The Secret of Edwin Drood
The secret of Edwin Drood (also: "The secret of Edwin Drood" ', original title: "The Mystery of Edwin Drood") is the title of a crime novel by the English writer Charles Dickens from 1870. Like most of the author's works, it appeared as a monthly sequel story. When the author died of complications from a stroke, there were 22 chapters published from April to September, i.e. about half of the 11-episode novel, which remained Dickens' last work as a fragment. The first German translation by Emil Lehmann was published in 1870.
overview
The action takes place mainly in the fictional small town of Cloisterham, which is connected by a railway line to London, the second location. Similar to Rochester , the old houses from the 18th century are dominated by a cathedral. The author uses this scenery and the Gothic Novel mood of the chapters (1–16) that play in the twilight and night hours in late autumn and winter for the mysterious criminal case.
The focus of the novel is the personal tension between three orphans: the boarding school student Rosa and the two young men Edwin Drood and Neville Landless, who are also not yet of legal age and have not yet finished their apprenticeship. They are supported and advised by their guardians; the lawyer and family friend Crewgious, the cantor and uncle John Jasper and the Anglican pastor and canon Crisparkle. The other characters play their roles in the environment of the protagonists and often take up unifying positions.
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The plot is, typically for a detective novel, with incomplete information about the puzzling actions and motives of some people and alternating between increased tension and delay:
- After the introduction with the exposition (Kp. 1–5) and the introduction of the main characters
- With the arrival of the twin pair Neville and Helena, the field of conflict Edwin-Neville and their seconds Jasper and Crisparkle (Kp. 6-8) develops.
- The short phase of clarification and relaxation - resolution of the engagement, reconciliation talk between rivals - (Kp. 9-13)
- is broken off by the escalation of events (chap. 14-16): the murder or the escape of Edwin and the accusation of Neville by Jasper.
- After a leap in time of six months, the actions of most of the protagonists increasingly shift to London (Kp. 17, 19-22). At the same time, v. a. the Jasper story continues in Cloisterham (cp. 18, 23).
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1 The dawn 2 A dean and a chapter on it 3 The nunnery 4 Mr. Sapsea 5 Mr. Durdles and his friend 6 Philanthropy in the auxiliary canon corner 7 All kinds of confidential communications 8 daggers drawn 9 birds in the bush 10 The paths are paved 11 A picture and a ring 12 A night with Durdles 13 Both sides at their best 14 When will the three meet again? 15 The accusation 16 A vow 17. Professional and Voluntary Philanthropy 18 A new resident in Cloisterham 19 shadows on the sundial 20 An escape 21 A recognition 22 All kinds of annoyances arise 23 Again the dawn |
action
Presentation of the main characters: Pastor Crisparkle, Cantor Jasper and his nephew Edwin Drood and his fiancée Rosa (Kp. 1–5)
The novel begins with John ("Jack") Jasper's visit to the opium den "Princess Puffers" in London. Then he travels to Cloisterham and, in late autumn cold weather, goes to the cathedral for the evening service, where he leads the choir as cantor, of which he is the lead singer. (Cp. 1)
Jasper is late to leave Cloisterham Cathedral because of a malaise. The dean asks the senior sacristan Mr. Tope about what has happened and then sends the auxiliary canon Septimus Crisparkle to the sick man in the porter's house with wishes for recovery. Jasper assures him that it was just a harmless ailment and that he is expecting his nephew, who is also his ward, Edwin Drood from London. At around 26 years of age, the uncle is only a little older than the nephew and they address each other like friends with “Jack” and “Ned”. Jasper admits to Edwin that the fainting attack is the result of the opium he occasionally smokes because of pain. On this day they talk v. a. about Jasper's music student Rosa Bud ("Rosebud"), condescendingly and lovingly called "Kitten" by Drood, who has her birthday that day. Their fathers, who have since passed away, wished their children to be married in their wills and Drood plans to marry Rosa after finishing school and take her with him to the Orient, where he will work as an engineer. He painted a picture of the girl with a moody expression and gave it to his uncle as a decoration on his fireplace wall. (Cp. 2)
The next day, Edwin, who is around twenty years old, visits his bride in Miss Twinkleton's “Education Center for Young Women” in the former nunnery. While Edwin seriously wants to talk to her about her marriage next summer and her move to Egypt, Rosa is obviously embarrassed about her role as an engaged orphan in a girls' boarding school, where Edwin's visits are curiously observed and commented on by the schoolgirls, and she tries the situation too To cover up rogues. She later confides in Helena Landless that they are a "ridiculous couple". During a walk to the churchyard, she suggests a fun role-play game to her "Eddy" in which she jokingly asks Edwin, who is engaged to another woman, about his relationship. But their tensions become increasingly clear in the dialogue: his expectations of an adult woman, the discomfort of the student-bride at the idea of living as the wife of an engineer in Egypt, in a country that, based on her school knowledge, she has with pharaohs tombs, mummies, Arabs and common fellahs. As a childish girl she still feels too immature for such a task and suddenly suggests in a serious tone that we should be patient with one another and quietly wait for their development. When he asked whether there was another man, she resolutely denies and wishes to return to the boarding school when the choir can be heard from the church and Edwin believes he can hear Jasper's voice. (Cp. 3)
