Kannitverstan
Kannitverstan is a calendar story by the German poet Johann Peter Hebel , first published in 1808 in the Rhineland Hausfreund . It tells of a craftsman who, as a result of a misunderstanding, comes to the realization of the transience of the earthly and thus regains his satisfaction.
content
A young craftsman from Tuttlingen (until 1808 Duchy of Württemberg, then Kingdom of Württemberg ) visits the cosmopolitan city of Amsterdam for the first time in his life and admires a particularly magnificent house and a huge ship from which the most valuable goods are being unloaded. He asks about the owners of the building and the ship and receives the answer "Kannitverstan" ("I can't understand you.") Both times. The craftsman believes, however, that this is the name of the owner and is impressed by the wealth of the supposed Mr. Kannitverstan. Sadly, he compares his luck with his own situation and struggles with his fate until he finally meets a funeral procession and asks for the name of the deceased. When he then received the answer "Kannitverstan" again, he reconciled himself with the inequality in the world and pityed the deceased, whose great wealth could not save him from death. The funeral procession becomes a memento mori for him and it becomes clear to him that Mr. Kannitverstan has no advantage over him.
source
The story Kannitverstan is based on a true, written incident: In 1757 the 17-year-old French Count Adam-Philippe de Custine travels to Amsterdam and admires a particularly beautiful country house and a strikingly elegant lady. He also hears the winner of the Dutch lottery being proclaimed and watches a funeral procession. He asks curious about the names of the people and always receives the answer 'Ik kan niet verstaan'. The young count then believes there is a 'Herr Kannietverstan'. When Custine sees the beautiful lady again a little later, he expresses his condolences to her on the death of her husband, Mr. Kannietverstan, which of course leads to a lot of laughter and clears up the misunderstanding. This amusing incident first appeared in writing in 1782 in the collection of essays Les numéros by Charles Peyssonel and was printed in German in 1783 in the Luzernisches Wochenblatt .
reception
In literary studies , Hebels Kannitverstan is a narrative whose core message is easily accessible to all readers: Everyone should be satisfied with what they have and what they are, because in the end everyone, whether rich or poor, will face incorruptible death. However, the joking style in which this serious communication is made should also be emphasized. Kannitverstan was therefore already known during Hebel's lifetime and, along with other calendar stories from the Rhineland family friend , was included in school reading books.
Others
The city of Tuttlingen is currently awarding the highest honor, the honorary gift of "Kannitverstan", represented by a bronze sculpture by the Tuttlingen sculptor Roland Martin .
expenditure
- Hebel, Johann Peter: Treasure chest of the Rhenish family friend. Critical complete edition with the calendar woodcuts. Edited by Winfried Theiss. Stuttgart: Reclam 1981. (Universal Library 142) ISBN 3-15-000142-0
- Luzernisches Wochenblatt. Tuesday, April 22nd, 1783, Part 16, pages 65–67: Fragment of the national pride in languages. On pages 66-67 there is the story of Mr. Kannitverstan, who is called "Mr. Kaniverstan" here . The protagonist is a young Parisian on a trip to Amsterdam.
literature
- Franz, Kurt: Johann Peter Hebel Kannitverstan. A misunderstanding and its consequences. Texts, comments, images. Munich / Vienna: Carl Hanser Verlag 1985. (Literature comments 23) ISBN 3-446-14303-3
- Hajek, Siegfried: Kannitverstan - history of a literary motif. In: Yearbook of the Raabe Society. Edited by Josef Daum and Werner Schultz. Braunschweig 1973. pp. 71-87.
- Härtl, Heinz: On the tradition of a genre. The calendar story from Grimmelshausen via Hebel to Brecht. In: Weimar Contributions. Journal of Literary Studies. Aesthetics and cultural theory. 24th year 1978. pp. 58-95.
- Rohner, Ludwig: Calendar history and calendar. Wiesbaden: Academic Publishing Company Athenaion 1978.
- Schlaffer, Hannelore (ed.): Johann Peter Hebel: Treasure chest of the Rhenish house friend. A work in its time. With image documents, sources, historical commentary and interpretation. Tübingen: Rainer Wunderlich Verlag Hermann Leins 1980. ISBN 3-8052-0343-8
