Theodor Fontane
Encyclopedia
Theodor Fontane (ˈtʰeːodoɐ̯ fɔnˈtaːnə; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German
novelist and poet
, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist
writer.
into a Huguenot
family. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to an apothecary
, his father's profession. He became an apothecary himself, and in 1839, at the age of 20, wrote his first work (Heinrichs IV. erste Liebe, now lost). His further education was in Leipzig
where he came into contact with the progressives of the Vormärz
. Fontane's first published work, the novella Geschwisterliebe ("Sibling Love"), appeared in the Berlin Figaro in December 1839.
His biographer Gordon A. Craig
observes that this work gave few indications of his promise as a gifted writer: "Although the theme of incest
, which was to occupy Fontane on later occasions, is touched upon here, the mawkishness of the tale... is equaled by the lameness of its plot and the inertness of the style in which it is told, and [the characters] Clärchen and her brother are both so colorless that no one could have guessed that their creator had a future as a writer."
His first job as apothecary was in Dresden
after which he returned to his father's shop in the provincial town of Letschin
in the Oderbruch
region. Fleeing its provincial atmosphere, Fontane published articles in the Leipzig newspaper Die Eisenbahn and translated Shakespeare. In 1843, he joined a literary club in Berlin called Tunnel über der Spree
(Tunnel over the river Spree
) where he came into contact with many of the most renowned German writers including Theodor Storm
, Joseph von Eichendorff and Gottfried Keller
.
In 1844 Fontane enlisted in the Prussian
army and set out on the first of numerous journeys to England which fostered his interest in Old English ballads, a form he began to imitate. He became engaged to his future wife, Emilie Rouanet-Kummer, whom he had met when still at school.
He briefly participated in the revolutionary events of 1848. In 1849 he quit his job as an apothecary and became a full-time journalist and writer. In order to support his family he took a job as a writer for the Prussian intelligence agency
Zentralstelle für Presseangelegenheiten which was meant to influence the press towards the German nationalist cause.
He specialised in British affairs, and the agency made him for several years its correspondent in London
where he was later joined by his wife and two sons. While still in London he quit his government job and, on his return to Berlin, became editor of the conservative Kreuzzeitung
.
had helped to make British themes much en vogue on the continent. Fontane's Gedichte (1851) and ballads Männer und Helden (1860) tell of Britain's former glories.
Back in Germany, Fontane became particularly interested in his home province, the March of Brandenburg
. He enjoyed rambling through its rural landscapes and small towns and delighted in the growth of its capital city, Berlin. His fascination with the countryside surrounding Berlin may be seen in his delightfully picturesque Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg (1862–1882, 5 vols.) in which he successfully transposed his former fascination with British historical matters to his native soil.
for the liberal Vossische Zeitung
, a position he held until retirement. He had already written about Prussia's war against Denmark
in Der schleswig-holsteinische Krieg im Jahre 1864 (1866) and the Austro-Prussian War
in Der deutsche Krieg von 1866 (1869). He went to the front to observe the Franco-Prussian War
in 1870, and, after being taken prisoner at Vaucouleurs
, remained in French captivity for three months. He set down his experiences in Kriegsgefangen Erlebtes 1870 (1871) and published his observations on the campaign in Der Krieg gegen Frankreich 1870-71 (1874–1876).
Vor dem Sturm (1878) was followed by a series of novels of modern life, notably L'Adultera (1882), a book about adultery
which was considered so risqué that it took Fontane two years to find a publisher.
In his novels Frau Jenny Treibel
, Irrungen, Wirrungen, and Effi Briest
(1894), he found his very own tone, yielding insights into the lives of the nobility
as well as the "common man". His achievement there was later described as poetic realism. In Der Stechlin (1899), his last completed novel, Fontane adapted the realistic methods and social criticism of contemporary French fiction to the conditions of Prussian life.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
novelist and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist
Literary realism
Literary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society "as they were." In the spirit of...
writer.
Youth
Fontane was born in NeuruppinNeuruppin
Neuruppin is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. Located on the shore of Ruppiner See , it is the capital of the district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin. Population: 32,800 .-Overview:...
into a Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
family. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to an apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
, his father's profession. He became an apothecary himself, and in 1839, at the age of 20, wrote his first work (Heinrichs IV. erste Liebe, now lost). His further education was in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
where he came into contact with the progressives of the Vormärz
Vormärz
' is the time period leading up to the failed March 1848 revolution in the German Confederation. Also known as the Age of Metternich, it was a period of Austrian and Prussian police states and vast censorship in response to calls for liberalism...
