eJournals Colloquia Germanica 42/1

Colloquia Germanica
cg
0010-1338
Francke Verlag Tübingen
Es handelt sich um einen Open-Access-Artikel, der unter den Bedingungen der Lizenz CC by 4.0 veröffentlicht wurde.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/31
2009
421

«Keine Apologie des Grauenhaften»: Toward an Aestheic of Horror in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s «Vampyrismus»

31
2009
Heide Crawford
cg4210019
«Keine Apologie des Grauenhaften»: Toward an Aestheic of Horror in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s «Vampyrismus» HEIDE CRAWFORD U NIVERSITY OF G EORGIA The rise of Gothic horror literature is typically associated with the works of eighteenth century British authors such as Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, M.G. Lewis, and Clara Reeve as well as American authors of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries such as Charles Brockden Brown and Edgar Allan Poe. German authors of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were, however, not only active in developing a unique German strain of Gothic horror literature, they also helped make Gothic horror literature a pan-European phenomenon and, in turn, influenced many British and American authors of horror fiction in subsequent centuries. Indeed, by the turn of the nineteenth century, German tales of horror had become so popular on an international scale that nineteenth-century British and American authors of trivial Gothic romances often included the ominous subtitle «A German Story» in order to associate their stories with the Gothic horror genre. A few short years after Horace Walpole wrote the first Gothic horror novel, The Castle of Otranto (1764), the German Gothic horror tradition, emerging out of the larger composite genre that is often referred to as Ritter-, Räuberand Schauerromane, began with Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg’s drama Ugolino in 1768. Other texts such as Goethe’s Urfaust (1775/ 76), Götz von Berlichingen (1773), and Friedrich Schiller’s drama Die Räuber (1781) appeared soon thereafter. Far from being restricted to one genre, as the term Schauerroman suggests, German Gothic horror literature spans all the major genres of creative literature extant at the time, from drama and poetry in the eighteenth century to prose and other literary forms, including folk and literary fairy tales, in the nineteenth century. These texts feature the traditionally Gothic horror elements of fear, secrecy, the uncanny, uncertainty, contingency, unexplained occurrences, mysterious apparitions, and mistaken or ambiguous identities. Toward the end of the eighteenth century, the German Gothic horror literature trend began to develop in a different direction than its British counterpart, due, in part, to the influence of Kant’s ideas concerning aesthetics and the sublime on German authors of horror. These authors were less concerned than their British counterparts with providing rational CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 19 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 19 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56 20 Heide Crawford explanations for the perceived supernatural; they were interested in creating a lasting and continuous impression of sublime horror fraught with mystery. When E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote his collection of stories Die Serapions- Brüder (1819-1821) his Serapiontic principle did more than provide a general system of poetics. By including a story about vampirism, a popular subject for European Gothic horror literature at the time, he created a horror aesthetic that was uniquely German in the way it demanded that truly gruesome horror stories be narrated in an aesthetically pleasing manner and be based in reality or realistic situations. After Hoffmann’s friend Adalbert Chamisso returned to Berlin in 1818, Hoffmann decided to reestablish the literary group known as the «Seraphinenorden» to which he and Chamisso had belonged before Chamisso left on his travels. During this time, Hoffmann created the frame narrative for Die Serapions-Brüder as Hilda Meldrum Brown details in E.T.A. Hoffmann and the Serapiontic Principle (8-9). Hoffmann modeled the structure of his text on Ludwig Tieck’s collection of stories Phantasus. Eine Sammlung von Mährchen, Erzählungen, Schauspielem und Novellen, published in four volumes from 1812 to 1816. Hoffmann’s Die Serapions-Brüder is a collection of stories told by a group of friends who are writers. They gather to tell stories, discuss literature, and critique each other’s work. The brethren discuss various examples of prose narratives throughout the frame and in so doing they lay out a multitude of analytical perspectives and narrative strategies. One of the friends, Lothar, defines the Serapiontic principle as a system of