Selected Prose of Heinrich von Kleist
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- 54,99 lei
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- 54,99 lei
Publisher Description
In this extraordinary and unpredictable cross-section of the work of one of the most influential free spirits of German letters, Peter Wortsman captures the breathlessness and power of Heinrich von Kleist’s transcendent prose. These tales, essays, and fragments move across inner landscapes, exploring the shaky bridges between reason and feeling and the frontiers between the human psyche and the divine. From the "The Earthquake in Chile," his damning invective against moral tyranny; to "Michael Kohlhaas," an exploration of the extreme price of justice; to "The Marquise of O . . . ," his twist on the mythic triumph of love story; to his essay "On the Gradual Formulation of Thoughts While Speaking," which tracks the movements of the unconscious decades before Freud; Kleist unrelentingly confronts the dangers of self-deception and the ultimate impossibility of existence ina world of absolutes. Wortsman’s illuminating afterword demystifies Kleist’s vexed history, explaining how the century after his death saw Kleist’s legacy transformed from that of a largely derided playwright into a literary giant who would inspire Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka. The concerns of Heinrich von Kleist are timeless. The mysteries in his fiction and visionary essays still breathe.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Compiled and translated by Peter Wortsman, this collection of short stories, novellas and literary fragments by German writer Heinrich von Kleist (1777 1811) is impressive not only for its content but for its relevance centuries later. In "The Earthquake in Chile," Jeronimo Rugera is jailed for impregnating his student, Donna Josephe, and is contemplating suicide on the day of her arranged beheading when an earthquake thunders through the city and frees him. Rugera, wandering through the rubble-torn streets, is astonished to find that both his love and their baby have miraculously been spared, but the bloodthirsty nature of the surviving townspeople has not abated. Based on a true event, "The Marquise of O" centers on an Italian widow courted by Count F., who asks for her hand in marriage. Meanwhile, she notices her body transforming and when the surprise pregnancy is confirmed, her family banishes her in disgrace, and she seizes upon the plan of advertising in the newspaper for the father to step forward and prove her innocence. A dark, charming collection of twisted fairy tales for grownups.