With the 4th chapter the plot changes to Edwin's uncle. Through a visit to the auctioneer and broker Thomas Sapsea, later mayor of the city, he came into contact with the stonemason Durdle. Sapsea asks him for his opinion on a funerary memorial inscription he designed for his wife Ethelinda, who died three quarters of a year ago and which is more about his complacency than about his humble wife. After Durdles receives the order to carry it out soon, Jasper accompanies him home and tries to protect him from a stone thrower. But the stonemason grotesquely wants to give the deputy, the senseless destroyer, a worthy target and pays him to drive him home at night. On the way through the old city, Durdles demonstrates to Jasper, who is curious about his discoveries, his method of discovering old tombs in the underground vaults of the cathedral by tapping the floor. Arriving at his apartment, Jasper lights an opium pipe to dream of ghostly apparitions. (Cp. 5)
Tensions between Neville Landless and Edwin Drood (pp. 6-8)
The new plot, beginning in the 6th chapter, develops over the 35-year-old Septimus Crisparkle, who lives with his mother. She has agreed to her brother-in-law Honeythunder, chairman of the main philanthropist committee in London, to look after two orphans from Ceylon. The young man Neville Landless will live in her house and be tutored by Septimus, while his twin sister Helena will go to the girls' boarding school. To receive the two, the Crisparkles have invited a small company that is doctrinally dominated by the anthroposophist leader, who accompanied his pupils to Cloisterham, in long missionary speeches about the "haven of philanthropy", so that everyone is happy when they come to him Return trip to London can say goodbye.
On this evening, two areas of tension emerge, one already existing and one future: The company in the Crisparkle house ends when Rosa, after increasing uncertainty, crying her vocal performance with the exclamation “I can't stand it! I am afraid! Take me away! ”Breaks off after Jasper watched her intensely at the piano and tried to guide her. On the other hand, Neville is intrigued by the girl. In the boarding school, Rosa and Helena, who share a room, talk about the situation and Rosa confides in the more mature Helena: She is afraid of Jasper, because she feels that her music teacher has demonically dominated and enslaved her emotionally about the music. When he watches her lips sing, she feels his kiss. Helena promises to protect her and the two become friends. (Cp. 7)
Edwin and Neville had previously accompanied the young women to the boarding school (Kp. 8) and Neville asked him on the way back about Rosa, with whom he fell in love, as he later confesses to Crisparkle (Kp. 10). Edwin feels his curiosity in subliminal jealousy as presumptuous, especially since he has argued with his fiancée about their relationship, on the other hand he is impressed by Helena. So he treats Neville arrogantly. The tense situation threatens to escalate when Jasper suddenly shows up, admonishes them both and takes them back to his apartment. There, after a glass of wine, the dispute is rekindled by Neville's derogatory assessment of Edwin as the painter of Rosa's picture and intensified in arrogant remarks by Edwin and aggressive reactions to Neville's alleged insensibility. Summit is the insulting reference to Neville's origins and black skin. He can't judge white people. Jasper can just barely prevent a physical abuse, Neville throws his glass against the fireplace, rushes out of the house and complains to Crisparkle of Edwin's provocation and his lack of restraint. Jasper later appears at Crisparkle's and complains about the dangerous appearance of Neville. (Cp. 8)
Solutions: The rivals' reconciliation conversation and the termination of the relationship between Rosas and Edwin (Kp. 9-13)
Rosa's solution to the relationship with Edwin begins with the visit of her guardian, the attorney Hiram Grewgious (cp. 9). Her father's boyfriend has traveled to the boarding school from London to inquire about the condition of his ward and to inform her about the situation of her planned marriage: The wish of her fathers was expressed in a certain situation without knowledge of the development of the children and for they are not legally binding. She makes the decision with Edwin alone. Rosa replies that she is very fond of "Eddy", but she is relieved by the news and wants to discuss her decision with him the next time her fiancé visits him for Christmas. She invites her guardian to this meeting. Grewgious then visits Edwin's guardian, Jasper, and, knowing that they are closely connected, asks him to show restraint in caring for his nephew. He should leave the marriage affair to the fiancé.
