“Granit II”: An Exploration of Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität” 269 “Granit II”: An Exploration of Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität” Jennifer Caisley University of Cambridge Abstract: This paper reads Goethe’s 1784 geological essay “Granit II” as an early expression of his theories of “Steigerung” and “Polarität,” revolving around the experience-driven presentation of these terms� It alleges that the presence of these concepts in this essay on geology suggests that Goethe’s exploration of these terms began much earlier than critics have assumed to date� Drawing on Goethe’s theories of heightening and polarity as expressed with reference to the natural world, it defines three key components that characterize “Steigerung” and “Polarität”: namely, directional movement, constant movement, and the interplay between “Materie” and “Geist�” On the basis of this, it analyses “Granit II” with regard to each of these three components, before highlighting discrepancies that arise� Ultimately, it concludes that “Granit II” can be seen as an early attempt by Goethe to elaborate on his theories of heightening and polarity before they were condensed and summarized subsequently in his oeuvre� Keywords: Goethe, geology, “Steigerung,” “Polarität,” “Granit II” “Da ist für mich nichts Neues zu erfahren, Das kenn’ ich schon seit hunderttausend Jahren” (Faust II, Act 4, “Hochgebirg,” line 10210) cries Mephistopheles in “Hochgebirg,” a scene written in 1831 or thereabouts, which takes place in Act 4 of Goethe’s magnum opus Faust II� As Goethe critic Albrecht Schöne’s commentary in the Frankfurter Ausgabe of the play explains, this particular part of “Hochgebirg” sees Faust and Mephistopheles discussing the “Geologenkontroverse” (FA I 7/ 2: 647)� This term refers to the debate among geologists in the eighteenth century as to how the earth was formed, with the “Neptunists,” on the one hand, attributing the creation of the world to the movements of the 270 Jennifer Caisley oceans, and the “Vulcanists,” on the other, believing it to be the work of volcanic magma� Mephistopheles wants none of it, and attempts to bring proceedings to an abrupt close by saying “Da ist für mich nichts Neues zu erfahren�” With the double meaning of “erfahren” as both “learn” and “experience,” Mephistopheles is telling Faust that not only does he know everything there is to be known about geology: it is also incapable of offering him any new experiences either� Mephistopheles is dismissive of the geological controversy because, in his eyes, the debate belongs in the past, not the present� For him, engagement with the mountain environment is not a stimulating, productive endeavor on any level� The “Geologenkontroverse” debated by Mephistopheles and Faust is also depicted in Goethe’s 1784 essay on geology known as “Granit II” (also referred to as “Über den Granit”), on which this article will focus� Although written almost fifty years prior to “Hochgebirg,” it explores in detail the issue of the creation of stones that was so dismissed by Mephistopheles� This piece was likely drafted during or shortly after Goethe’s third journey through the Harz mountains and may have been directly influenced by his experience of the mountains on this trip� It opens with a brief overview of the history of this specific kind of stone, and an attempt to explain the attraction to it that so many travelers, researchers and hikers have felt� Starting with an impersonal, detached narration, this section gradually becomes more subjective in nature, moving to include the reader in a snippet narrated in the first-person plural (“soviel wissen wir von diesem Gesteine” [FA I/ 25: 313]) before shifting entirely to a narrative voice in the first-person singular� The remainder of the essay sees this anonymous protagonist undergo a process of reflection triggered by the thought of the granite mountain, covering topics from the mountain’s creation through to its surroundings, and its positioning within the natural environment more broadly� The title of the essay itself is somewhat misleading: unlike many of Goethe’s other works on geology, the essay focuses less on the granite rock itself (and its properties) and more on the speaker’s lived (or imagined) experience of the mountain environment� The majority of the work is a record of the considerations that this interaction with the environment triggers, causing the speaker’s thoughts to oscillate between the distant past and the present day� This article posits that this temporal oscillation can be read as one expression of the interplay between Goethean “Steigerung,” or heightening, and “Polarität,” or polarity, in “Granit II�” These terms appear in various guises throughout Goethe’s writings on natural philosophy� “Steigerung,” for example, is discussed in detail in Goethe’s Farbenlehre. In this, he dedicates an entire sub-section to the issue of “Steigerung,” defining this concept as something that “erscheint uns als eine in sich selbst- Drängung, Sättigung, Beschattung der Farben” (FA I 23/ I: 180)� In this specific context of color theory, “Steigerung” represents a “Granit II”: An Exploration of Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität” 271 deepening of the color in question, with it taking on a more vivid, intense hue� However, Goethe also proffers a more generally applicable explanation of “Steigerung” in this passage, stating: “Es ist dieses eine der wichtigsten Erscheinungen in-der Farbenlehre, indem wir ganz greiflich erfahren,-daß ein quantitatives Verhältniß einen qualitativen-Eindruck auf unsre Sinne hervorbringe” (FA I 23/ I: 180)� Here, Goethe emphasizes the experience-driven nature of “Steigerung” as a force which is able to turn quantitative situations into qualitative ones, thereby repositioning human subjectivity at the heart of lived experience� While polarity, or “Polarität,” is encountered at various points throughout Goethe’s scientific writing, most prominently in his work on magnets and magnetism, Goethe also devotes an entire discussion to it in the “Entoptische Farben” section of his Farbenlehre� In the context of light and shade he says that [Farbe], so wie Hell und Dunkel, manifestiert sich überhaupt in polaren Gegensätzen� Sie können aufgehoben, neutralisiert, indifferenziert werden, so dass beide zu verschwinden scheinen; aber sie lassen sich auch umkehren und diese Umwendung ist allgemein bei jeder Polarität, die zarteste Sache von der Welt� (FA I/ 25: 688) According to this definition, polarity is not