The jewel island

The Juweleninsel is part of Karl May's early work and is the second part of a double novel ( Scepter and Hammer / Die Juweleninsel ) published from August 1880 to May 1882 in the magazine Für alle Welt! was first published.

The previous novel was finished and May was apparently urged by the magazine's editorial team to continue. Since he began with the Orient cycle from the end of 1880 , Die Juweleninsel was only closed very slowly, which brought fleeing subscribers and management in a bad mood.

content

Even more so than in the first part ( scepter and hammer ), the story can hardly be retold because of the many entanglements. The story begins in the fictional state of Norland and therefore spreads across the world. Only the eponymous "Jewel Island" has a wallflower existence in history. The focus is on extremely intricate and malicious intrigues by Prince Hugo von Süderland.

1. Chapter. In the seaside resort ( online )
2. Chapter. Heaven and Hell ( online )
3. Chapter. In prison ( online )
4. Chapter. The Begum's Treasure ( online )
5. Chapter. After the Jewel Island ( online )
6. Chapter. The midshipman ( online )
7. Chapter. The Bowie Father (online: Part 1 , Part 2 )
8. Chapter. is missing
9. Chapter. A groom
10. Chapter.

In fact, Chapter 8 was never published. It cannot be reconstructed whether this was a mistake by May or by the composer; It is also conceivable that part of the manuscript was lost in the mail and that is one reason why Karl May - already revised through his work for Deutscher Hausschatz - was simply unable to re-tie the threads and the conception was there - so that completely collapsed.

Christoph F. Lorenz judges:

“He [May] might have turned the Jewel Island into a narrative masterpiece, because the outer layout of the novel is cleverly thought out and up to half of it is even better structured than that of Scepter and Hammer . The main plot about Kurt and the 'mad prince' (chapters 1-3) is followed by a detour to India (chapters 4-5), which ends exactly in the middle of the novel with the caesura when Maletti and Begum strand on the deserted island of jewels. With chapter 6, the narrative threads of the first three chapters are continued and skillfully brought together: Kurt, now a young midshipman, tracks down the prince's machinations and the secrets of Himmelstein Castle.

At the latest with the story of America in Chapter 7, however, the narrative decline of the Jewel Island begins . The plot becomes more fleeting, especially the parts set in San Francisco are full of contradictions. The figure of the 'Bowie Father' alias Miss Ella seems implausible and broken. When Ella and her two companions met the newly crowned treasure owners Karavey and Balduin Schubert, May gave away the chance to create a real 'Jewel Island' chapter after all; because everything worth knowing is just summarized as a brief report. Strangely enough, chapter 8 is completely missing, chapters 9 and 10 bring all the storylines to an end, but in some cases in a more than unsatisfactory form: The vow of the Bowie father alias Ella to place the Indians before the alternative of baptism or death is nowhere motivated, although May could have done this easily from the prehistory. It is just as unclear why, according to her own admission, she knew exactly in which dungeon Theodor von Walmy was imprisoned at Himmelstein Castle, but nevertheless did nothing to free the prisoner earlier before she went to America. In spite of his misdeeds, the 'great prince' is received with all honors in the 9th chapter by General von Helbig, who already called him a dishonor at the beginning of the novel. "

1st chapter. In the seaside resort

Kurt Schubert's boat is rammed by Prince Hugo von Süderland, with Magda going overboard. Kurt jumps after and saves her. He hands her and her aunts over to a neighbor and follows the “villain”. He deliberately puts himself “in a situation [...] that made it impossible for him to stop or to change course.” Of course, the “great prince” has to evade, which is expected to happen too late. Kurt sinks his boat and leaves Hugo on the cliffs, but in such a way that no one can legally blame him.

Magda's father, General Emil von Helbig, goes to the beach immediately after his sisters and Magdas return, promises the prince a complaint and frees Kurt from the hands of his brutal step raven father, who is devoted to alcohol [sic!]. He hands the latter over to the police, he takes Kurt with him and his mother and stepsisters are also supposed to stay in the castle.

2nd chapter. heaven and hell

Hugo, whose sentence was released after a petition for clemency, met the miller's daughter Anna Uhlig in the Höllenmühle, below his Himmelstein Castle, and asked her to kiss her, which she refused to give him. He is intrusive and chased away by her father.

In his castle, Hugo approaches Toska von Mylungen, who he is imprisoned and whom he has lured into his trap by making a false marriage promise, but which is only now becoming clear to him. But since she refuses him, he looks for a cell for her - he has already filled all the cells available in the castle. The following conversation with his castle bailiff also shows that the fathers and nuns of the two monasteries near the castle do not practice chastity. Toska is lured into the nunnery by the bailiff's wife with lies.