After his conversations with Rosa and Jasper, Grewgious discusses the relationship situation with Edwin (Kp. 11): On a December day before his trip to Cloisterham, Edwin seeks out Rosa's guardian and he invites him to lunch. Then he gives the groom, with allusions to his behavior towards Rosa, a lecture about the ideal lover: You shouldn't treat a treasure like a toy and an intimate endearing word, meaning "kitten", shouldn't be disclosed to the public. He then gives Edwin the engagement ring from Rosa's dead mother, which is adorned with a rose set in gold made of diamonds and rubies, on one condition: only if he is aware of his true love and responsibility for the girl can he give Rosa the ring on the finger, otherwise he would have to give it back. After his grumpy scribe and unsuccessful writer Bazzard and Edwin have left him alone in the room, the background to his address to Edwin becomes clear: For him, the engagement matter is anything but the fulfillment of a business assignment, because Rosa is like her mother, whom he “in hopelessly silent adoration ”while marrying someone else.
In Chapter 13, Rosa and Edwin agree on their relationship: After most of the boarding school students have left for the Christmas holidays, Rosa receives Edwin, explains her asymmetrical partnership because of his impatient leadership role, and proposes that they end their engagement. Edwin sees their motives and agrees to only treat each other as friends and brothers and sisters in the future. He will return the engagement ring to Grewgious. But he fears that his uncle, who watches their kiss goodbye unnoticed by them, will have another seizure out of pity for him when he brings him the news. Rosa suggests that her guardian Grewgious take over this information. She is also thinking of finishing her singing lessons with Jasper.
Parallel to Grewgious' talks with the betrothed, Crisparkle wants to settle the dispute between Nevilles and Edwin in the second conflict (cf. chapter 10). On a walk he meets the pair of twins and learns Neville's love for Rosa and his jealousy of Edwin as the motive of his frenzy. He tries to make it clear to him that the townspeople blame him for the incidents because of his violent temperament and that he has no right to defend Rosa against her allegedly callous and possessive fiancé without knowing who she is. Neville is ready to settle the conflict and his sister assists him. Crisparkle then visits Jasper and discusses with him that he is persuading his nephew to make an offer of reconciliation to Neville because of his provocations. Edwin agrees and suggests meeting Jasper for Christmas.