something that is fixed, nor something that is unproductive: rather, it represents a fluid balance between two entities that may well be opposites, but which nonetheless interact with one another in ways that are “zart” and delicate� Despite these two definitions both being drawn from Goethe’s work on colour theory, Goethe’s most detailed discussion of these terms with respect to their interaction with each other comes in his 1828 explanatory note on his essay “Die Natur,” a paean to the natural world written in late 1782/ early 1783� In this note, he discusses the zwei großen Triebräder aller Natur: der Begriff von Polarität und von Steigerung, jene der Materie, insofern wir sie materiell, diese ihr dagegen, insofern wir sie geistig denken, angehörig; jene ist in immerwährendem Anziehen und Abstoßen, diese in immerstrebendem Aufsteigen� Weil aber die Materie nie ohne Geist, der Geist nie ohne Materie existiert und wirksam sein kann, so vermag auch die Materie sich zu steigern, so wie sich’s der Geist nicht nehmen läßt, anzuziehen und abzustoßen; wie derjenige nur allein zu denken vermag, der genugsam getrennt hat um zu verbinden, genugsam verbunden hat um wieder trennen zu mögen� (FA I/ 25: 81) Due to its thorough yet concise engagement with these two terms, this is the definition on which this article will base its understanding of “Steigerung” and “Polarität�” This passage suggests that it is possible to identify three major elements that play a role in Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität�” The first of these is the concept of directional movement� For polarity, this is a movement 272 Jennifer Caisley upwards that is always and inextricably paired with a movement downwards (“jene ist in immerwährendem Anziehen und Abstoßen, diese in immerstrebendem Aufsteigen”), while for “Steigerung,” this is a movement that is in continual ascendance (“immerstrebendem Aufsteigen”)� Regardless of the direction of the movement in question, it is always associated with the concept of constant movement, flux and development� This is the second element that is central to both “Steigerung” and “Polarität�” In the passage above, this is indicated by the terms “immerwährend” and “immerstrebend,” and the association offered by the image of “Triebräder” as wheels in constant motion� This second element functions in parallel to the first element mentioned: for “Steigerung” or “Polarität” to be present, the directional movement in question must also be a dynamic one� Finally, the passage also highlights the association between “Materie” and “Geist” that parallels the association between “Steigerung” and “Polarität�” This represents the third element that denotes “Steigerung” and “Polarität”: the fact that both concepts rest on a shifting, interconnected basis of “Materie” and “Geist,” with each of the components of these two pairs being as inseparable from each other as the overarching pairs themselves� As this article will show, all three of these key aspects can be found in Goethe’s “Granit II,” enabling it to be read as an early version of Goethe’s approach to heightening and polarity before he brought this together to form a coherent, cohesive theory of their interaction, as in his note on “Die Natur�” In the modern age, critics have approached the topics of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” from a range of different angles, with some applying the terms to literature studies and others focusing more on the philosophical or aesthetic resonances of the terms� Rudolf Steiner’s 1921 work entitled Goethes Weltanschauung examines various aspects of Goethe’s thought, including his approach to “Steigerung” and “Polarität�” Focusing purely on the concepts in a philosophical context rather than applying them to a work of literature, Steiner repeats Goethe’s assertion that “Polarität” is intrinsically connected to the material realm, and “Steigerung” to the non-material� He claims that Goethe’s work on polarity and heightening marks “den höchsten Grad der Reife” (Steiner 62) of his philosophical endeavors, and sees its roots in Goethe’s work as a natural scientist: “Als Naturforscher mußte Goethe auch in den Erscheinungen, deren Idee nicht in ihrem individuellen Dasein sichtbar wird, die Kräfte der Natur verfolgen” (65)� In his summary of Goethe’s thought on this subject, Steiner writes that “In der Herausarbeitung des Geistigen aus dem Materiellen duch die schaffende Natur besteht das, was Goethe Steigerung nennt” (62)� This summary emphasizes the process-driven nature of “Steigerung”: a process of “Herausarbeitung” that never seems to reach a conclusion� However, as Steiner makes explicit, “[e]ine tote geistlose Materie kennt Goethe nicht” (63)� Consequently, “Granit II”: An Exploration of Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität” 273 in Steiner’s interpretation of Goethe’s theory of “Steigerung” and “Polarität,” there is no substance that cannot undergo a process of “Steigerung�” A few decades after Steiner’s work, Elizabeth Wilkinson also explores the connection between Goethe’s theory of “Steigerung” and his literary output in her 1949 article entitled “‘Tasso: Ein gesteigerter Werther’ in the Light of Goethe’s Principle of ‘Steigerung�’” Wilkinson takes a two-pronged approach to her assessment of the term “Steigerung,” examining on the one hand what she terms the “spatial image” of upwards movement, while also assessing the figurative meaning of this� She describes this figurative meaning of “Steigerung” as “increasing or stepping up the inner potency, raising to a higher power” (305)� Wilkinson’s assessment of “Steigerung” relates directly to whether Goethe’s dramatic figure Torquato Tasso can be viewed as “more Wertherish than Werther,” as she puts it� Ultimately, she urges that a cautious approach be followed with regard to applying Goethe’s philosophical terms to his literary writings (305)� While providing a helpful approach to “Steigerung” itself for the framework of this article, by emphasizing the duality of its literal and metaphorical meanings, her article focuses squarely on “Steigerung” in a literary, rather than scientific or philosophical context� Sixty years or so on from Wilkinson, Charlotte Lee’s 2014 monograph on Goethe’s late output takes a cross-genre approach to the work that Goethe produced over the last few years of his life, including an exploration of the term “Steigerung�” She looks at this concept through a narrow lens, focusing on what she terms “poetic Steigerung”: “the self-conscious transformation of motifs