Die Marquise von O
Encyclopedia
The Marquise of O is a novella
by Heinrich von Kleist
. It was first published in 1808
.
We learn that the Marquise is the daughter of a Colonel G., who was in charge of the citadel of the town M. Some time earlier, when the Napoleonic Wars
came to Italy
, the citadel was overrun by Russia
n forces, and in the confusion, the Marquise found herself about to be raped by a gang of Russian soldiers. However, she is saved by the Russia
n commander of the attack, Count F., who appears to her like an angel. After he brings her to safety she falls unconscious. The Count then completes the business of the storming, rescuing gunpowder and putting out a fire, attaining the surrender of the last pockets of resistance and garrisoning the fort with his own troops. He leaves before the Marquise can thank him. They receive news shortly thereafter that he has been killed in the nearby fighting. His last words are reported as “Giulietta, this bullet avenges you!” ("Julietta! Diese Kugel rächt dich!" in the original German). The Marquise is intrigued that someone the Count knows so well should have the same name that she does, Giulietta.
At the conclusion of the war, however, the Count appears at the house of Colonel G. and asks to marry the Marquise. He is quite insistent that they should be married immediately, though he seems to understand that it is unreasonable that such a thing should happen when the couple hardly know each other. The family agrees that the Count should stay at their house in order for him to get to know the Marquise, since the match seems to be a good one. However, the Count has a pressing military duty in another town and will be abandoning his post if he stays. They convince him that he should go, so that he will not lose his military post (which would make him a poor suitor) and that the Marquise will entertain no other prospective husband in his absence. While he is away, the Marquise finds herself pregnant. Although the symptoms of her pregnancy are clear, she is reluctant to believe it, as is the Colonel’s wife, her mother. They both accept the reality only after it is confirmed by a doctor and a midwife.
The Colonel kicks the Marquise out of his house and forbids her ever to come back despite his wife’s pleas against this. The Marquise takes her children and returns to her deceased husband’s estate in V. While she is there, the Count returns to M., hears the news of the Marquise’s pregnancy, seems unsurprised and tells the Marquise’s brother that he is convinced of her innocence. He then goes to visit her in V. and after being turned away by the porter, sneaks in through the garden and begs the Marquise to marry him. She runs into the house and locks the door.
It is at this point that the Marquise publishes her announcement in the newspaper. The announcement is answered the following day by another announcement that the father will present himself at the Colonel’s house on the 3rd at eleven o’clock. The Colonel is furious, believing that this is a ploy by his daughter to delude them into believing she is innocent. The Colonel’s wife, however, goes to visit the Marquise to find out for herself. She tells the Marquise that the father has already revealed himself to her; it is the groom, Leopardo, a servant of the household. When the Marquise seems to accept this for the truth, her mother reveals the trick and says that she now believes the Marquise’s story of innocence. She brings the Marquise back to M. and tells the Colonel to apologise. She leaves the Colonel and the Marquise alone for the apology, and when she returns the Marquise is sitting in her father's lap while he is kissing her ardently on the lips “like a lover!” ("wie ein Verliebter!"); the Colonel’s wife is pleased. They eagerly await the arrival of the mysterious father and agree that unless he is too far below her status, that the Marquise should marry him immediately. At the appointed hour, Leopardo walks in... to announce Count F.
The Colonel’s wife is satisfied, because she knows that he is well-off and of good character from her earlier investigations, but the Marquise herself is visibly upset and says that she was willing to marry a “monster” ("Lasterhaften") but not the Devil. Her parents believe that she is crazy and agree that she should marry the Count, as per her earlier agreement. She eventually agrees, unhappily, and the Colonel and the Count draw up a contract which says that the Count is entitled to none of the rights of marriage yet bound by all of its duties. They are married the following day. Their son is born and the Count makes the boy a gift of 20,000 rubles and makes the Marquise (now the Countess) his sole heir. Eventually, the Countess comes to be happy with him and they celebrate a second marriage, a much happier one.
, directed by Éric Rohmer
. It stars Edith Clever
, Bruno Ganz
, Peter Lühr, and Edda Seipel.
The Italian movie Il seme della discordia
is a modern adaptation of the novella.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by Heinrich von Kleist
Heinrich von Kleist
Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.- Life :...
. It was first published in 1808
1808 in literature
The year 1808 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Opening of the Théâtre St. Philippe, New Orleans.*The first Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, established in 1732, is destroyed by fire. Rebuilding begins in December....
.
