Martin Salander

Gottfried Keller

Jan. 1963 · Newcomb Livraria Press

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A new 2023 translation of Gottfried Keller's 1886 "Martin Salander", followed by an Afterword by the translator, a timeline of his life and works and an index of his works. "Martin Salander" is both the title of a family and historical novel by Gottfried Keller, published in 1886. This final work by the author is a candid critique of conditions in his own country and beyond. It follows Martin, a poor idealist, as he navigates life ethically, which is a reflection of Keller's hope for a compassionate family life as an image for a free Switzerland. The idealistic but credulous and naive protagonist returns to his Swiss homeland after a lengthy stay in Brazil, achieving prosperity as a merchant and engaging in political activities. However, he witnesses how the unchecked pursuit of social advancement leads many contemporaries into fraud and embezzlement, resulting in him and his family becoming victims of such schemes. His hope that people, endowed with political rights in their country, would interact more responsibly with each other is bitterly disappointed, leading him to hand over the management of his business to his pragmatic son by the novel's end. One can compare this novel to Dosteovsky's "The Idiot". In his later work, Gottfried Keller undertook an experiment on multiple fronts. He engaged with contemporary history more directly than in any of his previous works and ventured into new formal pathways by attempting to minimize the use of an authoritative narrator. Despite varying reception, the novel held norm-setting power for many subsequent Swiss writers.

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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.