poetics based on those qualities of the mad hermit Serapion which conjoin to make him an ideal literary model. Brown summarizes Lothar’s thoughts as follows: it is the quality of Serapion’s poetic visions and his ability to communicate these to others that will have the most practical relevance to a group of writers who are planning to refound their literary society. Intensity and communicability of the inner vision is paramount, as is the sense that what the poet communicates is based on personal involvement with his material, and that his transformation of this result is an enhancement or intensification of what has been observed or perceived and raises the work above the ordinary level. (47) When Lothar elaborates to his fellow poets the relevant aspects of the Serapiontic principle, he emphasizes the nature and range of emotions that one must address in the process of artistic representation (Brown 48). Through Lothar, Hoffmann promotes one of his strongest artistic beliefs. Brown writes that Hoffmann demands that a work of art must «convey the whole gamut of human emotions; further that these should be expressed as feelings that are both extreme and strongly contrastive» (48). Lothar says that art must represent life «mit aller Lust, mit allem Entsetzen, mit allem Jubel, mit allen Schauern» CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 20 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 20 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56 «Keine Apologie des Grauenhaften» 21 (Hoffmann 67). Throughout Hoffmann’s text, the Serapion brethren discuss aesthetics, literary techniques and themes, all the while reflecting on the suitability of the story in terms of the Serapiontic principle. Far from dismissing popular occult topics such as controversial theories about hypnotism, somnambulism, and even vampires, the members of this fictional literary group see a world of possibilities for the artist in these topics in that they would allow the artist to delve into fantasy and the psyche. The story «Vampyrismus» is a tale told by the character Cyprian in volume four, part eight of Die Serapions-Brüder. Within the timeline of European vampire prose, Hoffmann’s story follows Ludwig Tieck’s «Liebeszauber,» written in 1811, and John Polidori’s story «The Vampyre,» written in 1819. From 1811 until 1829, German, British, French and Italian authors, dramatists and librettists produced stories, plays and operas of varying quality for a public that was drawn in great numbers to Gothic horror tales featuring vampires. Thus, in the span of 18 years, at least 17 such works were published. This wave of vampire stories provides the background for the stage directions written by Goethe for the herald who introduces groups of guests to a masquerade ball in the scene «Weitläufiger Saal» of Faust II: Die Nacht- und Grabdichter lassen sich entschuldigen, weil sie soeben im interessanten Gespräch mit einem frisch erstandenen Vampyren begriffen seien, woraus eine neue Dichtart sich vielleicht entwickeln könnte; der Herold muß es gelten lassen und ruft indessen die griechische Mythologie hervor, die, selbst in moderner Maske, weder Charakter noch Gefälliges verliert. (165; l.5299) The «Nacht- und Grabdichter» to whom Goethe refers here are John Polidori, E.T.A. Hoffmann, and Prosper Mérimée. Goethe also wrote an unpublished review of Mérimée’s collection of poems «La Guzla» (1827) in which he remarks that «Der Dichter … ruft als ein wahrer Romantiker das Gespensterhafte hervor … nächtliche Kirchen, Kirchhöfe … und nun erscheinen kurz Verstorbene drohend und erschreckend … der gräßliche Vampirismus mit allem seinen Gefolge» (qtd. in Trunz 597). In a letter to his friend Zelter on June 18, 1831, Goethe writes of his dismay about these Romantic graveyard poets: «Das Häßliche, das Abscheuliche, das Nichtswürdige … ist ihr satanisches Geschäft … Auch entschiedene Talente sind’s, die dergleichen unternehmen» (qtd. in Trunz 597-598). Goethe laments in this manner, despite the fact that he himself had introduced the female vampire into literature with his ballad «Die Braut von Korinth» almost 35 years earlier. Considering the plethora of horror texts of questionable quality that featured vampires, it seems that Hoffmann was consciously taking on the challenge of developing a model for a horror aesthetic in Die Serapions-Brüder by including a rather gruesome vampire story among the tales the brethren tell each other. In a discussion CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 21 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 21 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56 22 Heide Crawford after Sylvester’s story «Der Zusammenhang der Dinge,» but before Cyprian’s vampire story, Lothar observes, das geschickte Benutzen der historisch wahren Gebräuche, Sitten, herkömmlichen Gewohnheiten irgend