Jesse and Maria
Jesse und Maria is a historical novel by the Austrian writer Enrica von Handel-Mazzetti , which was published in 1906 and deals with the confessional conditions in counter-reformation Austria in the middle of the 17th century.
content
The subtitle of the book - A novel from the Danube country - refers to the place of the event, the Lower Austrian Nibelungengau with the places Pöchlarn , Marbach an der Donau and Krummnussbaum . The action takes place in the years before 1660 and deals with the origins of the later important pilgrimage site Maria Taferl .
The main characters are the judge and forester Alexander Schinnagel and his particularly pious wife Maria, as well as the Lutheran nobleman Jesse von Velderndorff. The latter was one of the few remaining Protestants who were only tolerated in Catholic Austria, but were not allowed to practice their religion. When Schinnagel had to expand his house, which had become too small, it was Velderndorff who was able to sell him building materials at a reasonable price. Despite initial doubts about doing business with a heretical Protestant, the circumstances force him to do so, although the pastor of the village railed against the Velderndorff from the pulpit. Jesse takes a liking to Schinnagel and gives him a builder who can build him a much nicer house than any of his neighbors own.
Maria, Schinnagel's wife, was against her husband's contact with the Lutheran from the start. But Alexander is flattered that the nobleman deals with him, talks to him, is friendly and helps him. The nobleman is young and attractive. The men enjoy each other. Velderndorff, however, is not someone who comes to terms with being tolerated in the country. He is a staunch Lutheran and deliberately violates the barriers to his religious practice by accommodating a Lutheran clergyman in his castle and celebrating the wedding with his young bride Amrey not in the Hungarian Pressburg , but in his castle. He knows how to arouse multiple doubts against the Catholic Church in the rural population of the area and to gain some sympathy. Schinnagel, too, tends more and more to his views, especially when Jesse once illegally gave him a Luther Bible to read. At that time it was forbidden for lay people to read the Bible.
Schinnagel's wife is getting more and more worried. As a young girl she was about to go to the monastery. But Alexander managed to bring her home as his wife. But Mary is far more consistent in her religious practice than those around her, she carefully observes all religious regulations and prays a lot at home. The spouses love each other very much, but because of religion they distance themselves from each other.
The conflict ignites as a result of an unsightly Vesper picture that Alexander Schinnagel once attached to an oak tree in thanks for his wonderful healing on Taferlberg and which has since been held in honor by the population as miraculous. When Jesse found out about this, his anger and religious zeal ignited, because for him the statue of Mary is simply an idol . But the more he publicly opposes it, the more resistant the people who hang on to the Maria Taferl picture become. Schinnagel finally has to show Jesse the picture because he doesn't understand why everyone adores it so much. But when he finally sees it with his own eyes and turns out to be clumsy and unattractive, it upsets him even more. There is also an alienation between him and Schinnagel, as the judge shies away from removing the picture. But when he gets into a major financial straits due to several accidents, Jesse wants to blackmail him. He offers him money if Schinnagel in turn brings him the figure of Mary. Inevitably, Alexander is ready to do so.
In this situation of greatest danger for the image of Mary, Mary feels compelled to take action. She remembers a sum that a relative in Krems owed her father and sets out on the boat trip there alone. However, since there is nothing in writing, she cannot collect the amount. Desperate about not being able to redeem the image of Mary, she hears on the way that there are commissions in the country taking action against insubordinate heretics. Then she goes to the Jesuits and reports Jesse there. She was promised immediately that a commission of inquiry would be sent to Pöchlarn in a few months and that Maria would get the money she needed. Overjoyed, she returns and buys the statue of the Virgin, which Jesse had openly admitted to want to destroy.
Maria is firmly convinced that she is right. She hates this Velderndorff who wanted to ruin her husband and the people of the place and who wanted to destroy the miraculous image of Mary. If no one else did anything, it was their duty to do what was necessary. She only feels sorry for the pregnant young wife Jesse. Word of what she did get around quickly, her reputation among the people increases. The announced commission also arouses fear, and everyone is clearly at a distance from Jesse. Only the teacher Hans Landersperger is loyal to him.
