Ewald Tragy

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The story Ewald Tragy is one of Rainer Maria Rilke's early works and was written in the second half of 1898. The work records the decisive turning point in Rilke's early development and shows strong autobiographical features. Because of this or because of the planned publication in a collection, this work was not published during his lifetime. The work is about the young Ewald Tragy, who breaks away from his family in order to live up to his unconventional life plan as a poet, against the will of his family.

action

The story is divided into two chapters. The first chapter begins with Ewald Tragy walking through the streets of Prague with his father, who is the inspector, and presenting himself with him. Tragedy's displeasure with social norms is clearly demonstrated, which is illustrated in the subsequent lunch with the family. Lunch for the Tragy family is the same as always: greeting, serving of the food and a simple conversation between the participants. Tragy is particularly disturbed by this normal course of lunch. Nobody accepts that this is his last day with their family. Just insignificant banter and plenty of food. Only after lunch, on the way to the playroom, is the French Jeanne asked Tragy about his departure and his motives.

In the second chapter the scene is moved from Prague to Munich. At first, Tragy feels feelings of joy and freedom, but reality catches up with him again. In the course of the chapter, Tragy meets different people like Wilhelm von Kranz or Thalmann. Both people describe their own chapter in the life of Tragy. First he meets the rich Wilhelm von Kranz. This takes Tragy the feeling of loneliness and shapes him with regard to his worldview. Through this, he and Kranz made a large circle of acquaintances with whom he met every day. After a while he realizes that the conversations are pointless and only serve to escape from being alone. At one of these meetings, Tragy meets Thalmann, who in turn has a different worldview than Tragy and his circle. Through this chance meeting he is immediately fascinated by the writer. Instead of praising himself like Kranz, he stands completely behind his opinion. Although Tragy is so fascinated by Thalmann, unlike Kranz, he is not impressed by it. This can also be seen in the distant relationship between Thalmann and Tragy. In contrast to Kranz, Thalmann supports his silent side. He only speaks the bare minimum, since anything else would be a waste. Through him, Tragy finds himself again, but at the same time breaks off contact with him. Eventually, Tragy fell seriously ill, but was visited by Kranz from time to time during his recovery phase. But ultimately this contact breaks off and Tragy is completely alone. It seems as if the world left him like it did in Prague at the beginning. In an emotional letter to his mother, Tragy reveals his feelings. However, he decides to burn him.

Relation to Rilke

In the first chapter of Ewald Tragy , only a few biographical data of Rilke can be recognized. The main influences of Rilke's youth in Prague include the lack of a parental home and financial dependence on distant relatives. At that time, Rilke's parents had been living apart for a long time, his father being a former officer who worked as an inspector for the Bohemian Northern Railway . In Ewald Tragy the lack of a mother and the father of high social rank is reflected. The Sunday lunch scene can also be linked to Rilke's life. All the persons appearing can be found under different names in Rilke's life. The only inconsistency that is emphasized in the narrative is that Tragy was 18 years old when he left Prague, while Rilke was already 21.

The second chapter of Ewald Tragy is more difficult to place in Rilke's life. Here, too, you can find important people from Rilke's life. Jakob Wassermann appears in the story as Jakob Thalmann and Wilhelm von Scholz as Wilhelm von Kranz. However, Rilke only criticized and distanced himself from Wilhelm von Scholz a few years after he left Prague, and during his time there did not cultivate the rather cool, distant friendship with him described in the story. In Ewald Tragy also in other works occurring from him evidence of the literary scene in Munich, on the Rilke complained later and he refused at that time are missing.

Narrative

In Ewald Tragy , the heterodiegetic narrator takes an Olympic location, with which the narrator keeps an overview of the whole thing. He is also an authoritative narrator and thus has insight into the thoughts, perceptions and feelings of Ewald Tragy, even though the narrator also takes a neutral position. The events in the narrative are told chronologically and in the present tense , which gives readers the feeling of being part of the events of Ewald Tragy.

Book editions

Ewald Tragy appeared in a total of three different editions. The first edition was published in 1929 as part of the annual edition for members of the Society of Munich Book Friends at B. Heller in Munich. The second edition appeared in New York in 1944 in the Johannespresse with the afterword Richard von Mises ' attached . This also appeared in the third edition, which was published by Insel Verlag in 1989 .

literature

  • Rainer Maria Rilke: Ewald Tragy . With an afterword by Richard von Mises. Insel, Frankfurt am Main 1989, ISBN 3-458-32842-4 (Insel-Taschenbuch 1142). [informative epilogue from the second text edition New York 1944]
  • Rainer Maria Rilke: Complete Works . Published by the Rilke Archive in conjunction with Ruth Sieber-Rilke. Worried by Ernst Zinn. Fourth Volume: Early Stories and Dramas. Insel, Frankfurt am Main 1961.
  • Rainer Maria Rilke: prose and dramas . Published by August Stahl. Insel, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 1996 (= works. Annotated edition in four volumes, Volume 3), pp. 246–286 [text] and pp. 838–842 [commentary]

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rainer Maria Rilke: Prose and Dramas . Published by August Stahl. Insel, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 1996, p. 838; Ingeborg Schnack: Rainer Maria Rilke. Chronicle of his life and work 1875–1926 . Extended new edition. Edited by Renate Scharffenberg. Insel, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 2009, p. 83.
  2. ^ Rainer Maria Rilke: Prose and Dramas . Published by August Stahl. Insel, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 1996, p. 839.
  3. ^ Rainer Maria Rilke: Prose and Dramas . Published by August Stahl. Insel, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 1996, pp. 841–842.