eines Volkes oder einer besonderen Klasse desselben [gibt] der Dichtung eine besondere Lebensfarbe, die sonst schwer zu erlangen. Doch sag’ ich ausdrücklich, das geschickte Benutzen, denn in der Tat, das Erfassen des geschichtlich Wahren, der Wirklichkeit in einer Dichtung deren Begebnisse ganz der Fantasie angehören, ist nicht so leicht als mancher wohl denken möchte und erfordert allerdings ein gewisses Geschick, das nicht jedem eigen und ohne welches statt einer frischen Lebendigkeit nur ein mattes schielendes Scheinleben zu Tage gefördert wird. (1113) A discussion of the vampire in literature follows when Sylvester praises Lord Byron’s work, especially his tendency toward horror; Sylvester mentions that he did not dare read Byron’s story «The Vampire» (which has since been correctly attributed to Byron’s physician, John Polidori) because he feared this creature that sucks the blood of the living: Vorherrschend soll sein [Byrons] Hang zum Düstern, ja Grauenhaften und Entsetzlichen sein, und seinen Vampyr hab’ ich gar nicht lesen mögen, da mir die bloße Idee eines Vampyrs, habe ich sie richtig aufgefaßt, schon eiskalte Schauer erregt. Soviel ich weiß, ist ein Vampyr nämlich nichts anderes als ein lebendiger Toter, der Lebendigen das Blut aussaugt. (1115) Lothar laughs and exclaims that a poet of Sylvester’s caliber should be more familiar with stories of ghosts, witches, magic and the like; he should probably also have some experience in the practice of the magical arts in order to be able to write about them, because these are useful topics for literature. Lothar recommends an interesting little work on vampires - Michael Ranft’s popular treatise «Traktat vom Kauen und Schmatzen der Toten in Gräbern» (1728). He recommends Ranft’s essay as a fine source for comprehensive information on vampirism, should Sylvester want to inform himself thoroughly. The extended title Lothar gives this work is «M. Michael Ranft’s Diaconi zu Nebra, Traktat von dem Kauen und Schmatzen der Todten in Gräbern, worin die wahre Beschaffenheit derer Hungarischen Vampyrs und Blutsauger gezeigt, auch alle von dieser Materie bisher zum Vorschein gekommene Schriften rezensirt worden» (1116). As far as Lothar is concerned, the title itself is an indication of how thorough the actual treatise is. He confirms Sylvester’s understanding of the vampire in his summary of Ranft’s essay since Ranft identifies a vampire as a person who rises from the grave to suck the blood of the living as they sleep. The vampire’s victims in turn become vampires, so that entire villages are transformed into vampires, according to this and other reports from Hungary. Lothar also mentions Ranft’s observation that vampires CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 22 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 22 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56 «Keine Apologie des Grauenhaften» 23 can be destroyed if they are exhumed, staked through the heart, and finally burned (1116). In his summary of Ranft’s treatise for this story, Hoffmann, through Lothar, focuses on the observations that Ranft made of the vampire superstition but does not address the major thrust of Ranft’s work, which was to use the methods of scientific inquiry to find a rational explanation for this superstition. This omission is understandable if one takes into account that Hoffmann’s brethren are primarily concerned with the aesthetic value of topics such as vampirism for creative literature; they don’t aim to explain the superstition. Nevertheless, Ranft’s essay is one of several actual historical documents written by scientists and medical doctors who studied local superstitious practices in Hungary on the orders of Habsburg Emperor Charles VI who had won these territories from the Ottoman Turks in the Austro-Turkish War of 1716-1718 (Barber 5; Mamatey 96-97). Ranft’s treatise thus establishes a solid foundation in reality for the literary vampire. Lothar continues his discussion of the vampire reports by mentioning a letter he attributes to a military officer, an ensign in Prince Alexander’s regiment. This letter is said to have been written in Belgrade to a famous doctor in Leipzig not named here. The letter Lothar mentions may in fact be a reference to the popular vampire story «Visum et repertum (Arnold Paole),» written by Johannes Flückinger and delivered to Charles VI in 1732. This intertextual nod is likely because Flückinger’s letter was also written in Belgrade and signed by officers from Prince Alexander’s regiment. At the end of his report, Flückinger credits his assistants; two officers of Prince Alexander’s regiment confirm the veracity of the document with their signatures (Sturm et al. 456). Since Lothar’s lengthy exposé of the vampire superstition uses documentation of vampire investigations in Central Europe, Hoffmann makes the reader aware