The Friends (Ludwig Tieck)
The Friends is a short story by Ludwig Tieck and appeared in Friedrich Nicolai's collection of ostrich feathers in 1797 .
content
Ludwig Wandel goes to visit a sick friend in another village. With all the spring mood of nature and people, he can only think of his farewell letter. He writes that in spring, in a fatal illness, he feels abandoned by the healthy. The forest and the singing of birds bring the hiker to deep contemplations and fairy tale images from childhood, while in ruins he remembers how much he owes to poetry. At sunset he thinks of a woman who pulls him with her. He can be found in an unknown landscape. Fairies entertain him in a palace. They grant his wish that his friend be well and tell him that their kingdom has existed for a long time, that their day is the night of mortals. A stranger in the mountains, who wants to be his sick friend, says that there is no love in this splendor, since all deception falls. His longing for him awakens Ludwig. It is really the healthy friend who went to meet him.
literature
- Ludwig Tieck: Early Stories and Novels . From: Ludwig Tieck, works in four volumes ; based on the text of the writings from 1828 to 1854, taking into account the first prints, edited and provided with afterwords and comments by Marianne Thalmann. Volume I. Licensed edition of the German Book Association Stuttgart. Winkler Verlag Munich. Pp. 59-72, 1014-1015.