Stuffing cake

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Stuffing cake. A story of sea and murder is the titleof Wilhelm Raabe's novel, completed in May 1890 and published in 1891, which Romano Guardini considers to be more important than his youthful works. In it, the author takes up asocially critical topic knownfrom Abu Telfan . He contrasts the intellectually narrow German provincialism of the 19th century with autopia associatedwith naive adventure romanticism and colonialism , which is disillusioned. In the stuffing cake , in contrast to the Abu Telfan returnees Leonhard Hagebucher, the focus is on the story of the hero Heinrich Schaumann and his wife Tinchen who stayed at home, who in their ramparts have an idyllic retreat and a world of their own that is only limited to necessary social and economic contacts have created.

Table of contents

The first-person narrator Eduard settled down as a ship's doctor on the Orange River in South Africa after adventurous journeys and raised sheep there. Now, after a long time, he visits his hometown in a rural area somewhere between Lausitz and Harz to meet old friends, v. a. Heinrich Schaumann to see again and to compare the memories of his youth with the present. He is confronted with two surprises. On the return trip ( framework story ) to “the most desolate, longest stretched, albeit most nutritious, foreign life” he writes on board Leonhard Hagebucher , named after the main character of Abu Telfan, the stories of the “so-called domestic, patriotic Philistine life” that his friend wrote , Raabe's mouthpiece, said.

The novel is set on two time levels, on the one hand in the childhood and youth of the protagonists around the middle of the 19th century, and on the other at the end of the century. Two people in particular are of interest to Eduard on his return. He would like to speak to the country mailman Friedrich Störzer, his spiritual leader, again, but he has just died. As a twelve-year-old he often accompanied him on his walks from the city to the surrounding villages, past the farmstead guarded by yapping dogs on the Rote Schanze , where the postman asked him to bring the mail to the scruffy, scruffy peasant girl Valentine. With his father's friend, he dreamed of travel adventures around the world. Störzer's favorite book François Levaillant's Journeys in the Interior of Africa was decisive for his life. At the end of the novel, Heinrich tells the visitor that Störzer fatally hit the cattle dealer Kienbaum, his former harassed classmate, after being humiliated by an uncontrolled stone throw in the head. Although he suffered from guilt for the rest of his life, he did not have the courage to stand by his act and to exonerate Andreas Quakatz, Valentine's father, who had been falsely accused of murder. Heinrich reveals the connections between the hardworking postman, who has turned from victim to perpetrator and who could have circumnavigated the globe five times on his official routes, only after his death.

Eduard then meets his fate in contrast in the form of Heinrich on his farm. As a child, he suffered from his marginalization and was called the Stopfkuchen because of his voracity and phlegm . Since he was not very interested in school and in the studies his parents wanted and had bad grades, he was considered stupid and did not recognize his practical intelligence and his sensitive, compassionate nature hidden in the body. Heinrich complains to the visitor of his story of suffering, accuses him of lacking support and at the same time presents him with satisfaction the success story of two outsiders on marital happiness and prosperity. After dropping out of his studies, he returned home and worked as a servant and administrator together with his then intimidated and socially isolated friend Valentine on her sick father's run-down farm. He put the undisciplined service personnel back in order, packed up energetically, increasingly stabilized the business and made the house and yard homely. He “now had what [he] wanted. [He] sat in the middle of [s] an ideal and [he] was with [s] an ideal alone on the Rote Schanze [...] with [s] a young rosy on the wall, who surrounded [her] young happiness ”. He also publicly defended his father-in-law, who had been charged with the murder of Kienbaum. Although he had protested his innocence and the court had to acquit him for lack of evidence, he and his daughter were ostracized by the villagers of Maiholzen before Heinrich intervened. The evening before his friend's departure and Störzer's funeral, Schaumann publicly reveals the circumstances of the crime in an inn in the city, explains how he found out the truth, and thus finally restores the reputation of his father-in-law, who has since died.

During Edward's half-day visit to the ski jump, his friend surprisingly appears to him as a self-confident person who leads a cultivated, happy life with his wife and has chosen palaeontology as his hobby . He earned the respect of the villagers and townspeople through his successful market orientation in sugar beet cultivation, his participation in a sugar factory and his enterprising demeanor. But the married couple, as burned children, stay at a distance from the social environment and its bourgeois behavior such as spreading rumors, bullying and marginalization of unadapted people, envy and glee. This distance is symbolically visible through the old ramparts from the Seven Years' War , which seal off the homestead high above the city and the villages, but enable Heinrich to “keep an eye on one world and that of the rest”. After his home leave, the narrator realizes that his friend has always been an independent character and “has lived entirely according to his nature”. He “did and left what he had to do or not do”. And strangely enough, "somehow something sensible came out of it [...]". Raabe's message is addressed to Eduard by Schaumann: “You can live in Quakatzenburg, and you don't long for it so easily [...] You can have that basically everywhere [...] You just have to get that from every place from right and eternity Know how to drive out because of the ghost and you always sit well. "

The characters

In addition to the conflict between longing to travel and home, the second central theme of the novel becomes clear in the fact that four main characters are outsiders : Stopfkuchen, Quakatz, Valentine and Störzer.