3rd chapter. In prison

With the help of Hugo, Prince von Raumburg escapes from the prison and takes the former director of the insane asylum and his senior doctor with him. They head towards the south and want to spend the night at Helbigsdorf Castle, where they are recognized by Magda, Thomas Hartig and Zarba and captured by Kurt.

4th chapter. The Begum's treasure

Looking back, many years ago in India :

An English military delegation comes to Augh, ostensibly to negotiate trade issues, but actually to force the negotiations to break and thus at least apparently to have a reason for war other than greed.

Alphons Maletti, friend of Maharaja Madpur Singh, is with this delegation. Because he is not willing to break his word and betray his friend to his superiors, he should be punished. He declares that under these circumstances he will no longer be able to serve and will therefore bid farewell, which he is denied. Nevertheless, he goes to his friend, who makes him Minister of War. During the rescue of the Maharaja's wife Aimala and sister Begum Rabbadah, wounded by a bear, he lies in sleep for five days before he learns that the English are already attacking. In his absence, the capital is attacked and burned down by supposed allies who were incited by the English. Maletti can only save the Begum.

5th chapter. After the jewel island

The loyal murderer sect of the Thugs burns the corpses of the royal couple along with those of the captured and executed Englishmen, as well as two living people, the Sultan of Symoore and the Rajah of Kamooh, who attacked Augh and were taken from among their people by the Tughs. The Begum also receives the state treasure and a safe ship to Calcutta from the Tughs , from where she is supposed to flee to the Dutch.

But Lidrah, formerly in the English service and previously confidante of a minister bought by the English, is after the treasure with his brother. The two overhear the sect and launch themselves on board, from where they are even taken on the tall ship. They murder the crew off an island, only the captain can at least call for help, which Maletti is warned. He kills the two murderers, but then the ship runs aground on the island. He is alone with his beloved on an island that is nowhere listed.

With that the review ends.

6th chapter. The midshipman

Kurt, meanwhile midshipman , comes after three years with his friend, Count Karl von Mylungen, the younger brother of Tuscany, on vacation. After a short time he wanders alone from Protestant Norland to Catholic Süderland, he wants to go to the Höllenmühle to see the pilgrimage from there. He learns that Anna, the bride of his former teacher, has suddenly "disappeared without a trace". A first abduction failed because of her father, whom the kidnappers met at night with the kidnapped woman, in a second she was able to free herself and put the criminals to flight, in the third attempt she was lured outside the door at night and disappeared before anyone was suspected scooped up.

During a nocturnal walk, Kurt sees Anna, who asks for help, and watches two monks "burying" a newborn baby of a nun. He also finds out about Toska without knowing who is talking about or who he is beforehand has seen. The next night Anna is freed.

7th chapter. The Bowie Father

Wild West : Bill Holmers and Fred hunt in the Rio Pecos area. When they return to their companions, they find only scalped corpses. They follow the Comanches on foot to at least take away their horses and nuggets. Rimatta surprises them and catches them mustangs . He shortens a large bend in the river and the three meet the Bowie father with eleven comrades. This group is also after the Comanches. Together they defeat the opponent, especially Fred's henry socks.

The Comanches had given a small group of gold and horses to be transported home; you follow these and take the only survivors, two sons of the chief, along with the two who had escaped. In the evening by the campfire, the Bowie father forces Fred to identify himself as Friedrich von Walmy and to report that he is looking for his brother Theodor. He had fallen in love with the equestrian Ella, whom he wanted to marry. On the one hand the family was against marrying a commoner, on the other hand Hugo got in his way, who seemed to be more successful with Ella, which almost led to a duel . But then Theodor had disappeared and finally a letter came from him: he was in America and would never return home. The father proves to Fred that the letter had been forged and written by Theodor's servant.

You can find him with the Comanches, from where he fled to San Francisco , where he was shot for other crimes.

After all, Fred and Bill have the gold back and meet Balduin Schubert and Karavey. They sail home with the Bowie Father after heading for the “Jewel Island” where Karavey was once abandoned. It lies “in the bosom of Bengal , between Ceylon and Sumatra . The island is very small and could be counted among the Nicobar Islands . ”Karavey found the corpses of Rabbadah and Maletti as well as Maletti's diary and, following this, the treasure of the Begum.

9th chapter. A groom

Ten years after Kurt sank Hugo's boat at Helbigsdorf Castle: A neighbor from the south, Hugo's friend, introduces it to the general. As expected, Hugo steps too close to Magda, receives a slap in the face and is then dispatched by Kurt. On his way home he finds Hartig, who has been released from prison. He learns that the three prisoners who have escaped have evaded a lengthy sentence by suicide.