Meanwhile, Jasper is pursuing his own plan (Chapter 12), prepared in the 4th chapter, to explore the creepy rooms under the church. He told the dean that he was writing a book and that he wanted to experience the individual parts of the building in a nocturnal atmosphere. The stonemason Durdles leads him through the crypt with the old graves, through the church to the tower and back again. “It was an inexplicable expedition!” Durdles is caught several times under the influence of alcohol, encouraged by Jasper, by the eerie atmosphere and tells of the effect of the unquenched lime and the spirit of a terrible scream one night a year ago. On the way home, the stone thrower “Deputy” is waiting for him again and drives him home. (Cp. 12)
Turning point of the plot: murder or escape of Edwin and accusation of Neville as the perpetrator (chapters 14-16)
In the 14th chapter the events come thick and fast against the atmospheric backdrop of a storm moving over the city. Before the three-way reconciliation meeting at Jasper's, the participants are shown in parallel acts: Neville buys a heavy walking stick and packs his knapsack to set off on a two-week hike the next day and fight the silent struggle of his uncontrolled personality with himself. Edwin strolls alone through town, wondering sadly about the end of his engagement and regretting that he treated Rosa like a child all along. In the monastery vineyard he had a strange encounter with a woman, later called "Princess Puffer", in an opium intoxication, who showed symptoms similar to those he had previously observed with Jasper. Before she disappears into the two-penny hostel, she gives him his endearing words “Eddy” and “Ned” and warns him against paying three and a half shillings: “Thank God that your name is not Ned! [...] A dangerous name. A threatening name. ”Jasper buys food for his feast. He sings particularly expressively at evening services. Crisparkle suspects he took a new cure for his malaise. Jasper confirms that. He is no longer involved in his pathological ideas.
The next morning, Jasper looks for his nephew. He went down to the river with Neville Landless that evening to witness the storm and never returned.
The next morning (bullet 15) Edwin is missing and Jasper directs suspicion to Neville: There was tension between the two and Neville was the last to have seen Drood alive after the reconciliation meeting. Residents search the bank and fish for his corpse with nets in the river. Jasper, Crisparkle, and a few men chase Neville, who started his hike early in the morning, catch up with him, and take him back to town. He is interrogated, claims to have split up with Neville in front of Jasper's house, and is house arrested with Crisparkle. His earlier argument with Edwin, his temper and, as Crisparkle knows, his jealousy of his rival speak against him. The story takes a turn when Grewgious tells Jasper that Edwin and Rosa are engaged. Jaspers then has a fit and falls unconscious to the floor. After his recovery, he changes his mind (cp. 16): Edwin could have run away from disappointment over the withdrawal of love. When Crisparkle finds Droods' watch and shirtpin while strolling at Cloisterham Weir, Neville is again suspected and arrested. However, the authorities must release him due to lack of evidence. He moves to London with the help of Crisparkle on suspicions and accusations as Edwin's murderer and hides there for fear of Jasper's persecution.
Suspicions and fear of persecution (Kp. 17-23)
The action now jumps into the summer by half a year. Crisparkle visits Edwin again and seeks support from Honeythunder and Grewgious (Kp. 17). But with the former guardian he quickly gets into an argument that extends from his prejudice to Nevilles into the fundamental and personal: Crisparkle dismisses the cocky philanthropic speaker because of his dogmatism and bigotry and calls his manners and maneuvers "abhorrent". Then he visits Neville, asks how he is and is convinced of his diligent studies. This is still under the impression of the slander in Cloisterham and fears Jasper's anger. Crisparkle announces the arrival of his sister to alleviate his loneliness. For the third conversation with Grewgious, he just has to cross the street. Grewgious promises to watch the situation from his apartment.
Around the same time, Jasper visits Rosa, who was left alone in the boarding school as an orphan during the holiday season (cp. 18). Rosa receives him in the garden, where she feels safer than in the almost empty house. He asks her why she interrupted her music class and tells her that after Edwin's death he will no longer have to hide his passionate love for her. Rosa rejects him: she has always observed and oppressed herself by him far beyond the teacher-student relationship and is finally giving up vocal training. He then threatens her if she breaks off dealing with him, this will have bad consequences for Neville and Helena. He wants to isolate them from their environment through surveillance and slander and thereby destroy them psychologically. So he would avenge Edwin's death on the twins, whether they were guilty or not, and at the same time punish Rosa for rejecting his love. After Jasper's visit, Rosa quickly packs up a few things, leaves Miss Twinkleton a message and takes the train to London to see her guardian (cp. 20). Grewgious has the incident told him exactly, promises his protection and takes her to Furnival's hotel near his apartment.