Eduard

Eduard grew up in Maiholzen, the son of a postal worker. In his youth, the country mailman Fritz Störzer became a fatherly friend, whom he often accompanied on his way to work. Edward's enthusiasm for nature and foreign countries, about which Störzer loved to read, grew. In addition, he was half and half a friend of Heinrich Schaumann, whom he never resolutely defended against the others, which definitely mentions Stopfkuchen. Eduard left home to study and then worked as a ship's doctor before he became a successful sheep farmer in the Orange Free State . He married there and had numerous children. For reasons that were not entirely clear to himself, he has now returned home. What he experiences there as a second look at his own childhood and youth moves him so much that he starts writing it down.

Andreas Quakatz

Andreas Quakatz was - in Edward's youth - a farmer on the Rote Schanze with his daughter Valentine and some farmhands. He was considered the murderer of the cattle dealer Kienbaum because he had quarreled with him shortly before Kienbaum was slain. These accusations made him suspicious, he had outbursts of anger, drank and repeatedly brought legal proceedings against people who claimed he was Kienbaum's murderer. As a friend of his daughter, he tolerated stuffing cakes on the Red Schanze. During his studies, Quakatz suffered a stroke and became obsolete. He only spoke of the allegations against him. When Stopfkuchen married his daughter, the farmer was able to witness how the residents of the area celebrated the festival and then greeted him again.

Valentine Quakatz

Valentine Quakatz was Quakatz's only child and heir to the Rote Schanze. In her childhood she was often referred to as a “wild cat”, was shaggy and shy, xenophobic like her father, without any child friendships, and guarded the yard with her vicious dogs. As an adult woman, on the other hand, she is - surprisingly for Eduard - friendly and “proper”, lovingly caring for her husband and understanding his peculiarities and talkativeness.

Kienbaum

Kienbaum was an enterprising cattle dealer, he grew up in much better circumstances, and Störzer describes him as arrogant - he had been to school and in the military with Kienbaum and had suffered from him there. During his military service, Kienbaum impregnated a woman, but refused to give her any support. After an argument with Quakatz, he was killed in the nearby forest.

Fritz Störzer

Fritz Störzer came from a very simple background. Throughout his life as a country mailman in wind and weather, he was never sick for a day and never took a day off. He was already friends with Eduard when he was still a boy and went on his long lonely tours with him, and inspired him with literature for foreign countries - although he himself emphasized that he did not want to leave Maiholzen. He went to school and the military with Kienbaum and suffered from his ridicule.

Heinrich Schaumann

Heinrich Schaumann, known in his youth by the nickname “Stopfkuchen”, is remembered by the narrator as the thickest and laziest comrade in the Circle of Friends. In retrospect, Eduard calls him " not only [...] the thickest, laziest and most voracious [...], but also [...] the dumbest among us ". He had poor school grades and was often bullied and beaten up. When Eduard sees him again on his home visit, he is surprised to find Heinrich who is completely different in his eyes. In the meantime he no longer seems the lazy and inconspicuous fat boy, but radiates a strength that seems to stem from his intellectual superiority. Eduard, the narrator, is aware that this side must have always been part of his friend, but never appeared in the circle of friends, as none of the dominant comrades allowed space for this part of Heinrich.

It is stuffing cake who is responsible for solving the murder of the cattle dealer Kienbaum. He gets to know the registrar Schwartner better, through whom he learns the history of the Rote Schanze and discovers it for himself. Heinrich spent many hours there in the summer months and observed the world. Even as a child he dreamed of the “Rote Schanze” and of being a farmer on that remnant of the war. During Edward's visit, Stopfkuchen uses the hour to solve the riddle of the Kienbaum murder. In the restaurant, which is empty except for the waitress, he reports to Eduard that Fritz Störzer, who has just passed away, has confided in him that he accidentally killed Kienbaum. For fear of losing his job, he never dared to make an open confession. However, he suffered a lot from the act and from the fact that the innocent Andreas Quakatz had fallen into disrepute because of him. Nobody doubts the story of the stuffing cake. So the new owner of the Rote Schanze finally eliminates the murder suspicions against his father-in-law. Störzer's bereaved family saved the pension , although the townspeople avoided his funeral - very different from that of Andreas Quakatz.

