The People of Seldwyla: Part II

Gottfried Keller

Newcomb Livraria Press

About this ebook

The People of Seldwyla (Die Leute von Seldwyla) is a two-part novella cycle. The first five novellas, Part I, were written by Keller between 1853 and 1855 in Berlin, and they were published in 1856 by the Vieweg Verlag. The subsequent five novellas, Part II, were composed in several stages between 1860 and 1875, primarily during Keller's tenure as State Secretary in Zurich. It comprises ten "life portraits" (the working title during the Berlin phase), interconnected by a shared setting—the fictional Swiss town of Seldwyla. With the exception of "Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe," an adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy, the Seldwyla stories are comedies in novella form, characterized by a strong satirical and grotesque element. Two of the novellas, "Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe" and "Kleider machen Leute," hold a place in world literature and are among the most widely read narratives in German-language literature. They have been adapted into films and operas multiple times, translated into numerous languages, and are available in an extensive array of editions. "The People of Seldwyla," is regarded as a masterpiece of 19th-century German narrative art and is representative of the poetic realism style. Nietzsche wrote in Human, All Too Human ("Menschliches, Allzumenschliches") If one disregards Goethe's writings, the best German book there is: what actually remains of German prose literature that deserves to be read again and again? Lichtenberg's aphorisms, the first book of Jung-Stilling's Lebensgeschichte, Adalbert Stifter's Nachsommer and Gottfried Keller's The people of Seldwyla, - and that will be the end of it for the time being. Part II contains: Clothes Make the Man (Kleider machen Leute) The plot revolves around Wenzel, a penniless tailor from Seldwyla who, on his arrival in the Swiss town of Goldach, is mistaken for a young lord because of the luxurious suit he has made for himself. Wenzel is feted by the townsfolk and begins to attract the attention of a high-born young woman called Nettchen. The Blacksmith of his Fortune (Der Schmied seines Glückes) A humoresque by Gottfried Keller from 1865. In 1873, Ferdinand Weibert published the text in the third volume of the second part of the novella cycle Die Leute von Seldwyla by Göschen in Stuttgart. The Lost Laughter is a novella by Gottfried Keller, completed in 1874 and published by Göschen in Stuttgart in the fall of the same year as the "keystone" of the second part of the novella cycle The People of Seldwyla (Die Leute von Seldwyla) in German. The story follows a married couple - Jukundus and Justine - lose their laughter in a marital crisis. When the couple finds each other again, they find that laughter again. The Abused Love Letters (Die mißbrauchten Liebesbriefe) Die missbrauchten Liebesbriefe is a literary satire by Gottfried Keller from 1860. In October 1865, the text was preprinted in the Braunschweig "Deutsche Reichs-Zeitung". The story did not appear in book form until 1874, in the second part of the novella cycle Die Leute von Seldwyla, published by Göschen in Stuttgart. Dietegen The novella is set at the time of the Burgundian and Milanese Wars in the two fictional Swiss towns of Seldwyla and Ruechenstein. In Ruechenstein, the orphan boy Dietegen, who is kept like a slave as a lawless Verding child, is falsely accused of stealing a crossbow and hanged. Küngolt, a girl from Seldwyla, discovers that the boy is still alive in his coffin. According to the Rüchenstein legal system, whoever survives an execution is given life. From then on Dietegen grows up with Küngolt's father, the forester of Seldwyla, and his mother. Küngolt sees in him her future husband and treats him like her property. Dietegen overcomes his moral prejudice against the "harlot", goes to Ruechenstein and saves Küngolt from death. He takes part in the Milanese campaigns in which he falls, but from the marriage a "numerous lineage" is born.

About the author

One of Nietzsche's favorite living poets (the only real Swiss poet in his opinion, Keller was a major Swiss poet and writer, Keller is best known for his novel "Green Henry" (German: "Der grüne Heinrich"). His work is representative of the Realist movement, which sought to depict life and society as they were. Keller's stories often reflect the conflict between individual creative drives and the constraints of society. His novel "The People of Seldwyla" was one of Nietzsche's favorite.