The next day, Crisparkle, who had been notified by the troubled Miss Twinkleton, travels to London and meets with Grewgious and Rosa in the hotel (cp. 21). Tartar, a former naval lieutenant, arrives and Crisparkle recognizes him as a former student who pulled him out of the river years earlier and thus saved his life. Tartar is Neville's neighbor. He has furnished his attic apartment like a cabin, doing gymnastics on the roof to attach string to which his red bean plantations can entwine from his window to the Nevilles, so that he can enjoy it too (Chapter 17). With this information Grewgious comes up with the idea of how one could use the various entrances to the neighboring houses Tartars and Nevilles to arrange a window conversation between Rosas and Helenas on the courtyard side, unnoticed by a spy. With Tartar's consent, Rosa can speak to Helena from his apartment (cp. 22). She tells her about Jasper's threats, and Helena develops a plan to use Tartar as a decoy: he should meet Neville in a manner that is visible to the observers, Jasper would then try to prevent these contacts, and one could uncover his intrigue network. For security reasons, Rosa does not return to Cloisterham, but stays in London. Grewgious rents an apartment for her from Mrs. Billickin. Miss Twinkleton is their companion and teacher for a month. This delivers violent opinionated arguments with the landlady.
In the meantime, the search for clues begins in Cloisterham. Dick Datchery, an older white-haired man, appears in town and wants to settle down in the picturesque setting as a pensioner. He's looking for an apartment in an old house. It is called the gatehouse, where Tope and Jasper also live. Here he is quartered on the ground floor. He can see the area well from his windows. He seeks contact with the stonemason Durdles and the street boy "Deputy", also known as "Winks", both of whom are very familiar with the city (Kp. 18). He also asks the opium smoker and dealer "Princess Puffer" about Edwin and Jaspers, reveals his whereabouts and observes them in church. On that day, in a scene similar to that at the beginning of the novel, the cantor visited her opium den in London and told her about his intoxicating fantasies, which he only realized once. She followed him to Cloisterham and she apparently wants to find out more about her client. Now she listens to his singing in the cathedral, hidden behind a pillar. She grins and threatens him with her fists (Kp. 23).
Interpretations
In a detective novel that has been handed down in fragments, even detailed text analyzes reach their limits and, because of the various traces and the lack of background knowledge, turn into guesswork. After the publication was interrupted by Dickens's death, v. a. two questions asked and discussed: Is Jasper Edwin's murderer or is he just hiding and returning? In both cases, the background to the family history of Jaspers and Droods is sought.
Most interpreters see John Jasper as the murderer.They refer to statements by Dickens' friend and biographer John Forster as well as the illustrators Luke Fildes and Charles Collins and rely on textual references: The focus is on the double life, the ambivalent character of Jasper and his loss of control through the Narcotics that he smokes to relieve his pain and also consumed on the day of the act. V. a. his dark words about the opium high dreams and an act carried out (chapters 1 and 23), “Princess Buffer's” warning that “Ned” was in danger, Rosa's fear of Jasper's demonia, his jealousy as a motive and the breakdown after he got back from the breakup heard of the engagement, and his interest in the cathedral tombs and quicklime are cited as arguments. In some continuations, the Rosas engagement ring, which Edwin kept in his pocket, as mentioned several times in the novel, is the only relic found in the lime.
Other suspicions are not based on a murder, but on Edwin's escape. The background is the family history. The above-mentioned opium evidence does not relate to Edwin, but to an act in the church tower before the beginning of the novel, in which only a scream was heard, but no corpse was found. Jasper's interest in Durdle's cavity tapping method and in the lime could indicate that he has buried a corpse and now wants to dispose of it for good for fear of being discovered by Durdles. Jasper's behavior and his relationship with the “nephew”, who is only a few years younger, can be explained from the previous history.
Translations into German
- “Edwin Drood. A mysterious story ”. Translated by Emil Lehmann. Leipzig 1870. The secret of Edwin Drood. Winkler, Munich 1970.
- "The Secret of Edwin Drood". Translated by Paul Heichen. Naumburg 1897. Schirmer, Naumburg 1947.
- "The Secret of Edwin Drood". Translated by C. Christensen (d. I. Oskar Camillus Recht). Munich 1955.
- "The Secret of Edwin Drood". Translated and with an afterword by Burkhart Kroeber , completed by Ulrike Leonhardt, Manesse, Zurich 2001,
Translation comparison: Burkhart Kroeber: "Experiences with translating 'over the gang'".