. Fontane's first published work, the novella Geschwisterliebe ("Sibling Love"), appeared in the Berlin Figaro in December 1839.
His biographer Gordon A. Craig
Gordon A. Craig
Gordon Alexander Craig was a Scottish-American historian of German history and of diplomatic history.-Early life:...
observes that this work gave few indications of his promise as a gifted writer: "Although the theme of incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, which was to occupy Fontane on later occasions, is touched upon here, the mawkishness of the tale... is equaled by the lameness of its plot and the inertness of the style in which it is told, and [the characters] Clärchen and her brother are both so colorless that no one could have guessed that their creator had a future as a writer."
His first job as apothecary was in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
after which he returned to his father's shop in the provincial town of Letschin
Letschin
Letschin is a municipality in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany....
in the Oderbruch
Oderbruch
The Oderbruch is a region along the river Oder between the towns Oderberg and Bad Freienwalde in the north and Lebus in the south...
region. Fleeing its provincial atmosphere, Fontane published articles in the Leipzig newspaper Die Eisenbahn and translated Shakespeare. In 1843, he joined a literary club in Berlin called Tunnel über der Spree
Tunnel über der Spree
Der Tunnel über der Spree was a German literary society based in Berlin, founded on 3 December 1827 by Moritz Gottlieb Saphir. Most active between 1840 and 1860, it acquired 214 members and influenced literary life in Berlin for more than seventy years....
(Tunnel over the river Spree
Spree
The Spree is a river that flows through the Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin states of Germany, and in the Ústí nad Labem region of the Czech Republic...
) where he came into contact with many of the most renowned German writers including Theodor Storm
Theodor Storm
Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm , commonly known as Theodor Storm, was a German writer.-Life:Storm was born in Husum, at the west coast of Schleswig than an independent duchy and ruled by the king of Denmark...
, Joseph von Eichendorff and Gottfried Keller
Gottfried Keller
Gottfried Keller , a Swiss writer of German-language literature, was best known for his novel Green Henry .- Life and work :...
.
Newspaper writer and critic
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
army and set out on the first of numerous journeys to England which fostered his interest in Old English ballads, a form he began to imitate. He became engaged to his future wife, Emilie Rouanet-Kummer, whom he had met when still at school.
He briefly participated in the revolutionary events of 1848. In 1849 he quit his job as an apothecary and became a full-time journalist and writer. In order to support his family he took a job as a writer for the Prussian intelligence agency
Intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
Zentralstelle für Presseangelegenheiten which was meant to influence the press towards the German nationalist cause.
He specialised in British affairs, and the agency made him for several years its correspondent in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he was later joined by his wife and two sons. While still in London he quit his government job and, on his return to Berlin, became editor of the conservative Kreuzzeitung
Kreuzzeitung
The Neue Preußische Zeitung was a German newspaper printed in Berlin from 1848–1939. It was known as the Kreuzzeitung or Kreuz-Zeitung because its emblem was an Iron Cross .The newspaper was founded during the revolutions of 1848 by Herrmann Wagener to act as the voice for Prussian conservatives,...
.
London
Fontane's books about Britain include Ein Sommer in London (1854), Aus England, Studien und Briefe (1860) and Jenseit des Tweed, Bilder und Briefe aus Schottland (1860). The success of the historical novels of Walter ScottWalter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
had helped to make British themes much en vogue on the continent. Fontane's Gedichte (1851) and ballads Männer und Helden (1860) tell of Britain's former glories.
Back in Germany, Fontane became particularly interested in his home province, the March of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
. He enjoyed rambling through its rural landscapes and small towns and delighted in the growth of its capital city, Berlin. His fascination with the countryside surrounding Berlin may be seen in his delightfully picturesque Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg (1862–1882, 5 vols.) in which he successfully transposed his former fascination with British historical matters to his native soil.
Prussian War
In 1870, he quit his job at the Kreuzzeitung and became drama criticTheatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
for the liberal Vossische Zeitung
Vossische Zeitung
The Vossische Zeitung was the well known liberal German newspaper that was published in Berlin . Its predecessor was founded in 1704...