from the past to yield strikingly new work in the present” (Lee 10)� She repeats this definition later in her study, suggesting that poetic Steigerung is an “aesthetic manifestation” of the process of retrospective writing (38)� This is particularly apt in the context of Goethe’s later work, which she reads as intrinsically connected to this process of “Steigerung�” While her monograph does not go on to explore the role of “Steigerung” outside the sphere of literature, or even outside the sphere of Goethe’s late literary output, Lee approaches this concept in terms that can also be applied to Goethe’s scientific works by virtue of its focus on newness, transformation and recreation� While Lee and Wilkinson focus on “Steigerung” in the literary sphere, Steiner assesses it from a philosophical perspective� However, critics have also looked at this term with reference to Goethe’s geology� These include Margrit Wyder, whose 2004 chapter “Von der Stufenleiter der Wesen zur Metamorphosenlehre” discusses Goethe’s morphological approaches with regard to various aspects of his science, from botany (the field with which Goethe’s morphology is most commonly associated) to geology� On this latter subject, Wyder explores Goethe’s essay “Granit II,” on which this article focuses� Her discussion 274 Jennifer Caisley of “Granit II” challenges Steiner’s assertion that every “Materie” can be engaged in “Steigerung,” instead alleging that geological masses are aligned with “Stetigkeit,” rather than “Steigerung�” As Wyder argues, “es fehlte die in den organischen Reichen zentrale Steigerung, denn der Granit als ältestes Gestein war nach Goethes Überzeugung zugleich das vollkommenste” (50)� For Wyder, the simple fact that granite is of near-eternal age means that it is incapable of exerting the newness and excitement that “Steigerung” and “Polarität” can bring� While Goethe may well have considered granite to be “vollkommen,” nowhere in “Granit II” itself does he suggest that granite has become static, fully formed, and ultimately incapable of further development� Indeed, as this article will show, counter to Wyder, the “Steigerung” and “Polarität” so central to Goethe’s understanding of the natural world are fully visible in “Granit II�” While Wyder challenges the suggestion that Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität” can be associated with matters of geology, Wolf von Engelhardt’s 1992 chapter “Morphologie im Reich der Steine? ” argues precisely the opposite view� Engelhardt assesses various extracts from Goethe’s writings on geology, starting with his letters from Ilmenau in the late 1790s, to pin down instances in which Goethe’s morphological thought is associated with the geological sphere� Engelhardt’s conclusion on this subject is clear: […] Goethe meinte, dass Gebirge, Gesteine und Mineralien ein auch die anorganische Welt bewegendes Streben zur Gestalt ausdrücken, dass sich die leblosen Dinge der Naturanschauung als gewordene und werdende offenbaren und geologische Erklärung darin besteht, Vorstellungen zu entwickeln über die in der Erdvergangenheit stattgehabten Prozesse des Werdens und Wandelns der Gestaltung interner Gefüge und äußerer Formen von Mineralien, Gesteinen und Gebirgen� (50) Engelhardt’s beliefs align with this article’s hypothesis, namely that the organic movements often associated with plants and the realm of conventionally living objects are also connected to the geological sphere in Goethe’s writings� However, the source of these beliefs is the point at which this article diverges from Engelhardt’s work� While the body of Engelhardt’s chapter does make brief reference to “Granit II,” it does not consider any material prior to 1796 in its argument regarding the visibility of Goethe’s morphology in his geological writings, instead claiming that the roots of these thoughts originate around 1800� Rather, this article argues that the origins of this approach can be found at least fifteen years earlier, in Goethe’s “Granit II�” Questions relating to the position of “Polarität” and “Steigerung” in the natural world can also be coded as an exploration of the extent to which apparently solid natural objects, such as rocks and mountains, can house energies of their own� In many ways, this aligns with the approach taken by ecocriticism, “Granit II”: An Exploration of Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität” 275 which “views human beings, bodies, and culture as participants in ecological interactions and exchanges with the rest of the energetic and material world, including both biotic and abiotic forms” (Sullivan 116)� Some ecocritical thinkers have begun to apply this reading to Goethe’s work� The most notable among them, Heather Sullivan, has even explored Goethe’s discussions of geology from this perspective� In the specific context of Goethe’s presentation of mountains within Faust, she alleges that Faust, Mephistopheles and their fellow characters interact with the mountains in the play in a material, rather than a spiritual, sense, representing “participation in nature’s flows, changes, and conflicts that draw us in” (Sullivan 120)� As this article will show, the interplay between natural energy flows and mountains (or rocks more generally) can, in fact, be viewed specifically as the interaction between such geological masses and “Polarität” and “Steigerung” specifically� Moreover, these “energy flows” are not only to be found in Faust: they can also be seen across Goethe’s geological work� Sullivan is not the only critic to associate geological masses with flows and energies, and to stress the importance of this both for Goethe’s work and more broadly� Peter Schnyder’s comparative work on Goethe and Stifter, for example, revolves around the question of “die dynamisierte Erde” (Schnyder 541) in their writings, suggesting that the solid, seemingly static earth is actually a dynamic, almost living entity� This aligns with Jason Groves’ exploration of Goethe’s fiction writings from an ecocritical perspective, which sees him posit a “geological turn” (Groves 95) during the Goethezeit� This geological turn “takes on a new urgency in the geological epoch of the Anthropocene” (96), in his eyes, as scholars begin to assess the position that humans take, and the impact they have, within the natural world� This relationship between humans, on the one hand, and geology, on the other, is problematized by Georg Braungart� He discusses the (at the time) surprising revelation that the history of the earth, and with it, of geology, did not align