Interpretation approaches and themes in stuffing cake

Various themes can be found in Raabe's stuffing cake, which are more or less typical of Raabe's oeuvre or the Braunschweig period.

space and time

Research attaches great importance to the organization of time in Wilhelm Raabe's works. The main impetus here is the mixing of different time levels. If you take a closer look at Raabe's work, it is noticeable that the novel is structured in different time layers. There are three time levels that are closely linked to one another.

The first covers the weeks when Eduard is on the ship from Germany to Cape Town. During this time he writes about his visit back home. This visit at home is the narrated time. That narrative is divided into Stopfkuchen statements and Eduard's report about it, so that the reader can easily overlook different incidents, which in turn belong to different time layers.

The second is about the last thirty-two hours of the home visit.

The third time stage is the last twenty-five years of partly shared past. Although there are three different time levels, they form a seamless unit. This mixture sometimes has such an effect on the reader that it is not difficult for them to follow the jumps. The reason for this is that Eduard is familiar with everyone and everything that the stuffing cake tells about. Thus, this can merge into a memory unit. In this way, you can also fall back on the past without any problems within the different time levels. Raabe has these stages reflected again and again in the other time stages, so that the individual character blurs.

The spatial and temporal experience categories are closely linked. The spatial center is the Rote Schanze; the city, the village, the sea and the ship, on the other hand, are relatively shapeless. The individual rooms function as an overarching room constellation. The spatial constellation consists of pairs of opposites such as near and far, narrow and wide, as well as Rote Schanze and South Africa.

Aggression / violence

Aggression and violence appear several times in stuffing cake. Heinrich Schaumann is fascinated by the war and admires Friedrich II and Prince Xaver of Saxony . Prince Xaver was a reformist and introduced the standing army in Saxony, while Frederick II fought in the Seven Years War . The Seven Years' War is particularly important in Stopfkuchen, as Schaumann refers to it again and again: For example, the Rote Schanze is a fortification that was built during this war and that Schaumann made his home. Just as the Rote Schanze was used as a starting point for attacks on Wolfenbüttel during the Seven Years' War, Schaumann also uses it for his planned revenge on urban society. He compares himself to a cannonball that is still in his parents 'house in the city from the Seven Years' War, and he also wants to attack the city. The Rote Schanze serves him as a place where he can strengthen himself and prepare himself for precisely this vengeance: “You see, Eduard, after years of quiet waiting the superior person pays back patiently endured ridicule and neglect. I've been waiting for this satisfaction here in the cool. "

Later, when Eduard and Schaumann visit Störzer's coffin, Schaumann's aggression becomes clear: While Eduard lays his hand on the coffin in sympathy for the death of his old friend, Schaumann lays his fist on the head of the coffin as a violent assault.

Philistine criticism / criticism of the bourgeoisie

Schaumann goes from being hunted to being hunter. As a child he was teased by classmates and teachers and as a young adult he is an outsider as a college dropout. But later he uncovered the self-deception of the Philistines and demonstrated them. He freed the Rote Schanze and his father-in-law from their blemishes and rehabilitated them in society. The revelation of the real murderer was not a self-defense, but a calculation and a show of power against the Philistines. He takes revenge on the village community for the humiliation they have endured and changes the social structure so that the descendants of Störzer are viewed as outcasts. In this way, Schaumann managed to “put the foot on the head of all Philistine worldviews”.

The work also alludes to so-called garden arbor literature, which was popular during Raabe's lifetime, but also transfigured and thus just as self-deceiving. The fascination of Eduard and Störzer, who stand for the bourgeois society of the time, for geography is satirized. Geography as a science of the surface shows the superficiality of this group of people, while Schaumann goes into depth with his hobby of paleontology and researches it. In the end, the profound triumphs over the superficiality.

Autobiographical

Raabe incorporated some autobiographical elements into Stopfkuchen. In his biographical sketch he wrote that he was glad to have been saved from “becoming a mediocre lawyer, schoolmaster, doctor or even pastor”. Schaumann made a very similar statement to Eduard when he said “I knew very well that I would never climb the chair, the pulpit or the judge's seat! My knowledge of osteology was not enough for the practical exercise of the art of medicine either. ”Both Raabe and Schaumann have perished in the educational system and failed in it. They refused to have a job, but can later rehabilitate themselves in society and find recognition. What is more, they attack the transfiguration and hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie. Schaumann does this through his revelation of the real murderer, while Raabe does this in his novels, which deal with the subject of truth and transfiguration. As a descendant of a postal worker, Raabe is also reflected in Eduard, and Raabe's paths in Wolfenbüttel were compared with those of Eduard's mayholes traced in Wolfenbüttel and matches were found. Eduard and Raabe also share their activities as writers or authors.

