carl Flemming, 1893), facing 72 28 Source unknown 44 Illustration, ]ugend-Album, edited by Isabella Braun (Stuttgart: Gebriider Scheitlin, 1859), 340 54 Illustration by F. Seidel, in Tochter-Album 29, edited by Thekla v. Gumpert (Glogau: Verlag v. Carl Flemming, 1883), facing 338 64 Illustration by F.W. Bader, in Theodor Korner's sammtliche Werke, edited by Heinrich Laube (Vienna: Verlag v. Sigmund Bensinger, 1882), 229 72 Ibid., 336 84 Illustration by Kaulbach, in Goethe-Gallerie, 38 114 Illustration by W. Claudius, in T8chter-Album 39, facing 366 158 Illustration by Kaulbach, in Goethe-Gallerie, 50 170 Illustration by A. Diethe, in Tochter-Album 39, facing 396 182 Illustration by P. Heyde!, in Tochter-Album 29, facing 540 192 Illustration by Kaulbach, in Goethe-Gallerie, 30 208 Illustration, T8chter-Album 39:98 226 Illustration, Schiller's Song ofthe Bell, trans. W. H. Furness (Philadelphia: Hazard and Mitchell, 1850), facing 20 256 Illustration by W. Claudius, in Tochter-Album 29, facing 8 282 Illustration by Kaulbach, in Goethe-Gallerie, 116 312 Illustration by Bader, in Korner's siimmtliche Werke, 367 340 Illustration by Kaulbach, in Goethe-Gallerie, 110 Preface he female-authored stories collected in this anthology originated during T the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a time that witnessed some of the most significant changes ever experienced in European society: the rise of industrialism and the decline of the agrarian state; the decline of the aristocracy; a growing awareness of the plight of the underclasses; the new ideas of thinkers such as Marx, Darwin, Nietzsche and Freud, whose theories revolutionized the way humans understood themselves and their relationship to their environment; the beginnings of the Women's Move­ ment and the accompanying gains in mobility, political rights, and educa­ tional and professional opportunities for women; the advent of the steam engine, electricity, the telephone, and other such far-reaching improvements in technology. Written primarily between 1850 and 1907, these narratives are the fruit of this period of tension and change; thus, they reflect and react to the thought, conventions, and attitudes of the time, in many cases powerfully depicting the birth struggles of a new way of being. Although some of the authors were relatively unfamiliar to the nineteenth-century reading public, many of them were among the most famous and widely read literary voices of their time, often influential in broader cultural, intellectual, and political spheres of activity as well. In the long tradition of women's writing in German-speaking cultures, these women are particularly significant in that they represent the first gen­ eration of women authors to enjoy a full range of educational opportunities, including attendance at a university, with far greater mobility and access to spheres of public and political life than experienced by their foremothers in Europe. Although some of these women, at least in their initial years of publication, adopted male pseudonyms, most of them presented their works under their own names. In a variety of approaches, from realistic narratives to fairy tales and allegorical depictions, from the epistolary story to the idioms Preface viii of nineteenth-century Realism and German Naturalism, these authors gave voice to a kaleidoscopic panorama of human thought, emotion, and expe­ rience during a period of unprecedented change and development in the history of humanity.! Across generations and cultures, women's writing has tended to focus on interpersonal relationships; the stories in this anthology follow that predilection on a number of levels. One of the more significant of these is the moral vision that emerges from many of the narratives. At a time when Karl Marx and his followers advocated a classless society achieved through violent revolution, these women in their unique way posited an end to the "vertical" scramble for more: more power, prestige, money, beauty, pleasure, even at the cost of sacrificing others to get it. However, their vision eschews violence; instead, they envision a society that changes from the inside, through the actions and attitudes of a "horizontal" net­ work of caring, concerned, accepting individuals. Rather than working out their revolution on the streets or at the barricades, these women call for equally radical change in the hearts, souls, and private lives of human beings. As witnessed by their focus on themes such as child abuse, oppressive child-rearing practices, irresponsible parenting, and the bond­ age of ignorance, their ideal society tends to be not an abstract political utopia, but a practical reality bright with opportunity for every human being, achievable through engaged caring on the part of each individual. It is because of the strength of this vision that we have selected "Im Nonnengarten" as the title story for this collection. The inhabitants of this neighborhood have, in their own way, actualized a society unified through care, help, and mutual consideration, no longer divided by rank, privilege, or money. Within this social space, divisions caused by the mercilessly competitive scramble to the top can be healed by the power of friendship, shared belief and goals, and a unity of spirit. lThose interested in a concise history of women's writing in German-speaking cultures should refer to Gisela Brinker-Gabler, "Einleitung," in Deutsche Dichterinnen vom 16. ]ahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart (Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Ver­ lag, 1978); Katherine R. Goodman and Edith Waldstein, "Introduction," in In the Shadow if Olympus: German Women Writers around 1800, ed. Goodman and Waldstein (Albany: SUNY Press, 1992); and Susanne Zantop, "Trivial Pursuits? An Introduction to German Women's Writing from the Middle Ages to 1830," in Bitter Healing: German Women Writers 1700-1830, ed. Jeannine Blackwell and Susanne Zantop (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990). Preface ix Another facet of these authors' concern with interpersonal relationships is the exploration of femininity and what it means to be a woman. Coming at a time when the Women's Movement was making its first halting gains, these narratives afford a glimpse into the struggles of women who seek to establish a new role for themselves, to transcend the traditional societal limi­ tations placed on them, and to enjoy a broader spectrum of experience, edu­ cation, and public involvement. With ever-changing nuance and insight, the texts explore traditional definitions of femininity and attempt to define a woman's personal, individual worth beyond her social or purely maternal roles and functions. Of course, an investigation of the nature of femininity is also an explo­ ration of masculinity. At times, the stories reveal a side of human behavior common among men but often not willingly acknowledged: arrogant, violent, authoritarian, exploitive of women. However, in addressing these aspects of traditional masculinity the texts also affirm other human charac­ teristics that society has often suppressed in men: sensitivity, the open expression of feelings, genuine caring, and quiet, moral strength.