temporally with the history of human life on it: “[E]rst langsam öffnete sich die Schere zwischen der Geschichte der Erde und der des Menschen” (56)� In turn, this emphasized the independent existence of the natural world, rather than its dependence on human influences� Indeed, many of the key concerns of these ecocritical scholars, revolving around the independent activity to be found within the natural world, were prefigured in Goethe’s geological writing, as highlighted by the presence of “Polarität” and “Steigerung�” Against the backdrop of previous critics’ work on the interplay (or perceived lack thereof) between forces and the natural world more broadly, or “Polarität,” “Steigerung,” and Goethe’s geological writings specifically, the interaction between these concepts and “Granit II” itself is to be considered� Indeed, the first of the three aspects of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” under consideration, namely, the concept of directional movement, is also the one which is most explicitly 276 Jennifer Caisley mentioned in “Granit II�” In the first section of the essay, which sees the protagonist discuss how previous generations (and indeed, previous cultures) viewed granite, the protagonist states: “Jeder Weg in unbekannte Gebürge bestätigte die alte Erfahrung, daß das Höchste und das Tiefste Granit sei” (FA 1/ 25: 313)� As both the highest entity and the lowest at the same time, granite is the geological embodiment of “Polarität,” which encompasses opposing forces moving in harmony with one another� As the protagonist subsequently explains, this height and depth applies to granite in the most literal sense� Granite is the bedrock of the earth upon which all other structures are built - and yet, it can also be the material from which the tallest of these structures, mountains, are composed� However, this association between height and depth can also be read metaphorically, with granite at once representing stability and firmness, along with lofty, ethereal, ever-changing heights� This is implied by the constant reaffirmation and recreation of the “alte Erfahrung” described in this phrase� While this “Erfahrung” may well be old and solid (just like granite), it is also being recreated afresh with every new interaction with unexplored mountains� These “Erfahrungen” also have another role to play with regard to the upward and downward movements of Goethean “Polarität�” As he sits on the mountaintop, the protagonist of “Granit II” is “zu höheren Betrachtungen der Natur hinauf gestimmt” (FA 1/ 25: 314)� This upward movement is swiftly paired with its downward counterpart as the protagonist looks down from his elevated position: he “[sieht] diesen ganz nackten Gipfel hinab” (FA 1/ 25: 314)� The notion of a mountainous summit incorporating both ascent and descent may initially seem paradoxical, but brief consideration of the topography of a mountain peak reveals otherwise: even sketching out in the air the inverted V-shape of a mountain requires an upward and a downward line� Like the journey up a mountain, this process of “Polarität” is a movement that travels both upward and also, strikingly, downward� As Charlotte Lee comments with reference to “Steigerung,” this is “an ascent that also incorporates depth” (58)� This applies equally to a mountain: an ascent to the top of the mountain being inextricable from the physical descent down from the mountain, or the visual descent of the individual’s gaze into the valley below� In this text, however, the focus is squarely on the visual, and by extension, psychological, ascent and descent of the mountain� There is no description of how the protagonist reached its summit, nor of how he managed to get back down to the ground again� To a certain extent, this removes the physical aspect of “Polarität” and leaves behind both its connotations of visual ascent and descent, along with its metaphorical associations� However, this pairing of opposing movements does not only apply in a vertical sense in “Granit II”: it also is referred to in a broader form on a temporal “Granit II”: An Exploration of Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität” 277 plane� Throughout the text, the protagonist’s narration jumps back and forth between various points in time, all of which are simultaneously anchored in the narrative present as the protagonist relays his thoughts to the reader� The essay starts with the protagonist’s discussing granite’s role in Ancient Egypt, before rapidly fast-forwarding to the narrative present and offering a brief exploration of the value placed on this stone at that point in time� However, he then skips back to an even earlier point in time, to primeval days when the world (and more specifically, granite itself) was being formed� Suddenly, his narration jumps forward to the present day to discuss his personal interaction with the mountain at that particular moment, but almost immediately after, he returns to imagining the origins of the mountain once again� This oscillation between the narrative present and the past occurs at least twice more in the text, before it ends with a forward-looking hope that engagement with the mountain will give his “Bemühungen andern Gelegenheit […] weiter zu gehen” (FA 1/ 25: 316)� This flickering between various times, whether the distant past, present or future, evokes the movement upwards and downwards of “Polarität,” albeit in this instance, this movement “upwards” is “forwards,” and “downwards” is “backwards�” Perhaps the clearest reference to this linking of opposing forces comes at the very end of the essay, when the protagonist discusses returning to his study and his books, after his time in the natural environment observing the mountain directly� He discusses the opposing opinions held by many on the topic of granite and asks: “Wie vereinigen wir alle diese Widersprüche und finden einen Leitfaden zu ferneren Beobachtungen? Dies ist es was ich zu tun mir gegenwärtig vorsetzte [ ]” (FA 1/ 25: 316)� The mountain environment and the protagonist’s experience alike bring together seemingly opposing forces� However, so too does the project he is engaged on, which aims to unify seemingly contradictory approaches, thereby mirroring the workings of “Polarität” in combining diametrically opposed movements� These approaches themselves are intrinsically connected to the mountain environment in question, which once again seems to act as a trigger for such experiences� As such, the opposing movements so central to “Polarität” appear to be reflected in “Granit