Meanwhile, Fred, Bill, Karavey and Balduin have arrived at the castle and Kurt finally meets his father and Baldwin meets his son.

Hartig wants to speak to his wife, but she refuses. He wants to force them and is consequently thrown out by Kunz, the general's servant. Hugo takes him into service and assigns him to burn down the castle and help him kidnap Magdas.

The crimes succeed, but on the way to the castle the priest meets the prince and the convict who are carrying Magda. Hartig wants to defend himself, shooting an eye out, which leads to his imminent death. The blue-blooded “murder burner” escapes with Magda, but is pursued: Father and Bill take the lead, Kurt and Fred go to Himmelstein and Karavey and Balduin check the footpaths. To do this, they ask Zarba and Tirban for help. But Hugo shoots Zarba, who can previously tell Karavey about the secret access to Hugo's castle.

10th chapter.

The prince has Franz Geißler, who looks very similar to Kurt, commit a murder that he blames Kurt. Franz can eavesdrop on him and then catch him. It is decided not to wait for the investigation by the unreliable judiciary, but to break into the castle straight away, whereupon the father turns out to be Miss Ella. The prince is surprised at Magda just in time, is able to escape and is thrown from the castle wall by Ella while fleeing. Then Toska and Theodor are also freed.

In the morning you learn that the main criminal is not dead after all: a tree stopped his fall. During the night he had called for help in vain and was only discovered and recovered in the morning. He left immediately and was never seen again.

After two years, Helbigsdorf Castle has been rebuilt. King Max also comes to the inauguration ceremony. At the banquet table, Karavey and Balduin are given their farewell with promotion to lieutenant and captain, and Kurt also becomes captain. Then the engagements of Kurt with Magda, Theodor with Toska and Bill with Ella follow.

Editing of the novel by Franz Kandolf

Christoph F. Lorenz describes the arrangement by Franz Kandolf as follows:

“Kandolf's first ideas were later successfully implemented: his version of the Jewel Island replaces the young Duke of Raumburg (junior) locked in the penitentiary with Natter, who is extradited to a foreign power after his failed escape from the prison. He escapes again from the notorious penal colony on 'Viper Island', comes across a boat with a dead man with a Malay friend and finds the 'Diary of the Missing' in this boat. This diary, in turn, is nothing more than the India episode (4th and 5th chapters) carefully edited by Kandolf about the ancient jewel island . The Corsican Alphons Maletti was transformed into Hugo von Gollwitz, the brother of Friedrich and Theodor von Gollwitz (in the original version 'von Walmy'). This ingenious move made the connection between the India episode and the rest of the plot; The discovery of the treasure by the seamen Karavey and Schubert (in the process of being Commodore Falkenau and helmsman Schubert) is now better motivated. In Volume 46 of the Collected Works , Natter and his criminal friend come under the control of the ship 'Tiger' under the command of Falkenau, and Gollwitz's diary is also discovered. Although Natter and the Malay initially escape, with the help of Friedrich von Gollwitz and his friend Bill, they succeed in overpowering the criminals and securing the Maharaja's treasure.

In order to transform the disordered action chaos into a logical and meaningful process, Kandolf only had to make relatively few drastic changes. The frame parts that make the India episode The Diary of the Missing have been redesigned and three chapters ( 4. A Strange Find , 7. The Tiger and 11. The Maharaja's Treasure ) rewritten. Otherwise, Kandolf's changes to the original text of the Juweleninsel are quite moderate. On the one hand, they concern the change of individual names, so the brutal skipper is now called Hartmann instead of Hartig, Kurt Schubert became - for the reason that the young hero of the wood-rose also goes by the beautiful name Kurt - to a Gerd, the 'great prince 'turned Kandolf into a' great count 'and the von Walmy family became the von Gollwitz family. Kandolf completely omitted the subplot about the monastery and nunnery, and rightly so, because on the one hand it is only a weak copy of the anti-clerical tendencies of the English Gothic Novel around 1790 and the German robber and knight novels of the Goethe era and the early 19th century . On the other hand, the portrayal of the churchyard, on which the bones of the fruits from the unauthorized connections of religious committed to celibacy rest, has a particularly decent effect .