Sequels
- Henry Morford: "John Jasper's Secret: Sequel to Charles Dickens' Mystery of Edwin Drood". 1871–1872.In: Charles and Walters, John Cuming: "The Complete Mystery of Edwin Drood". Dana Estes & Company, 1913, pp. 213-217.
- Thomas Power (TP) James: "Part Second of the Mystery of Edwin Drood". 1873.
- "A Haunting Mystery: Brattleboro's TP James - Spiritualist, writer ... and conman?" The Brattleboro Reformer. November 30, 2017.
- Charles Dickens and Leon Garfield: "The Mystery of Edwin Drood". 1980. Datchery is a former actor who was hired by Grewgious as a private investigator.
- Charles Forsyte: "The Decoding of Edwin Drood". 1980.
- Carlo Fruttero & Franco Lucentini: "La verità sul caso D." 1989.
- Charles Dickens and David Madden: "The Mystery of Edwin Drood". 2011.
Adaptations, some with continuations (selection)
radio
- January 5th and 12th, 1953, radio program CBS Suspense. Two-part radio play with Herbert Marshall as John Jasper.
- March 2, 1990 to March 30, 1990, repeated from June 3 to 7, 2019. Five-part radio play broadcast by BBC Radio 4, Classic Serial, written by David Buck, directed by Gordon House, based on the book by Leon Garfield: Ian Holm as Jasper, John Moffatt as Datcherly, Gareth Thomas as Crisparkle, Michael Cochrane as Tartar, Timothy Bateson as Sapsea, Gordon Gostelow as Durdles and Anna Cropper as Mrs. Tope. It was dated in five episodes on BBC Radio4 Extra.
Movie
The novel has been filmed several times for the cinema and television with prominent casts.
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theatre
- Orpheus C. Kerr (pseudonym of Robert Henry Newell): "The Cloven Foot". New York 1870.
- In January 1914, The Dickens Fellowship hosted a dramatic trial at King's Hall in Covent Garden against John Jasper for the murder of Edwin Drood. George Bernard Shaw assumed the role of jury chairman.
- EJ Evans: "John Jaspers Secret". London 1951.
- Musical (originally just called Drood), music and lyrics by Rupert Holmes. The audience will vote to decide who the killer is: John Jasper, Neville Landless, Rosa Bud, Helena Landless, Rev. Crisparkle, Princess Puffer or Mr. Bazzard. Premiere 1985 New York Shakespeare Festival, then on Broadway, 2012 resumption by "Aria Entertainment" in London at the "Landor Theater" and "Arts Theater" in the West End. 2012–2013 Broadway resumption by the Roundabout Theater Company.
novel
The 2015 novel "Helena Landless" by Deanna Madden tells the Droot story from Helena's point of view.
literature
- Edmund Wilson: "Dickens: The Two Scrooges". In: "The Wound and the Bough"
- Philip Collins: "Dickens and Crime". 1962
- Felix Aylmer: "The Drood Case" 1964.
- Siegfried Schmitz: “Afterword” to Charles Dickens “The Secret of Edwin Drood”. Winkler Munich 1970.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ According to another count, in which the 20th chapter, Divers Flights , is divided into two parts, there are 23 chapters.
- ↑ planned for October to February 1871
- ↑ Dickens lived in neighboring Higham, Kent, from 1857 until his death.
- ↑ Rosebud
- ^ Siegfried Schmitz: Epilogue to Charles Dickens "The Secret of Edwin Drood". Winkler Munich 1970.
- ↑ John Forster: "Life of Dickens". London 1872-1874.
- ↑ Felix Aylmer: "The Drood Case" 1964.
- ↑ Lecture given on August 20, 1991 at the Literarisches Collequium, Berlin. In: The translator. Published by the Association of German-Language Translators of Literary and Scientific Works. Munich July / Aug. 1991 25th year. zsue.de ›2018/10› Der Uebersetzer-1991-07-08
- ↑ In: Walter Hamilton (Ed.): Parodies of the works of English & American authors. Reeves & Turner, 1889, Volume 6, p. 226.
- ↑ "Chesterton Judge at Dickens Trial". New York Times report on the case. January 7, 1914.
- ^ Flying Dutchman Press