Abstract
Focusing on his translations of the literary “Introduction” and “Foreword” and one of the ten novellas in Gottfried Keller’s collection The People of Seldwyla, Gabriel explores the way in which Keller’s two literary frames work together with Keller’s stories. In doing so, Gabriel seeks to demonstrate the need not only for an English translation of the complete collection but also for the inclusion of Keller’s literary “Introduction” and “Foreword” in English translations of any individual stories from the collection. He argues that a sense of Schadenfreude pervades Keller’s use of the town and the people of Seldville as an opportunity to forge, in both senses of the word, a Swiss(-German) identity within and against some of the predominant German-language literary, political, cultural, and linguistic contexts of his time.
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Notes
- 1.
All English translations from the original German, unless otherwise indicated, are my own.
- 2.
Examples of Keller’s tales that exist in English translation include: Die drei gerechten Kammmacher, translated as The Three Righteous Combmakers by Robert Browning in Ryder (1982: 15–51) and by Hottinger in his own collection (1929/1970: 125–172), and as The Three Just Comb-makers by N. Reeves in Lamport (1974: 121–163); Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe, which exists as A Village Romeo and Juliet in translations by P. Thomas (1955, reprinted and “adapted” in Ryder 1982: 52–118), by R. Taylor (1966/2008), and by M. D. Hottinger (1929/1970: 45–124); and Kleider machen Leute, translated as Clothes make the Man by Hottinger (1929/1970: 173–222), by Steinhauer in his own anthology (1977: 230–266) and in Ryder (1982: 152–189). The two largest collections of Seldville stories in English translation, Ryder’s and Hottinger’s, contain four and five of the ten Seldville stories, respectively, along with other stories by Keller. In addition to the three tales mentioned above, they both include Spiegel, das Kätzchen (Spiegel, the Cat in Hottinger (1929/1970: 3–44) and Mirror, the Cat in the Browning translation in Ryder (1982: 119–151). Ryder adds his own translation of Das verlorene Lachen in his collection, the title of which he translates as The Lost Smile (1982: 190–270).
- 3.
Fallersleben’s opening stanza uses four rivers, the Maas in the west, the Memel in the east, the Etsch in the south, and the Belt in the north, to delineate the boundaries of his liberal political ideal of a unified republican Germany. Ironically, more than anything else, it was the Nazis’ actual consolidation of Fallersleben’s poetically delineated space (and more – again, minus Switzerland) into a unified fascist political reality a century later that led German politicians to officially eliminate the first stanza from the national anthem after World War II in favor of the third stanza, which celebrates instead the ideals of “unity and justice and freedom for the German fatherland” (“Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit fuer das deutsche Vaterland”). The second stanza, which celebrates “German faithfulness,” but also “German wine, German women and German song” (“Deutsche Treue, deutsche Frauen, deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang”), is also no longer a part of the official national anthem for obvious reasons. Historically, however, it points to the roots, and the strength, of the wish for a unified republican “Deutschland” in Germanspeaking Europe in the (all male) universities and student fraternities of the so-called “young Germany” period leading up to the revolutions of 1848.
- 4.
Although his frame of reference is Zürich in particular, Gordon Craig (1988) offers an outstanding summary of the general Swiss political situation in the middle of the nineteenth century. His attention to the cultural and social perspectives and influences of the period make his work particularly relevant here, and he repeatedly cites Gottfried Keller, a native Züricher and an interested political observer. For an excellent overview of the political events leading up to the formation of the new Swiss republic in 1848, see especially chapter 3, “Toward a More Perfect Union: Sonderbund War, New Constitution, Problems of Foreign Policy” (pp. 63–92). Craig even borrows the title of the original German version of his work—Geld und Geist (Money and Spirit)—from the title of another of Gotthelf’s works: Geld und Geist, oder die Versöhnung (Money and Spirit, or the Reconciliation) (1852/1940).
- 5.
The German term Ausbildung has a wide range of meanings, including “education” and “formation.” These are also important as implications of what Auerbach is advocating here, namely, the literary or “poetic” expansion upon localized detail as the basis for the formation and dissemination of a larger pan-German political “spirit” or “type.”
- 6.
Robert Holub (1991) illustrates this point particularly well with regard to Soll und Haben. See especially his chapter 7, “The Business of Realism: Ethical Preoccupations and Aesthetic Contradictions.” For a sense of the breadth and variety as well as the centrality in German-language culture of the mid-century discussion surrounding “work” and Freytag’s novel, see the chapter in Bucher & Hahl entitled “Der Roman und die Arbeit (G. Freytag)” (1981: 323–362).
- 7.
It is interesting in this context to note the common root of “bilden”—of creative/active formation—in the verb “anbilden” that Benjamin uses to describe a successful translation (1923/1980: 18) and in the verb “ausbilden” that Auerbach uses to encourage German-language literature and politics to successfully manufacture a German national identity from the disparate German-speaking territories (1843/1981: 150).
- 8.
Although the concept of “Glück” in the work of Gottfried Keller has received some critical attention, almost none of this attention has been focused on Der Schmied seines Glückes. This is surprising to say the least, since the word assumes so many denotations in the course of the story. See, for example, Böschenstein (1990) and Pestalozzi (1990).
- 9.
I have also italicized the variants of the protagonist’s first and last name in this opening passage to highlight the variety of permutations in this initial passage alone. I discuss this variation, which continues throughout the story with the silent acquiescence/complicity of the narrator, in the paragraphs that follow.
- 10.
Preisendanz quote here is from the final sentence of the original Grimms’ fairy tale. The full line reads: “With light heart and free of all care, he [Hans] now skipped away until he was home with his mother” (1810/1974: 101). Preisendanz also acknowledges the complexities of Keller’s structure as he develops his reading further (1989: 25ff.).
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Gabriel, H. (2017). Translating the Forging and Forgery of Mid-nineteenth-Century Swiss(-German) Identity in Gottfried Keller’s People of Seldwyla . In: Albakry, M. (eds) Translation and the Intersection of Texts, Contexts and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53748-1_4
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