Otherwise Kandolf left most of the novel unchanged, the first three chapters of the Radebeul and today's Bamberg edition correspond to the original version. The fourth was rewritten in order to motivate the finding of the diary of the missing person and to connect the Indian scene with the main plot. The following two are carefully modified versions of the earlier fourth and fifth. For the current chapter 7, Kandolf rewrote the second half, creating a happy connection to the America episode. In the end, he also managed to save this part by eliminating the numerous internal contradictions through skillful cuts and new transitions. It was not certain from the start that the strange figure of the 'Bowie Father' would disappear. It is true that Franz Kandolf had already written in his first letters to Dr. Schmid suggested that this figure should be deleted, but the publisher initially resisted quite fiercely. Ultimately, however, he was persuaded, to the advantage of the book, because the Bowie father can be interpreted psychologically as a hidden settlement of May with the uncanny sides of his wife Emma , but he is dispensable for the story of the jewel island . The newly written chapter 11 describes the discovery of the treasure in a convincing way, whereby Kandolf introduced the variant that the treasure island sinks due to an earthquake and the heroes only have a - still sufficient - third of the legendary treasure left. The final chapter 12 to 15 were prepared from portions of the sixth, ninth and tenth the jewel island designed by 1880/82 so that the original text was indeed received in its substance, but the numerous weaknesses disappeared.

In the end, Franz Kandolf succeeded in turning the largely unsuccessful original jewel island into a meaningful, coherent novel that convinced the readers and undoubtedly would have satisfied Karl May much more than the one that was so unsuccessful for reasons that can no longer be clarified ,Original'."

Incidentally, Franz Kandolf thought The Jewel Island was the better part of the double novel.

Main topic: Undermining state order

In the Juweleninsel , too , May reflects the undermining of the state order, albeit in an even more blatantly rumored manner, by describing an area in which, despite special ties to the state and church, sheer arbitrariness prevails: the castle of the royal prince Hugo von Süderland and the monasteries from Himmelstein. Volker Klotz already addressed this aspect in 1979, albeit in the context of the anticlerical tendency of the novel:

“Not just the insidious, murderous goings-on of the Jesuits ; also the sexual orgies , the body and soul torture in the monasteries and nunneries , which are literally in cahoots with each other and with the evil secular power carrier: connected by the communicating tubes of an underground corridor system with the castle of the great prince. So May has by no means just blown the anti-cultural horn of the official Jesuit hunt. He touched the questionable connection between throne and altar . "

In his double novel, May reflects Germany in a utopian space in which the state order, which is significant for his view of the world, is undermined by the arbitrary dealings with innocent people by state, state and church “authorities”. May not only quarreled with God and King in Scepter / Juweleninsel , but also shook the third pillar of his worldview: the fatherland .

Book editions

This novel (and also its predecessor Scepter and Hammer ) was not published again during May's lifetime. This double novel was never mentioned during the trials either.

The novel - edited - was included in the collected works of the KMV as volume 46 Die Juweleninsel . Not only have some names been exchanged, but subplots have been omitted and chapters have been redrafted (see above the arrangements by Franz Kandolf).

In 2003, the seventh chapter of May's original text was included in volume 84 of the collected works, Der Bowie-Pater , as the eponymous story.

Current editions can be found in the book database of the Freundeskreis Karl May Leipzig .

radio play

Kurt Vethake produced a radio play "Die Juweleninsel" (The Jewel Island), which implements the part set in India ("The Treasure of Begum"). In doing so, he orientated himself on the editing of the Karl May publishing house, whereby some changed names were adopted.

Assessments

Karl May's first double novel Scepter und Hammer / Die Juweleninsel is counted among his less successful works. In addition to the bizarre and extremely improbable plot, it is the ideological content of the work that is registered in the secondary literature with astonishment, and sometimes even with astonishment:

• Volker Klotz speaks of a downright angry anti-clericalism and states that Scepter / Juweleninsel is next to the Prodigal Son of Roman Mays, who is the one who most resolutely addresses sensitive social grievances.

• In the jewel island depicted sexual and criminal machinations behind the walls of monasteries of sky stone are for Christoph F. Lorenz for the genre of popular fiction strong stuff.

• Hermann Wohlgschaft is surprised by the gross oversubscription, the anti-Catholic affect of the anti-clerical passages. The representation of the possible abuse of spiritual violence in Scepter / Juweleninsel is, unlike the treatment of the topic in the late work , too crude, too unjust and of course not debatable in this form. In the case of diffuse piety, the idea of ​​humanity, the no to violence, the reconciling love that characterize May's writings would largely recede. The tone adopted by May is sometimes ironic, even downright frivolous.

