Rheinsberg: A picture book for lovers

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Kurt Tucholsky, previously known as a journalist, came to the light of the literary public in 1912 with the story Rheinsberg: A Picture Book for Lovers . Their success with contemporary audiences, in addition to the provocation in terms of content, is primarily due to the light, ironic style with which the author describes the weekend excursion of an unmarried young couple.

content

The short story is about the three-day excursion of two lovers, Claire and Wolfgang, who take the train to the rural Rheinsberg to escape their monotonous everyday life in Berlin. Since the journey of an unmarried couple was considered improper at the time, the lovers use the code name "Married couple Gambetta". Once at their destination, they indulge in innocent tourist amusements with a pinch of irony. So they visit the Rheinsberg Castle and take a boat tour on the surrounding lakes. Together they admire the untouched nature, which appears completely alien to them as city dwellers. On their night walk, they follow the excerpt from a play through a window. On the second day, after a late breakfast, they take a walk around town. When looking at the shops, they notice that modernity does not stop at country life. Then they go to the cinema together (" cinematograph "), with Claire constantly asking questions about the films. On the last of their three days, they go on another boat tour where they take a medical student named Lissy Aachner with them on their boat. After a stroll through the park, they return by train "to the big city, where there was again trouble for them, gray days and longing phone calls, secret afternoons, work and all the happiness of their great love."

Form and language

With the illustrations by Kurt Szafranski , it is reminiscent of a picture book - as the subtitle promises. Kurt Tucholsky largely dispenses with the classic build-up of tension . Rather, the idyllic Rheinsberg and the free love of the protagonists are described in a loose sequence of impressionistic snapshots . This takes place in a scenic representation , above all in the form of dialogues , which are enriched by ironic comments. A personal narrative behavior dominates : it is easy to see that it is the main male character from whose point of view the plot is portrayed. The language of the two protagonists is very peculiar. In the dialogues in Rheinsberg, Tucholsky used a colloquial language that was unconventionally taken over literally for the literature of the time . In addition, the lovers sometimes use sarcasm , overly rosy love language in their conversations . Two examples may illustrate this:

"... no ... the sun is white ... country ... look: an acacia! A blooming acacia, all blooming acacias "

“I have an extremely fine feeling for it, I suppose you are willing to make fun of me. If this assumption becomes a certainty, I will knock you down. "

characters

Claire

With her unbound nature and loose mouth, Claire is the pure counterpart to the conventional image of women in the Wilhelminian Empire . She is a medical student from a good family, with a strict father and a respectable family. So that her parents don't find out about their long weekend with Wolfgang, she travels under the pretext of visiting a friend. She feels like an important and pretty girl and gives her alleged superiority to understand the lover several times. Nevertheless, their love can be clearly seen in the mixture of taunts and loving words. Claire has her very own way of dealing with people, talking to them in seemingly confused ways to confuse them about what constitutes her own sense of humor. It is particularly noticeable that she has created her own language, which is reminiscent of the first attempts at speaking a toddler: "Oh God, it was better not to correct me too much!" The real role model for the character of Claire was Else Weil , with whom Kurt Tucholsky spent a weekend in Rheinsberg in August 1911.

Wolfgang ("Wolfchen")

Less is known about his background than that of Claire. In the educated young man, however, one can easily identify the alter ego of young Kurt Tucholsky. He speaks Latin ("Ne quis animadvertat! Prost.") And knows a lot about biology. He also loves to philosophize: “'How strange,' said Wolfgang, 'it's dead quiet outside, the moon is shining, and inside they play a sham life. And we join in, don't know anything about the prerequisites of the first act and remain serious. ‹“ In contrast to Claire, he seems more serious and considered. He represents the typical image of a man: strong, protective and opinionated. Usually it is he who says what to do and where to go. When Claire contradicts him, he - alluding to a traditional image - appears to be angry and playfully threatens to hit her.

Mr. Adler

Mr. Adler is the overweight castellan of the castle and shows the young couple around. He proudly reveals his knowledge of the building and is amazed that the visitors no longer show admiration.

Lissy Aachner

Lissy Achner is a very ambitious medical student. The couple in love takes her on the boat and talks to her. Lissy Achner speaks a lot and shares her unconventional views on God and the world with Claire and Wolfchen. She seems to be very stubborn and wants to have everything under control in life.

interpretation

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According to the biographical interpretation process , behind the story of Rheinsberg, a reworking of a really happened excursion by Tucholsky with his girlfriend and later wife Else Weil into nature can be seen. With the portrayal of the relaxed, innocent love of the two protagonists and their cheeky jokes, Tucholsky mocks the prudish prudish of the Wilhelmine bourgeoisie with regard to sexuality and non-binding relationships, as many artists of the Weimar Republic later did. In addition to the mockery of the ideal of a love idyll, which is shaped by the bourgeoisie, as well as its language, the satirist Tucholsky swipes at the military system with its customs that was so highly regarded in the Wilhelmine Empire before the First World War:

“Sehssu, my Affgen, this is now your home. Say: would you die for it?
You have it in writing, dear wife, that I am going to my death only for you. Do not confuse the terms. Amor patriae is not to be equated with 'amor' as such. The feelings are different. "

reception

Since its publication in 1912 by Axel Junker Verlag in Berlin, the book has developed into a classic for lovers. According to the author, the work was well received by the reviewers. Together with Kurt Szafranski , who contributed some illustrations to the book, Tucholsky opened a 'book bar' on Kurfürstendamm, where they sold books and alcohol cheaply. Anyone who bought a copy of Rheinsberg there received a free alcoholic drink. Tucholsky wrote about 50,000. Edition of the book on December 8, 1921 in the Weltbühne: “The press killed itself. The ›Breslauer Zeitung‹ was against it, the ›Vossische‹ in favor, Prague and Riga behaved neutrally - the excerpts are still there - and the ›Sankt Petersburg Herald‹ wrote on December eighteenth, 1912, who bought a wild one would get whiskey and soda and whoever bought Ibsen a Nordic grain. But that wasn't true - we drank ourselves. And sold an awful lot of 'Rheinsbergs'. "

expenditure

Audio books

filming

The book was filmed in 1967 under the direction of Kurt Hoffmann in Germany. The roles of Claire and Wolf were taken on by Cornelia Froboess and Christian Wolff . Hans-Martin Majewski designed the soundtrack for the film .

radio play

The book was edited in 1985 by Matthias Thalheim as a radio play for radio in the GDR : Dramaturgy: Heide Böwe , music: Thomas Natschinski , director: Barbara Plensat , with Kurt Böwe (narrator), Ulrike Krumbiegel (Claire), Gunter Schoß (Wolfgang), Georg Helge (castellan), Dagmar Manzel (Lissy Aachner). The production was the GDR contribution to PRIX ITALIA in 1987 . For the submission, the script was translated into English by Katherine Vanovitch and into French by Elisabeth Radermacher. The production was published in 2001 and 2012 by Der Audio Verlag as an audio book CD: ISBN 978-3862311576

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kurt Tucholsky: Rheinsberg. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2006, p. 51.
  2. ^ Kurt Tucholsky: Rheinsberg. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2006, p. 24.
  3. ^ Kurt Tucholsky: Rheinsberg. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2006, p. 26.
  4. ^ Kurt Tucholsky: Rheinsberg. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2006, p. 22.
  5. ^ Rheinsberg. A picture book for lovers. Book review
  6. ↑ Textlog - Rheinberg

Web links