According to the higher law
According to the higher law is a novella by the Austrian writer Karl Emil Franzos , which was written in 1872 for the collection Die Juden von Barnow , published by Duncker & Humblot in Leipzig in 1876 . The author considered this to be the best of his Barnower stories.
action
Podolia at the beginning of the second half of the 19th century: Mr. Julko von Negrusz, district judge in the town of Barnow, has two dear little boys with his pretty young wife Christine. Such luck calls the news gazette from Barnow, Mrs. Emilie, the wife of the actuary , onto the scene: The business card of the Mrs. District Judge with the inscription "Christine von Negrusz" is too sparse. Actually, the addition "born Bilkes, divorced Silberstein" is missing. In addition, "Christine" is not entirely correct. Her father, the villager Nathan Bilkes, had given her daughter the name Chane when she was born. Nathan Silberstein, Chane's first husband, sold his wife to the district judge.
As is the case with rumors, the last claim is made up, but the rest is true. Nathan Bilkes had two children. The son had to become a soldier and went missing after the Battle of Magenta . Since the Barnow spice and wine merchant Nathan Silberstein divorced Chane and she has the first name Christine after the second marriage to a Christian, the daughter of the old village walker has also died.
Nathan Silberstein's father had chosen the bride Chane Bilkes for his son. The young couple's first and only child died a few weeks after birth. The pain probably brought the husbands closer together, but Chane did not love her husband.
Nathan Silberstein is often abroad on business for a long time. Meanwhile, Chane runs the shop. In the wine bar next door, the town's dignitaries meet at lunchtime; including the district judge. Franzos describes the relationship between Chane and Julko von Negrusz: "... the days came and went, and quietly and unnoticed they stretch a bond between two pure and good hearts that was sinful and criminal before God and man." As Nathan Silberstein returns home from a long trip from the wine countries, he comes across a love letter from the district judge to Chane. The woman caught confesses to her astonished husband that she no longer wants to be his wife.
What should I do? Nathan Silberstein spent a night studying the Hebrews' writings on the case. “She is to be stoned,” it is written. "Kill them ..." is also said. The husband comes to the conclusion that the laws of the ancestors do not suit his case, but, he exclaims desperately: "Who ... shows me a higher law?" Apparently no one can help. Nathan Silberstein and Chane did not get married, but were married by their parents. Because Nathan Silberstein loves his wife, he finds that higher law, which is called renunciation , in himself. He is getting divorced from Chane.
reception
- 1964: Creutzburg writes: "The noble civil servant Negrusz appears from the start as a man who clearly distinguishes himself from the other representatives of the ruling class through his moral cleanliness, incorruptible sense of justice and impartiality towards the Jewish people, and who despises their frivolous easy life."
literature
expenditure
- According to the higher law , pp. 46–94 in: Die Juden von Barnow. Stories from Karl Emil Franzos . 11-15 Edition. Cotta'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1920 ( archive.org ).
- According to the higher law . P. 259–298 in: Günter Creutzburg (Ed.): The wild Starost and the beautiful Jütta. Novellas about love and marriage by Karl Emil Franzos. Illustrations: Wolfgang Würfel . Verlag der Nation, Berlin 1964 (edition used)
- According to the higher law . P. 5–50 in: Karl Emil Franzos: The child of atonement. Stories. Illustrations by Gerhard Großmann . With an afterword by Wolfgang Schütze. Book publisher Der Morgen, Berlin 1965 (2nd edition)
Secondary literature
- My first work: "The Jews of Barnow". By Karl Emil Franzos , pp. 213-240 in: The story of the first work. Autobiographical essays. Introduced by Karl Emil Franzos. With portraits of the poets' youth . Concordia Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Berlin 1894 ( archive.org ).
Web links
- According to the higher law online at Zeno.org
- The Shylock from Barnow online at Gutenberg-DE