What he dared to dream

You could tell this life as a moral story. As one grows up as a half-orphan, in poverty, thrown with 15 of the school, leads an unsuccessful artist living in a Foreign country, returns penniless in the home town, is a wonderful way in to a state office occupations and is now a solid life as a respectable citizen in the service of the community. Morally, poignant, and educational value.

Or so: There's one about detours and multiple of its actual aesthetic appeal: Not a painter, not a Failure of late, playwright, storyteller he is. Or another way: Since a distributes his romantic ideas, and purifies himself to the realists, is not life exaggerated, but in all the care the way it is.

Keller's first study book begins with a copy of Eckart's "clues to the magic". Image: PD

All of the contemporary "Storytelling" with the practical application: It can be the worst Bummelanten and failure, but still something. All wrong, the Story is not. But you simplified, glorified, smooths contradictions. They do not mention what took Gottfried Keller from the "first" to "second" life, there is no mention that this supposedly second life was by no means comfortable and self-satisfied. (The first service commencement as a state clerk, he overslept due to a boozy Celebration on the eve.)

So Keller's works are not so simple and accessible, as suggested by the fact that they are used since generations as a school. This has made the author so popular as the proverb, that leads one of his short stories in the title ("clothes make people"). But the popularity has been based on a simplified reading. Keller's prose often has a double bottom, as his resume up to the end, some Abysmal sticky.

Wonderful twists

Out of the mire in which he was, helped him twice, unexpectedly, the authorities: A scholarship – two or more years! – made it possible for him to be "without a more definite purpose" in Heidelberg, and Berlin for inspiration. Then the appointment of the First state writers: the basement was by no means the closest Name for such an important office. The two-time intervention from above seems like a miracle.

Such wonderful twists has used the basement in turn is in the works: The totally impoverished green Henry a beam of light shows a flute, which he can move. And in his last novel "Martin Salander" finds Marie, the mother, but still a valuable gold coin – after you tried the children with a tale of Hunger to distract.

in this fairy tale means of Theodor Fontane, the basement held a little disrespectful for a "fairy tale" – an expression of ambiguity: Because it's a miracle it must be, the rescue, shows, where people in a world without wonder. In the real world, the Realist cellar viewed with increasing disapproval.

a critique of financial capitalism avant la lettre

It was the world of upheaval and industrialization, growth, and the increasingly dominant role of money. And Alfred Escher, his Generation, and 2019 will also be the anniversary of comrade, pushed it, from the basement critically.

the second volume of the "people of Seldwyla" (1874) reflects the Penetration of the money economy, such as Hugo Loetscher noticed on the occasion of a basement Show from 1990: the "Industrialization at the cost of the policy or political ideas". The "flag of the seven Upright", this Patriotic calendar story, with the basement permanently in Switzerland, had arrived, containing in 1861, a prophetic critique of the capital Metropolitan, if you will, a critique of financial capitalism avant la lettre.

There it says: "Fortunately, there is no tremendously rich people, the wealth is fairly distributed; but even guys with many millions of arise, the appetite for political supremacy have addiction, and you will see what the push for mischief. There will come a time, where in our country, large masses of money, to be efficient way prepared; then it will apply to have the devil in the teeth . . ."

end in fire and water

the Same narrative of the basement referred to is hardly 18 years later, as "antiquated grandfather piece", the Patriotic-political satisfaction was feeling then, "social Affairs, miss, railway misery, an endless Hatz replaced".

disillusioned, Finally, writes the cellar at the end of his life the – little successful, until today, misjudged the novel "Martin Salander" in the "capital rule" has the sole and citizens to cheat on each other. Financial reasons again – it was the renewal of the Subscription of the magazine which printed the novel in advance – forced the author to a hasty conclusion. What Keller actually wanted to, was to end with fire and water magic, a kind of twilight of the gods for the commercial cesspool of münster castle (= Zurich). This is given in the notes in the Strauhof exhibition.

it also got, today, prophet coined are sounding sentences about the end of the fossil age, here on the coal: "There will come a time, where the black blessing of the sun, the earth is consumed in less centuries, as it for thousands of years it took to accumulate it." As the growing energy needs of humanity needs food? "Then, the madman: more leads, more! more and more! which is Enough to devour." The old cellar: a Green that looks black. But this is only a Story.

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 28.02.2019, 17:55 PM