Remarks

1. ↑ Description in the first volume: It lies “in the bosom of Bengal, between Ceylon and Sumatra. The island is very small and could be counted among the Nicobar Islands. "
2. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Hugo_von_Süderland
3. ^ Consideration by Hans Wollschläger and Hermann Wiedenroth in the editorial report of the HKA edition (p. 671).
4. ↑ http://karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Christoph_F._Lorenz
5. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Kurt_Schubert
6. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Alphons_Maletti
7. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Rabbadah
8. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Schloss_Himmelstein
9. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Bowie-Pater
10. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Karavey
11. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Balduin_Schubert
12. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Theodor_von_Walmy
13. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Emil_von_Helbig
14. ↑ Christoph F. Lorenz: From the jewel island to Mount Winnetou ... , 2003, p. 216 f.
15. ↑ Karl May: Scepter and hammer. The jewel island . Reprint of the Karl May Society based on For All World 1880–1882, p. 225 ( online version )
16. ↑ "Great" i. S. v. "Crazy", cf. "rabid".
17. ↑ See Scepter and Hammer , the first part of the double novel.
18. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Bowie-Pater
19. ↑ In A Liberation , Kara Ben Nemsi explains : “The inventor of this rifle only made twelve of them; eleven have been lost with their owners in the North American prairies; my copy is the last and only one that still exists. ”Karl May: The Rose of Kaïrwan. Osnabrück 1894, p. 250. ( online version )
20. ↑ See Scepter and Hammer , the first part of the double novel.
21. ↑ Karl May: Scepter and hammer. Die Juweleninsel , p. 398. ( online version )
22. ↑ Christoph F. Lorenz: From the jewel island to Mount Winnetou ... , 2003, pp. 222–225.
23. ↑ Volker Klotz: ›Die Juweleninsel‹ ... , 1979, p. 263 f.
24. ↑ Hartmut Wörner: God, King and Fatherland ... , 2015, p. 163.
25. ↑ The Jewel Island . Friends of Karl May Leipzig. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
26. ↑ Hartmut Wörner: God, King and Fatherland ... , 2015, p. 141.
27. ↑ Volker Klotz: ›Die Juweleninsel‹ ... , 1979, p. 263.
28. ↑ Christoph F. Lorenz: Blown Traces ... , 1990, p. 267.
29. ^ Hermann Wohlgschaft: Karl May. Life and Work ... , 2005, p. 497.

literature

• Volker Klotz: ›The Jewel Island‹ - and what you could see from it. Reading notes on the first novels along with some questions about Karl May research . In: Yearbook of the Karl May Society (Jb-KMG) 1979. Hamburg 1979, pp. 262–275.
• Karl May's first great novel Scepter and Hammer - Die Juweleninsel , special issue of the Karl May Society No. 23/1980.
• Hainer Plaul: Illustrated Karl May Bibliography. With the participation of Gerhard Klußmeier . Edition Leipzig 1988. ISBN 3-361-00145-5 (or) KG Saur Munich – London – New York – Paris 1989. ISBN 3-598-07258-9 .
• Christoph F. Lorenz: Blown Traces. On the management of the plot and processing of motifs in Karl May's novel “Die Juweleninsel” . In: Yearbook of the Karl May Society 1990 ( online version )
• Georg Korte: Karl May's "Scepter und Hammer" and "Die Juweleninsel" in comparison to his later travel stories , 1994. ( online version )
• Wolfgang Hermesmeier, Stefan Schmatz : Karl May Bibliography 1913-1945 , Karl May Verlag Bamberg 2000. ISBN 3-7802-0157-7
• Christoph F. Lorenz: The jewel island . In: Gert Ueding (Ed.): Karl-May-Handbuch , Verlag Königshausen & Neumann GmbH Würzburg 2001, pp. 309-312. ISBN 3-8260-1813-3
• Christoph F. Lorenz: From the jewel island to Mount Winnetou. Notes on three text edits . In: Der schliffene Diamant , Karl-May-Verlag Bamberg – Radebeul 2003, pp. 209–262.
• Hermann Wohlgschaft: Karl May. Life and work. Biography . Edited in collaboration with the Karl May Society. Bargfeld 2005.
• Hartmut Wörner: God, King and Fatherland. How and why Karl May shook the pillars of his worldview in his first great novel . In: Yearbook of the Karl May Society 2015, pp. 141–194.
• Martin Roussel: Shipwreck without a spectator. Karl May's double novel ›Scepter und Hammer‹ / ›Die Juweleninsel‹ as an experiment in a political imagology . In: Yearbook of the Karl May Society 2015, pp. 195–221.

Web links

• The original text online on the Karl May Society website .
• People and locations in Die Juweleninsel (online in the Karl May Wiki) .
• Table of contents in the Koelner-leselust.