, a position he held until retirement. He had already written about Prussia's war against Denmark
Second War of Schleswig
The Second Schleswig War was the second military conflict as a result of the Schleswig-Holstein Question. It began on 1 February 1864, when Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig.Denmark fought Prussia and Austria...
in Der schleswig-holsteinische Krieg im Jahre 1864 (1866) and the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
in Der deutsche Krieg von 1866 (1869). He went to the front to observe the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
in 1870, and, after being taken prisoner at Vaucouleurs
Vaucouleurs
Vaucouleurs is a commune in the Meuse department.Joan of Arc stayed in Vaucouleurs for several months during 1428 and 1429 while she sought permission to visit the royal court of Charles VII of France.* Distance from Paris: -External links:* *...
, remained in French captivity for three months. He set down his experiences in Kriegsgefangen Erlebtes 1870 (1871) and published his observations on the campaign in Der Krieg gegen Frankreich 1870-71 (1874–1876).
Later years
At the age of 57 Fontane finally worked in the genre for which he is remembered, the novel. His fine historical romanceHistorical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
Vor dem Sturm (1878) was followed by a series of novels of modern life, notably L'Adultera (1882), a book about adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
which was considered so risqué that it took Fontane two years to find a publisher.
In his novels Frau Jenny Treibel
Frau Jenny Treibel
Frau Jenny Treibel is a German novel published in 1892 by Theodor Fontane.- Plot :The primary subject of the novel revolves around two Berlin families. One is the upper-class Treibel family consisting of the Councillor of commerce and his wife, Frau Jenny, as well as their sons Otto and Leopold....
, Irrungen, Wirrungen, and Effi Briest
Effi Briest
Effi Briest is widely considered to be Theodor Fontane’s masterpiece and one of the most famous German realist novels of all time. Thomas Mann once said that if one had to reduce one’s library to six novels, Effi Briest would have to be one of them...
(1894), he found his very own tone, yielding insights into the lives of the nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
as well as the "common man". His achievement there was later described as poetic realism. In Der Stechlin (1899), his last completed novel, Fontane adapted the realistic methods and social criticism of contemporary French fiction to the conditions of Prussian life.
Works
- Geschwisterliebe, 1839
- Zwei Post-Stationen, 1845
- James Monmouth, 1854
- Tuch und Locke, 1854
- Goldene Hochzeit, 1854
- Vor dem Sturm, 1878 (Full text, German)
- Grete MindeGrete MindeGrete Minde is a 1977 Austrian-German drama film directed by Heidi Genée. It was entered into the 27th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Katerina Jacob - Grete Minde* Siemen Rühaak - Valtin Zernitz* Hannelore Elsner - Trude Minde...
, 1880 - Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg, 1880
- Elternklipp, 1881
- L'Adultera, 1882
- Schach von Wuthenow, 1882
- Graf Petöfy, 1884
- Unterm Birnbaum, 1885
- Cécile, 1887
- Irrungen, Wirrungen (Delusions, Confusions), 1888
- Stine, 1890
- Quitt, 1891
- Unwiederbringlich, 1891
- Frau Jenny TreibelFrau Jenny TreibelFrau Jenny Treibel is a German novel published in 1892 by Theodor Fontane.- Plot :The primary subject of the novel revolves around two Berlin families. One is the upper-class Treibel family consisting of the Councillor of commerce and his wife, Frau Jenny, as well as their sons Otto and Leopold....
, 1892 - Meine Kinderjahre, 1894
- Effi BriestEffi BriestEffi Briest is widely considered to be Theodor Fontane’s masterpiece and one of the most famous German realist novels of all time. Thomas Mann once said that if one had to reduce one’s library to six novels, Effi Briest would have to be one of them...
, 1896 - Die Poggenpuhls, 1896
- Der Stechlin, 1899
- Mathilde Möhring, 1906
Poems
- Archibald Douglas
- Die Brück' am Tay
- John Maynard
- Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland
- Aber es bleibt auf dem alten Fleck
- Ausgang
- Gorm Grymme
- Das Trauerspiel von Afghanistan (English translation)
Souces
- Craig, GordonGordon A. CraigGordon Alexander Craig was a Scottish-American historian of German history and of diplomatic history.-Early life:...
Theodor Fontane: Literature and History in the Bismarck Reich, NY: Oxford University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-19-512837-0. - Thomas Mann, "The Old Fontane," in Essays of Three Decades (Knopf, 1947), 1910 essay.
External links
- Works by Theodor Fontane at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
(English; German) - Trials and Tribulations, by Fontane (English) (English and German)