Goethe and one of his admirers

Goethe and one of his admirers is an issued as a "factual report" story of Arno Schmidt , which originated and from May 1956 to January 1957 1958 essays " Dya Na Sore . Discussions in a library" along with the narrative Tina or immortality appeared .

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The starting point of the plot is that it has become possible to bring the deceased back to life for 15 hours, which is used in particular for famous personalities. These must be accompanied or led by people from the same professional group. Arno Schmidt , author and narrator of the factual report, is allowed to choose a deceased writer in the German Academy for Language and Poetry in Darmstadt, which is known as the "Academy" and decides in favor of Goethe , because he is "unyielding enough" to counter "the old busybody" and the Goetheans have so far avoided it.

The two writers take a stroll through Darmstadt, Schmidt explains technical achievements and political developments since Goethe's death, they look at women and women's underwear, eat fish with tartar sauce in the department store and discover their common preference for zoten.

Over several bottles of wine in Schmidt's apartment, they annoy each other with little malice and talk about literature on an equal footing. Goethe is "politely distant" when leafing through Schmidt's works. Schmidt, on the other hand, clearly criticizes the "badly glued together anecdotes" in Wilhelm Meister's apprenticeship years . When asked about the greatest writer of all time, Schmidt made concessions: "The young Goethe before he finally left Frankfurt."

Over a last beer at the train station, they identify the experience of the World War as the essential separating element between them that Schmidt cannot ignore. As a farewell, Schmidt suggests conciliatory: "I'm a big asshole", while Goethe nods and slowly dissolves.

The report closes with the questions of a press conference at which it turns out that Schmidt neither addressed the questions of the Goetheans nor the politicians about Goethe and cannot answer them. "Since I was neither a Goethe specialist nor did I ever want to become a Goethe specialist, I did not remember any of his exhibitions ..."

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bernd Rauschenbach, "Arno Schmidt, Das große Lesebuch, Fischer Taschenbuch, Frankfurt am Main, 2013
2. ↑ HANS-EDWIN FRIEDRICH “I was disrespectful enough.” Arno Schmidt's examination of the post-war Goethe cult
3. ↑ HANS-EDWIN FRIEDRICH “I was disrespectful enough.” Arno Schmidt's examination of the post-war Goethe cult