Mrs. Craddock

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Mrs. Craddock (English Mrs. Craddock ) is a novel by William Somerset Maugham , which was published in 1902 by William Heinemann in London. The search for a publisher was difficult at the time. Heinemann finally agreed to the publication after deleting a few “daring passages”. The uncensored edition is from 1938.

The German edition came out in 1957 under the title "Triumph der Liebe" by Scherz Verlag in Bern.

content

Towards the end of the 19th century: After the 18-year-old half-orphan Bertha Ley also lost her father, she is taken under the wing of her 45-year-old aunt Polly (actually Miss Mary Ley) - an unmarried young woman - until she comes of age . The two noble ladies are mostly in Italy or London. Bertha is the sole heir to the land around the run-down Court Leys estate near Blackstable, a fishing town in the east of Kent . Tercanbury, Leanham and Faversley are close by. Shortly before her 21st birthday, Bertha and her aunt returned to their property, where they met a playmate from childhood - the tall, sturdy Edward Craddock. Bertha falls in love with the farmer. To the horror of her guardian Dr. Ramsay, the old family doctor of the Leys, Bertha wants to marry the young man. As a future spouse, Edward, one of her impoverished tenants of Bewlies Farm, will be socially under the wealthy aristocrat. Bertha, who is now of legal age, disregards such objections. Edward attended St. Regis School in Tercanbury for ten years, but his education is patchy. No matter - Bertha is purely infatuated with her strong, thoroughly prosaic husband. The young woman thinks that she would love her landlord even more if he beat her. To Bertha's chagrin, Edward doesn't turn out to be a “fiery lover”. What's more, Bertha has tied herself to a man who has long been estranged from her from childhood. The opportunity for the first discussion arises. The marriage is generally unhappy. The first and only child, a boy, is stillborn. Bertha can also no longer get pregnant. Over time, this woman wants to show that she is the mistress of Court Leys. That fails. Her love for Edward turns into disgust. Bertha goes to Aunt Polly's in London and Rome. When she returned to London, Bertha got involved in a love affair with her much younger relative Gerald. The mostly vigilant Aunt Polly prevents the worst. Bertha has to understand that Gerald had no serious intentions anyway. The disappointed woman returns to Court Leys. Edward has since worked on his social career. He has become chairman of the city district council.

After Bertha turned thirty, the daring sportsman Edward dies in a riding accident. The mistress is free and has recognized: "Husband and wife ... are hardly more than strangers to each other."

shape

An early work by the author is unmistakably present. Just four small examples. Only once does the narrator call himself in the first person: "I ..." Then the narrator always justifies himself once to the reader. For example, he could not reproduce the dialogues of the Blackstabler aristocratic evening party on word, because it appears as the "most glaring caricature". Somerset Maugham's judgment on the stupidity of mankind is absolutely devastating and, to make matters worse, reader abuse is inevitable: "Make no mistake, dear reader, a self-respecting writer doesn't give a damn about you!"

German edition used

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ eng. William Heinemann
  2. ↑ engl. W. Somerset Maugham bibliography , entry Mrs. Craddock (1902)
  3. ↑ eng. Mrs. Craddock
  4. ↑ Edition used, p. 4 above
  5. ↑ Edition used, p. 76, 15. Zvu
  6. ↑ Edition used, p. 130, 5th Zvu
  7. ↑ Edition used, p. 116, 6. Zvo
  8. ↑ Edition used, p. 233, 8. Zvo
  9. ↑ Edition used, p. 130, 5th Zvu
  10. ↑ Edition used, p. 287, 2nd Zvo
  11. ↑ Edition used, p. 233, 8. Zvo