Synopsis
The story begins with a one-sentence paragraph, in which the widowed Marquise von O. places an announcement in the newspapers in a prominent north Italian town, to the effect that she is pregnant and wishes the father of her child to make himself known to her so that she can marry him.We learn that the Marquise is the daughter of a Colonel G., who was in charge of the citadel of the town M. Some time earlier, when the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
came to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the citadel was overrun by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n forces, and in the confusion, the Marquise found herself about to be raped by a gang of Russian soldiers. However, she is saved by the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n commander of the attack, Count F., who appears to her like an angel. After he brings her to safety she falls unconscious. The Count then completes the business of the storming, rescuing gunpowder and putting out a fire, attaining the surrender of the last pockets of resistance and garrisoning the fort with his own troops. He leaves before the Marquise can thank him. They receive news shortly thereafter that he has been killed in the nearby fighting. His last words are reported as “Giulietta, this bullet avenges you!” ("Julietta! Diese Kugel rächt dich!" in the original German). The Marquise is intrigued that someone the Count knows so well should have the same name that she does, Giulietta.
At the conclusion of the war, however, the Count appears at the house of Colonel G. and asks to marry the Marquise. He is quite insistent that they should be married immediately, though he seems to understand that it is unreasonable that such a thing should happen when the couple hardly know each other. The family agrees that the Count should stay at their house in order for him to get to know the Marquise, since the match seems to be a good one. However, the Count has a pressing military duty in another town and will be abandoning his post if he stays. They convince him that he should go, so that he will not lose his military post (which would make him a poor suitor) and that the Marquise will entertain no other prospective husband in his absence. While he is away, the Marquise finds herself pregnant. Although the symptoms of her pregnancy are clear, she is reluctant to believe it, as is the Colonel’s wife, her mother. They both accept the reality only after it is confirmed by a doctor and a midwife.
The Colonel kicks the Marquise out of his house and forbids her ever to come back despite his wife’s pleas against this. The Marquise takes her children and returns to her deceased husband’s estate in V. While she is there, the Count returns to M., hears the news of the Marquise’s pregnancy, seems unsurprised and tells the Marquise’s brother that he is convinced of her innocence. He then goes to visit her in V. and after being turned away by the porter, sneaks in through the garden and begs the Marquise to marry him. She runs into the house and locks the door.
It is at this point that the Marquise publishes her announcement in the newspaper. The announcement is answered the following day by another announcement that the father will present himself at the Colonel’s house on the 3rd at eleven o’clock. The Colonel is furious, believing that this is a ploy by his daughter to delude them into believing she is innocent. The Colonel’s wife, however, goes to visit the Marquise to find out for herself. She tells the Marquise that the father has already revealed himself to her; it is the groom, Leopardo, a servant of the household. When the Marquise seems to accept this for the truth, her mother reveals the trick and says that she now believes the Marquise’s story of innocence. She brings the Marquise back to M. and tells the Colonel to apologise. She leaves the Colonel and the Marquise alone for the apology, and when she returns the Marquise is sitting in her father's lap while he is kissing her ardently on the lips “like a lover!” ("wie ein Verliebter!"); the Colonel’s wife is pleased. They eagerly await the arrival of the mysterious father and agree that unless he is too far below her status, that the Marquise should marry him immediately. At the appointed hour, Leopardo walks in... to announce Count F.
The Colonel’s wife is satisfied, because she knows that he is well-off and of good character from her earlier investigations, but the Marquise herself is visibly upset and says that she was willing to marry a “monster” ("Lasterhaften") but not the Devil. Her parents believe that she is crazy and agree that she should marry the Count, as per her earlier agreement. She eventually agrees, unhappily, and the Colonel and the Count draw up a contract which says that the Count is entitled to none of the rights of marriage yet bound by all of its duties. They are married the following day. Their son is born and the Count makes the boy a gift of 20,000 rubles and makes the Marquise (now the Countess) his sole heir. Eventually, the Countess comes to be happy with him and they celebrate a second marriage, a much happier one.
Adaptations
The novella was adapted as a film in 19761976 in film
The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
, directed by Éric Rohmer
Éric Rohmer
Éric Rohmer was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter and teacher. A figure in the post-war New Wave cinema, he was a former editor of Cahiers du cinéma....
. It stars Edith Clever
Edith Clever
Edith Clever is a German actress.-Filmography:*1976: Sommergäste*1976: Die Marquise von O. *1978: Die linkshändige Frau *1979: Mädchenjahre...
, Bruno Ganz
Bruno Ganz
Bruno Ganz is a Swiss actor, known for his roles as Damiel in Wings of Desire and Adolf Hitler in Downfall.- Early life :Bruno Ganz was born in Zürich to a Swiss mechanic father and a northern Italian mother. He had decided to pursue an acting career by the time he entered university...
, Peter Lühr, and Edda Seipel.
The Italian movie Il seme della discordia
Il seme della discordia
Il seme della discordia is a Golden Lion-nominated 2008 Italian film.The film is a modernisation of Heinrich von Kleist's novel The Marquise of O.- Plot :...
is a modern adaptation of the novella.
External links
- “Die Marquise von O” and other stories at Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
(German)