II” not only within the natural world per se, but also with regard to human interaction with it� “Polarität,” however, is only half of the pairing that forms part of the scope of this exploration� Nevertheless, the geological essay also contains plenty of material that suggests “Steigerung” is evident in the work, also� Descriptions of upward movements are scattered throughout the text, whether in the description of the obelisks erected by the Ancient Egyptians, and their remnants being re-erected in the present, or in the explanation that granite now “sich […] emporhob” in the eyes of natural scientists (FA 1/ 25: 313)� However, at one point 278 Jennifer Caisley in the essay, the similarities between the upward movement of “Steigerung” and “Granit II” are made particularly clear on a linguistic level� In his discussion of polarity in his note on “Die Natur,” Goethe uses the verb “anziehen” to describe the upwards trajectory followed when an entity is “gesteigert�” The same verb is used by the protagonist in “Granit II” to express the sensations he experiences while sitting atop the mountain: In diesem Augenblicke, da die innern anziehenden und bewegenden Kräfte der Erde gleichsam unmittelbar auf mich wirken, da die Einflüsse des Himmels mich näher umschweben, werde ich zu höheren Betrachtungen der Natur hinaufgestimmt, und wie der Menschengeist alles belebt, so wird auch ein Gleichnis in mir rege, dessen Erhabenheit ich nicht widerstehen kann� (FA 1/ 25: 314) These “Kräfte der Erde” that seem to flow directly into and through the protagonist’s body, via the mountain upon which he is sitting, exert a force not only in the same direction as “Steigerung,” but a force that is even described in exactly the same way� Indeed, this paragraph is replete with terms referencing upward movement, from “anziehend,” to “Himmel,” “höhere” and “hinaufgestimmt�” As such, it can also be read as a depiction of upward movement analogous to “Steigerung�” Here, this “Steigerung” reaches its zenith in the form of sublimity, or “Erhabenheit�” Interaction with nature enables the protagonist not only to have a closer experience of nature: it also elevates the protagonist’s experience of human existence itself� It is clear that the directional movement inherent to “Polarität” and “Steigerung” is present in “Granit II�” However, many of these instances depicting the opposing movements of “Polarität,” or the clear upward movement of “Steigerung,” also go hand in hand with the constant dynamism involved in these movements� This is the second of the distinguishing features of these two concepts: namely the never-ceasing, endless nature of the movements associated with them� The protagonist’s experiences of the mountain environment are refreshed and renewed time and again, along with his ever-moving oscillations through various temporal moments� In turn, they also see “Granit II” prefigure the second key aspect of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” in this regard: the notion of them being constantly rotating “Triebräder” driving these experiences forward� These “wheels,” to use Goethe’s term, are constantly in motion, rolling onwards steadily and unceasingly� At first glance, mountains (and the mountain environment more broadly) might seem to be rather static, and consequently, not connected to either “Steigerung” or “Polarität�” However, closer examination of their presentation in “Granit II” suggests that this is far from the case� “Granit II”: An Exploration of Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität” 279 This notion of constant movement is most clearly depicted with regard to interaction with the granite rock itself, a stone which is (according to the protagonist) full of differences and contradictions� As he states: Höchst mannigfaltig in der größten Einfalt, wechselt seine Mischung ins Unzählige ab� Die Lage und das Verhältnis seiner Teile seine Dauer seine Farbe ändert sich mit jedem Gebürge und die Massen eines jeden Gebürges sind oft von Schritt zu Schritte wieder in sich unterschieden, und im ganzen doch wieder immer einander gleich� (FA 1/ 25: 313) This long description by the protagonist accords with his description of his forebears’ viewing of the “wunderbare Abwechslung ihres [Granits] Kornes” (FA 1/ 25: 313)� While in neither of these instances is the rock itself moving or changing, it nevertheless gives the individual interacting with it an experience that is ever-fresh and ever-new, by dint of its varied, diverse nature� This further reinforces the subjective, sensorily-based nature of the movements of both “Steigerung” and “Polarität,” and the constant flux associated with them� Indeed, this is not the only instance in the text in which granite is associated with movement and change� While the previous extract dealt with granite as a stone either removed from the ground and carved into the shape of an obelisk, say, or in the natural shape of a mountain, subsequent passages in “Granit II” examine granite’s role as a bedrock upon which natural environments (or even entire communities) grow� As the protagonist states: Schon fängt das Moos zuerst sich zu erzeugen an schon bewegen sich seltner die schaligen Bewohner des Meeres es senkt sich das Wasser die höhern Berge werden grün, es fängt alles an von Leben zu wimmeln�-- - Aber bald setzen sich diesem Leben neue Szenen der Zerstörungen entgegen� In der Ferne heben sich tobende Vulkane in die Höhe, sie schienen der Welt den Untergang zu drohen jedoch unerschüttert bleibt die Grundfeste auf der ich noch sicher ruhe […]� (FA 1/ 25: 315) There is constant movement atop the granite foundation, although this foundation ultimately remains fixed� This is not, however, to say that the granite foundation is unchanging: it births volcanoes and reveals itself from the depths of the waters which had previously covered it� Much like “Steigerung” and “Polarität,” forces which are always in flux and yet ever present, the geological environment underpins everything that happens in association with it� Indeed, atop this sturdy foundation, the amount of movement is striking� The lack of punctuation, with clauses running from one into the next, in this passage reflects this movement on the level of the text, while its content suggests a situation marked not only by constant flux, but also by repeating cyclical developments� 280 Jennifer Caisley The passage is described by verbs of movement and change: “erzeugen,” “sich bewegen,” “senken,” “werden,” “wimmeln,” “sich heben�” The final verb of this section, “ruhen,” contrasts