At last there is the commission of clergymen and state organs protecting them. Jesse has to appear there and answer, but is initially the only one who fails to recognize the situation because he believes he can make demands and appears more than self-confident there. Maria's emotional testimony finally seals the harsh judgment of the commission that had already been passed. The Lilienfeld abbot Kohlweiß as chairman goes tough with Jesse in court. When the Jesses family was also considered with the loss of their property and expulsion from the country, Velderndorff drew his pistol and shot Kohlweiß in front of everyone. Although he survived seriously injured, Jesse was immediately seized and taken to the dungeon. It is precisely the Jesuit who started the process at Mary's request, who reacts humanely and protects Jesse from abuse. Soldiers have to protect Jesse from the angry people who were once so benevolent to him and no longer want to hear about it.
Finally, Jesse is brought to St. Pölten , where he will be tried. All efforts and money from Jesse's brother are of no avail. The heavily pregnant Ms. Velderndorff is staying with her parents near St. Pölten. Everyone demands a harsh sentence against the heretic, only Mary is now concerned about the salvation of Jesse's soul. If it is true, as everyone says, that he will receive the death penalty and then die a heretic, then, as she believes, he faces eternal ruin. So she seizes the opportunity to go to St. Pölten to speak to Velderndorff himself and to persuade him to turn back. She is also let in, but achieves nothing because Jesse holds on to his belief. When she learns that Jesse, who is about to be executed, is urgently waiting for news from his wife whether the birth of his child went well or not, she decides in her desperation to find out at least that for him. After a long walk, she reaches her destination and is let out. Amrey has given birth to a son, but is very weak and cannot breastfeed the child. Nobody wants to help the heretics. Then Maria, who had just given birth to a child, offers to breastfeed it. Then she rushes back to prison and brings Jesse the news that brings him peace of mind. The next day he is beheaded in front of a huge howling crowd. In the case of both religiously zealous protagonists of the novel, Jesse and Maria, humanity triumphs over fanaticism in the end.
About the book
The novel by the conservative Catholic author first appeared in the Hochland magazine in sequels from 1904 to 1906, but immediately aroused fierce criticism from influential Catholic literary critics. It was criticized that the Catholic cause was not clearly taken and that the Protestant protagonist Jesse was drawn too positively. Some passages that were found to be too erotic were also criticized and were not available to an unmarried woman such as the author. In addition, the Catholic people would be portrayed too negatively. Handel-Mazzetti therefore slightly changed some passages for the book edition, but without changing the basic tendency, which was seen as too neutral with regard to denominations. An overly positive account of Jesse's before and during his trial, which made references to the Passion of Christ, has been revised. Criticism from conservative circles persisted for several years. The conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism and its impact on the people in Austria is the author's recurring theme in later works.
The language of the meticulously researched novel strives for authenticity and an approach to colloquial language and time. The original legend about the pilgrimage site Maria Taferl forms the historical core of the book. Handel-Mazzetti wrote part of the novel on site.
expenditure
- Jesse and Maria. A novel from the Danube country . Kösel, Kempten and Munich 1906.
- Jesse and Maria. A novel from the Danube country . German book community 1926.
- Jesse and Maria. A novel from the Danube country . Rex-Verlag, Lucerne 1947.
literature
- Wilhelm Olbrich (ed.): The novelist. Part 1: The content of German novels and short stories from baroque to naturalism . Anton Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1950, pp. 214–215.
- Bernhard Doppler: Catholic literature and literary politics. A case study . Hain, Königstein / Taunus 1980
- Jan Dirk Busemann: Catholic lay emancipation and Roman reaction. The index congregation in the literary, trade union and center dispute . Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh, 2017. ISBN 9783657777891 , p. 42ff.
- Jörg Seiler : Literature - Gender - Denomination: Catholic Writers I: Research Perspectives . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, 2018. ISBN 978-3-7917-7204-2 , pp. 115ff.