of his own familiarity with the cultural history of the vampire, especially when he lets Lothar correctly remark, «Überhaupt beschäftigte sich damals das Militär ganz ungemein mit dem Vampyrismus» (1117). Far from being «ungestaltetes Material,» as Wulf and Ursula Segebrecht suggest in their comments in the Deutscher Klassiker edition of Hoffmann’s works (1638), Lothar’s exposé on Ranft’s treatise and the military officer’s letter connects the vampire theme in literature to its origins in the real world of the eighteenth-century vampire debates. In reaction to Sylvester’s remark that the mere idea of vampirism is exceedingly repulsive, Cyprian retorts that «der richtige poetische Takt des Dichters» can take this idea of vampirism and create something that «die tiefen Schauer jenes geheimnisvollen Grauens erregt, das in unserer eigenen Brust wohnt, und berührt von den elektrischen Schlägen einer dunkeln Geisterwelt den Sinn erschüttert, ohne ihn zu verstören» (1117). Theodor reminds Cypri- CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 23 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 23 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56 24 Heide Crawford an that he need not offer an «Apologie des Grauenhaften» because so many of the greatest poets, especially Shakespeare, had already mastered the art of affecting a reader’s disposition without causing actual distress. In addition to Shakespeare, he names Ludwig Tieck’s body of work, especially his vampire story «Liebeszauber» (1811) and Heinrich von Kleist’s story «Das Bettelweib von Locarno» (1810) as further examples of mastery in creating an atmosphere of sublime horror in literature (1118). This discussion of vampirism reminds Cyprian of a story that he believes he either heard or read in a book; he then proceeds to tell the story «Vampyrismus» to the group of friends. Especially important in Lothar’s and Theodor’s reactions to Cyprian’s telling of the story is their praise of Cyprian’s ability to suggest events and actions that evoke feelings of dread and uncertainty in a narrative of contingency, all of which had been important aspects of European Gothic horror literature since Horace Walpole published The Castle of Otranto in 1764. Moreover, even before Cyprian told his story, Lothar’s discussion of the historical reports on vampires had already established the solid foundation in reality of the cultural beliefs in vampires. This foundation in historical reality, combined with the apparently real vampire story in an unnamed book alongside the skillfully constructed and suspenseful narration lauded by Theodor and Lothar for its tasteful approach, can be postulated as Hoffmann’s model for an aesthetic of horror in literature. By converging the reality of his own personal experiences as a member of the literary group «Seraphinenorden,» which coincidentally became the «Serapionsorden,» with the fictional frame narrative for his collection of stories, Hoffmann was able to skillfully interweave the real world with an imaginary world, thus implementing the Serapiontic principle of «basing a fictional narrative on […] solid foundations» for the structure of his collection of stories (Brown 9). Thus the gruesome story of a beautiful, cannibalistic vampire bride becomes a model proving that a horror story can be aesthetically pleasing in accordance with the Serapiontic principle, especially when the horrific details are told in a tasteful manner. Works Cited Barber, Paul. Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality. 2nd edition. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010. Brown, Hilda Meldrum. E.T.A. Hoffmann and the Serapiontic Principle: Critique and Creativity. New York: Camden House, 2006. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. Faust. Ed. Erich Trunz. München: Beck, 1996. CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 24 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 24 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56 «Keine Apologie des Grauenhaften» 25 Hoffmann, E.T.A.»Vampyrismus.» Die Serapions-Brüder. Ed. Wulf and Ursula Segebrecht. Frankfurt a.M.: Deutscher Klassiker Verlag, 2001. 1113-35. Mamatey, Victor S. The Rise of the Habsburg Empire 1526-1815. Huntington, NY: Robert E. Krieger Publishing Company, 1978. Segebrecht, Wulf and Ursula. «Kommentar.» Die Serapions-Brüder. Frankfurt a.M.: Deutscher Klassiker Verlag, 2001. Sturm, Dieter, and Klaus Völker, eds. «Visum et Repertum, Über die so genannten Vampirs, oder Blut-Aussauger, so zu Medvegia in Servien, an der Türkischen Granitz, den 7. Januarii 1732 geschehen.» Von denen Vampiren oder Menschensaugern: Dichtungen und Dokumente. Munich: Hanser, 1994. CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 25 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 25 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56