markedly with its predecessors, further reinforcing the stability provided by the rocky foundation� The cyclical nature of this movement, akin to the “Triebräder” of “Steigerung” and “Polarität,” is also highlighted in this passage� The chaos of the initial creation gradually subsides, and stability returns to the environment, before distant volcanos threaten to destroy the entire situation, bringing the chaos back again� The wheel of development rolls on, destroying then reforming the natural environment� In addition to these instances of ongoing flux, change and development, circular imagery is also used in “Granit II,” evoking the specific nature of the movement traced by the “Triebräder” of “Steigerung” and “Polarität�” This reference to circular movement comes in a description of the protagonist’s interaction with the mountain environment� He states: Und so wird jeder der den Reiz kennt den natürliche Geheimnisse fuer den Menschen haben, sich nicht wundern dass ich den Kreis der Beobachtungen den ich sonst betreten, verlassen und mich mit einer recht leidenschaftlichen Neigung in diesen gewandt habe� (FA 1/ 25: 314) The protagonist’s interaction with the mountain environment, or with the secrets of nature more broadly, gives rise to a cyclical series of experiences with the natural world, led by the sense of vision and driven by curiosity� The “Kreis der Beobachtungen” mimics the wheel-like motions of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” by virtue of its circular shape� The nature of this “Kreis” is never fully defined, or even discussed, but it is clear that it is triggered by the mountain environment, just as these two concepts are� The third, and final, aspect of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” to explore with regard to “Granit II” is the interplay between “Materie” and “Geist” in the text� In his note on “Die Natur” that discusses his view of “Steigerung” and “Polarität,” Goethe associates each of these concepts with “Geist” and “Materie” respectively� He then explains that “Geist” and “Materie” are intrinsically connected to each other, just as “Steigerung” and “Polarität” are� Firstly, he explains that material can never exist without spirit, nor vice versa (“Weil aber die Materie nie ohne Geist, der Geist nie ohne Materie existiert und wirksam sein kann” [FA I/ 25: 81]): the two concepts simply cannot be separated from one another� Consequently, material entities associated with polarity can be heightened, just as much as spiritual entities associated with “Steigerung” can experience “Polarität” (“so vermag auch die Materie sich zu steigern, so wie sich’s der Geist nicht nehmen läßt, anzuziehen und abzustoßen” [FA I/ 25: 81])� As a result, examining the presence of an interplay between “Materie” and “Geist” in “Granit II” offers “Granit II”: An Exploration of Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität” 281 the final reinforcement of the hypothesis that “Steigerung” and “Polarität” are also explored in the text� As Helmut Koopmann explains in the Goethe-Handbuch, “es gibt seht verschiedenartige Bedeutungen des Begriffes ‘Geist’ bei Goethe” (546)� He goes on to explain that most of these meanings arise in conjunction with other terms, such as “Materie” in the example of “Steigerung” and “Polarität,” and summarizes that “Geist” is inextricably linked to the “transsubstantielle Sphäre�” Other critics have emphasized this connection between “Geist” and “Materie,” in particular� These include David John, whose 2013 article reads Goethe’s approach to the intersection of these two concepts as a “dualistic materialism” ( John 69) in which neither concept is more prominent than the other, particularly in Goethe’s work on science and natural philosophy� Preceding John, Eckart Förster’s 2001 work also explored the role played by the crossover between “Geist” and Goethe’s scientific work� He alleges that Goethe’s belief in the crucial importance of seeing with the “Auge des Geistes” is a credo which “underlies his lifelong scientific work” (Förster 87)� By extension, this also underscores the importance of “Geist” for Goethe more generally in engaging with the material natural world, and, indeed, the inevitability of its presence, as suggested by the definition of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” discussed throughout this article� “Granit II” sees the term “Geist” arise no fewer than six times over the course of the essay, in various guises� Taking each of these appearances in turn reveals that “Geist,” with all its shades of meaning, is inextricably connected to “Materie” in the essay, and, as such, offers further emphasis that Goethe’s essay can be read as an early exposition of the interplay between “Steigerung” and “Polarität�” The first two references to “Geist” come early in the essay, as the unnamed protagonist is discussing the sense of attraction that the natural environment exerts on humans, and his related exploration of this environment� He states: Ich fürchte den Vorwurf nicht dass es ein Geist des Widerspruchs sein müsse der mich von Betrachtung und Schilderung des menschlichen Herzens des jüngesten mannigfaltigsten beweglichsten veränderlichsten, erschütterlichsten Teiles der Schöpfung zu der Beobachtung des ältesten, festesten, tiefsten, unerschütterlichsten Sohnes der Natur geführt hat� Denn man wird mir gerne zugeben dass alle natürlichen Dinge in einem genauen Zusammenhange stehen, dass der forschende Geist sich nicht gerne von etwas Erreichbarem ausschließen läßt� (FA 1/ 25: 313-4) This passage sees the narrator discuss two “Geister”: the “Geist des Widerspruchs” and the “forschende Geist�” In both of these instances, “Geist” is used to refer to a particular variety of feeling or thought that drives forward a certain action� While the “Geist des Widerspruchs” did not come to bear, as the protag- 282 Jennifer Caisley onist is keen to remind the reader, the “forschende Geist” did have a significant impact on his endeavors� Goethe’s statement that “Geist” is never present without “Materie” is borne out on multiple levels in this passage� Both the “Geister” in this passage are rooted in the physical materiality of the protagonist’s body, or, more accurately, his brain, thereby marking a direct connection between material and spirit in this passage� However, an indirect connection can also be established� The “Geist” driving the protagonist is triggered and stimulated by the protagonist’s interaction with the material mountain environment� The protagonist even appears to