Holiday children

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Lovis Corinth :
Eduard Graf von Keyserling
* 1855 † 1918

Holiday children is the last novel by Eduard von Keyserling , which was published in 1919 by S. Fischer in Berlin. The first part of the novel appeared in Velhagen & Klasing's monthly magazine in December 1918 and the second part in January 1919. The author had to dictate the text to one of his sisters because of progressive blindness.

action

Irma von Buchow and her seven-year-old son Uli are holiday children. The noblewoman lives with her husband, Baron Ulrich von Buchow, in his country house Laleiken near the market town of Drixen. The family also includes the nine-year-old daughter Isa and Irma's father, Count Pax. Little Uli with the big curly hair took his mother’s lead. Uli hates everyday life. Landlord Ulrich, a "good worker, a stiff journeyman who thaws hard", is not the right person for Irma. His younger brother Achaz von Buchow is very different from Ulrich. Commuting between Berlin and Rome in diplomatic services, Achaz occasionally spends time in Laleiken. During these stays by the young man of the world, who exudes "so much cheerfulness", Irma visibly revives and steps out of her shadowy existence for a while. As soon as the brother-in-law has left, she longs for his bright smile. If Achaz has had bad luck in the metropolises of this world, he asks Ulrich for money. The big brother initially speaks to the reckless diplomat's conscience, but then has a forest cut down at home in the Baltic States to pay off the debts.

The apparently intact world of Laleiken falls apart when little Uli falls ill and dies. Ulrich copes with the grief by working on his estate, among other things, but Irma does not get over the loss. She does not want to play her role as a landlady. Irma shies away from looking after the poor and sick around her. In his need, Ulrich calls his brother over. Achaz is supposed to teach Irma to love life again. The diplomat arrives and proves to be too suitable for this task. Irma and Achaz fall in love. Ulrich, from whom the relationship is not hidden, sends his brother away. Achaz goes. Irma - finally released by Ulrich after an argument - follows her lover to Berlin. First of all, she wants to stay there with her aunt, Countess Krothow - who is her father's sister.

"The divorce is in progress". Ulrich wants to "touch the new life vigorously". Isa stays with her father in Laleiken. The shy little girl with the “pointed, pale face and the worried mouth” is just as serious and heavy-blooded as her father. On public holidays, it looks forward to the next working day.

Quote

Achaz to Irma: "Only when life lifts us up like a wave in a seaside resort is it worth living."

shape

The unobtrusive, measured lecture of the predictable adultery story captivates with the appropriate inclusion of Baltic landscape images in the change of the seasons. Secondary characters motivate the exposed character of the protagonists. For example, Irma is similar to her father, Count Pax. The old count raves about his prime; of Parisian life. Count Pax recognizes the scandal that his daughter is responsible for, but quickly gets over it and looks forward to an evening in Berlin with Irma. The social gap between master and servants is not glossed over. So the minor character Miss Christa speaks to the diplomat's conscience. The weak character Achaz agrees with his subordinates, but does not improve at all.

The language is pure. Reading offers reading pleasure.

literature

Used edition
Secondary literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Edition used, p. 4, above
  2. ↑ Steffen Brondke: Journal and book prints of the literary texts Keyserling . In: Christoph Juergensen, Michael Scheffel (eds.): Eduard von Keyserling and the classical modern (=  treatises on literary studies ). JB Metzler, Stuttgart 2020, ISBN 978-3-476-04892-9 , pp. 287-290 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-476-04892-9_19 .
  3. ↑ Edition used, p. 2, below
  4. ↑ Edition used, p. 35, 4th Zvu