presage this connection in his statement that “alle natürlichen Dinge in einem genauen Zusammenhange stehen,” highlighting the interconnected nature of the natural world� The third occurrence of the term “Geist” in “Granit II” sees it linked even more closely to the protagonist’s interaction with his surroundings, and the experiences referred to in the previous sections� The sublime experience that the protagonist undergoes where the “innern anziehenden-und bewegenden Kräfte der Erde” impact on him does not just elevate him “zu höheren Betrachtungen der Natur,” as discussed specifically with regard to “Steigerung�” Rather, it also has an explicit connection to the “Geist” of humanity� As the protagonist states: “wie- der Menschengeist alles belebt, so wird auch ein Gleichniß- in mir rege, dessen Erhabenheit ich nicht widerstehen- kann” (FA 1/ 25: 314)� The protagonist becomes host to a force analogous to the “Menschengeist,” but one which is in this instance sparked by his experience atop the mountain� In this image, “Geist” is required for an object to be brought to life� In turn, this connects to the protagonist’s description of the mountain peak which opens this entire scene� In it, he states “diese Gipfel haben nichts Lebendiges erzeugt und nichts Lebendiges verschlungen, sie sind vor allem Leben und über alles Leben” (FA 1/ 25: 314)� Just as life cannot exist without the “Menschengeist,” without this “Menschengeist” being life in and of itself, so too is the mountain environment in question intrinsically connected to life-giving in their own way� The “Geist” of the protagonist’s mind therefore displays striking parallels with the solid materiality of the granite rock� The final three instances of “Geist” in “Granit II” occur a little later in the essay, when the protagonist is discussing the process by which the mountains were formed� As the narrator states: Er sieht sich nach jenen Thälern um,-über die sich sein Geist schon hinausschwang […]� Vorbereitet durch diese Gedanken, dringt die Seele in die vergangenen Jahrhunderte hinauf, sie vergegenwärtigt sich alle Erfahrungen sorgfältiger Beobachter, alle Vermutungen feuriger Geister� Diese Klippe sage ich zu mir selber stand schroffer zackiger höher in die Wolken da dieser Gipfel, noch als eine meerumfloßne Insel, in “Granit II”: An Exploration of Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität” 283 den alten Wassern dastand; um sie sauste der Geist, der über den Wogen brütete, und in ihrem weiten Schoße die höheren Berge aus den Trümmern des Urgebürges und aus ihren Trümmern und den Resten der eigenen Bewohner die späteren und ferneren Berge sich bildeten� (FA 1/ 25: 315) The speaker describes the mountain as being surrounded by water that is whipped up into waves and surrounded by geological turmoil of all kinds, which ultimately give rise to the topological environment that he can experience today� The rich description is replete with sensory adjectives: the sound of the spirit of nature is onomatopoeically represented in the repeated sibilance of the letter “s” in “sausen,” while the visual image depicted by the speaker pans cinematically from the mountain upon which he imagines he is sitting to the mountains in the far-off distance� While the speaker grammatically erases himself from this passage by avoiding using “ich” to refer to himself and thereby covering his statements with a veneer of objectivity, the description is nevertheless a product of his creation� As with the previous statement, the “Geister” here are intrinsically linked to the material world� The “Geist” interacts directly with the water to create waves, blowing around the rocky island, that ultimately shape the form of the rock itself� The “Erfahrungen” expressed in this are also worth noting� Again, the protagonist’s experience is renewed, refreshed and replicated in the narrative present, being “vergegenwärtigt” through the interplay of “Materie” and “Geist,” despite the fact that it originally happened many years ago� The interaction between “Geist” and “Materie” in “Granit II” does not just arise with relation to the direct, specific references to “Geist�” Reading this term broadly (as Koopmann does, concluding that “Goethe zufolge ist der Geist das Immaterielle […], das der Zeitlichkeit nicht unterworfen ist” [347]) enables further resonances to be identified within the geological essay� Indeed, “Granit II” presents the mountain’s material and immaterial qualities as mutually inclusive in other respects� The essay is peppered with references to materiality, whether in the “ungeheuren Massen” (FA 1/ 25: 312) of granite from which the Egyptians carved sacred obelisks, or in the description of granite as the “ältesten, festesten, tiefsten, unerschütterlichsten [Sohn] der Natur” (FA 1/ 25: 314), with the superlatives in this latter quotation offering further emphasis as to the materiality of granite� Alongside these explicit references to the solidity of the stone itself, there are also implicit remarks made more subtly throughout the piece that foreground the issue of materiality, and by extension, the connected issue of immateriality, in the reader’s consciousness� This is the case, for example, when the speaker explains how the value of granite became firmly engrained in people’s minds, stating that “die Würde dieses Gesteins wurde […] endlich befestigt” (FA 1/ 25: 314)� Here, even an immaterial value associated with granite, its “Würde,” 284 Jennifer Caisley is made “fest,” or rendered material� However, the mountain is far from being a dead, static lump of rock with its materiality being its only attribute� As the protagonist states plainly: “diese Gipfel […] sind vor allem Leben und über alles Leben” (FA 1/ 25: 314)� The mountain in “Granit II” is imbued with a mysterious kind of life that is sensed by the speaker� This implies that, while granite might be nature’s oldest son, to borrow Goethe’s phrase, it is also creating a progeny of its own through the productive impact of its forces on the individual who interacts with it� It is clear that “Granit II” depicts a directional movement shaped by a constant dynamism, whether in opposing directions or in eternal ascendance, as well as the interaction between “Geist” and “Materie�” The evident presence of all three of these elements in “Granit II” suggests that the representation of the mountain environment in the essay is clearly aligned to Goethe’s beliefs that he would later summarize in his exploration of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” in the 1820s� However, while “Granit II” seems to neatly align with Goethe’s theories of these two concepts in many respects, this is not to say that these similarities are without their complications� One such instance comes when the protagonist reaches the zenith of “Steigerung,” as discussed above� As the protagonist states: Ich fühle die ersten festesten Anfänge unsers Daseins, ich überschaue die Welt ihre schrofferen und gelinderen Täler und ihre fernen fruchtbaren Weiden, meine Seele wird über sich selbst und über alles erhaben und sehnt sich nach dem nähern Himmel� Aber bald ruft die brennende Sonne Durst und Hunger seine menschlichen Bedürfnisse zurück� (FA 1/ 25: 315) This sudden, jolting switch from the elevated, near-sublime experience to the utterly human, grounded sensations of hunger and thirst can be read, on one level, as a further example of the pairing of “Geist” and “Materie” in the text� However, the situation is more complicated than this� In this instance, the sudden appearance of “Materie” means that the ever-ascending movement of “Steigerung” is broken, and the protagonist loses his access to this realm of elevated thoughts� The eternal ascendance of “Steigerung” does not seem quite as eternal in this instance: “Materie” appears to have almost sabotaged “Geist,” rather than operating harmoniously with it� Goethe’s description of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” in his notes on “Die Natur” do not mention what happens when one of the components of the various pairings underlying it is out of kilter with the other� The above depiction of the protagonist’s experience in “Granit II” could well provide an illustration of this: when any of the various elements are present in too strong a form (or, conversely, too weak a form), “Steigerung” fails to occur� This suggests a certain delicacy, not to say fallibility, to “Steigerung,” at least at this early stage of Goethe’s development of this concept� At the start of “Granit II”: An Exploration of Goethean “Steigerung” and “Polarität” 285 its genesis in Goethe’s work, “Steigerung” was not necessarily solely an organic process that happened of its own accord: it required a particular set of conditions in order to make its presence felt� Examining “Granit II” through the lens of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” offers new ways in which to approach depictions of the mountain environment, and in turn, provides fresh insight into the genesis of Goethe’s theories of heightening and polarity� This insight implies that Goethe began to develop these theories much earlier than critics have thought to date� The three touchstones of directional forces, constant movement, and interplay between materiality and “Geist” are all present in “Granit II,” enabling the text to be read as a forerunner of Goethe’s theory of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” that substantially predates his other work on the subject� It is no surprise that instances of heightening and polarity can be found in Goethe’s writing on the natural world, given his belief in the intrinsic connection of these two concepts to nature� However, the specific connection of these two terms of representations of geology is rather unexpected� As discussed, these two terms are intrinsically connected to movement� It is logical to associate this movement with nature in terms of plants that grow, but it is rather less naturally connected to nature in the sense of mountains and rocks that are seemingly static� The same applies to materiality and “Geist”: a geological mass has rather more in the way of “Materie” than “Geist,” at first glance� Closer examination, however, suggests that “Geist” can take a range of forms in connection to the geological space, ranging from the protagonist’s own innate “Geist” inside his mind, through to a productive, external “Geist” that plays a role in creating the very entities that are being described� However, “Granit II” is also a text narrated by a shifting, unidentified narrator, meaning that these depictions of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” are always filtered through the subjective experience of this narrator� The term “Erfahrung” scattered throughout the text as an explicit marker of experience, along with more implicit markers of experience, is involved either directly or indirectly with all three of the aspects of “Steigerung” and “Polarität” discussed throughout this article� These experiences are being constantly relived by the sensing protagonist, as a result of the “Steigerung” and “Polarität” inherent to the mountain environment in question� Even the very end of the text emphasizes the subjectivity inherent in any experience of the natural environment� The protagonist uses the closing lines of the piece to offer a warning to readers that seems a little jarring, with its direct, detached, scientific tone, when compared to the rest of the text� He states: Nur möchte eine Warnung hier nicht überflüssig sein, mehr für Ausländer, wenn diese Schrift bis ihnen kommen sollte, als für Deutsche: diese Gesteinart von andern 286 Jennifer Caisley wohl unterscheiden zu lernen� Noch verwechseln die Italiener eine Lava mit dem kleinkörnigten Granit und die Franzosen den Gneis den sie blättrigten Granit oder Granit der zweiten Ordnung nennen […]� (FA 1/ 25: 316) This concluding warning serves as a reminder that subjectivity even operates on a linguistic level� As the protagonist summarizes, readers of the text from other cultural backgrounds could easily be misled by the term “Granit,” mistaking it for a different kind of stone� While the text itself depicts the protagonist’s new “Erfahrungen” on many levels, instead, in this extract, he suggests that the text itself can also offer “Erfahrungen” to its many readers, as they learn from the guidance that the protagonist provides� As a result, to return to the pronouncement by Mephistopheles with which this article opened, there is not “nichts Neues” but rather “viel Neues” to be learned from geological masses, both in terms of learning about them and experiencing them� In turn, these newly learnt findings and fresh experiences can aid us as readers to have a more comprehensive understanding of Goethe’s “Weltanschauung,” looking at geology and Goethe’s natural philosophy alike with fresh eyes to create a reading that falls neatly in step with contemporary scholarship on ecocriticism� Works Cited Braungart, Georg� “Poetik der Natur� Literatur und Geologie�” Natur - Kultur. 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