Break with realism

What is unusual for realism is that the main characters are hardly described in Stopfkuchen. Only the contrast thick (Schaumann) and thin (Eduard) is spanned. The association and expectation that the fat Schaumann is a good-natured and comfortable person is broken: Schaumann turns out to be an aggressor and reveals the truth about the murder regardless of the consequences. Raabe thereby exposes the transfiguration and does not gloss over it. Those affected, like Eduard, have to adjust to this revelation and reconstruct their worldview, which he tries to do in the writing process. In this way Raabe distances himself from realism.

Paleontology in the stuffing cake

Science forms another central motif in the discourse complex. The interest in science and the associated discovery of home in its historical dimension is one of the typical occupations in the 19th century. Paleontology reveals truth and pseudo-truth in the novel. Schaumann discovers his interest in research, which ultimately helps him solve the murder. In various places it shows the central science, which reveals different layers of meaning that are necessary for understanding. Schaumann's preoccupation with fossils makes his position over time clear: he deals with old bones of bygone ages and thereby gains insights into the depths of the past. But he also uncovered new bones from which he made connections for the present and the future. In this way, Schaumann opens up the abysses of his fellow men as well as the graves of the earth. He deals with his own past as well as that of his homeland. Over the course of time, he links these findings with one another and, through his knowledge of paleontology, he succeeds in gaining a detective's instinct. Hence, paleontology is of general importance as it plays an important role at every point in the novel. In addition, through paleontology, he comes closer to his future father-in-law when he shows him his discovery of the mammoth skeleton. This also brings him closer to his goal in life of conquering Valentine and thus the Rote Schanze.

literature

  • Wilhelm Raabe: stuffing cake. A story of sea and murder. Janke, Berlin 1891. ( digitized and full text in the German text archive ), Reclam (RUB 9393), Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3-15-009393-7 . (Reprint: Joseph Kiermeier-Debre (Ed.):… Dtv, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-423-02685-7 )
  • Herbert Blume : Literarily transformed reality. Wolfenbüttel in Wilhelm Raabe's novel Stopfkuchen. In: Sören R Fauth, Rolf Parr , Eberhard Rohse (eds.): “The best bites from the cake” - Wilhelm Raabe's narrative: contexts, subtexts, connections. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2009, pp. 241–282.
  • Philip J. Brewster: Uncle Ketschwayo in Neuteutobug. Allusions to contemporary history in Raabe's stuffing cake. In: Yearbook of the Raabe Society, Braunschweig 1983, pp. 96–118.
  • Ulf Eisele: The poet and his detective . Raabe's “Stopfkuchen” and the question of realism. Niemeyer, Tübingen 1979, ISBN 3-484-10328-0 .
  • Søren R. Fauth: The mutual killing and the ingenious outlook. Raabes Odfeld, Stopfkuchen and the philosophy of Schopenhauer. In: Søren R Fauth, Rolf Parr, Eberhard Rohse (eds.): “The best bites from the cake” - Wilhelm Raabe's narrative: contexts, subtexts, connections. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2009, pp. 135–166.
  • Romano Guardini: About Wilhelm Raabe's “Stopfkuchen”. In: Hermann Helmers (Hrsg.): Raabe in a new perspective . Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne / Mainz 1968, pp. 12–43.
  • Helmuth Mojem, Peter Sprengel: Wilhelm Raabe: Stopfkuchen - Life struggle and abundance. In: interpretations. 19th century novels. (= Universal Library No. 8418). Reclam, Stuttgart 1992, pp. 350-386.
  • Eberhard Rohse : Paleontological comfort at the place of the flood. Natural history and the Bible in and around Raabe's “Stopfkuchen”. In: Sören R. Fauth, Rolf Parr, Eberhard Rohse (eds.): "The best bites of the cake". Wilhelm Raabe's narrative: contexts, subtexts, connections. Wallstein, Göttingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-8353-0544-1 , pp. 63-116.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Romano Guardini: About Raabe's “Stopfkuchen” . In Romano Guardini: language, poetry, interpretation. Würzburg 1962, S: 91-140.
  2. ↑ Florian Krobb: Explorations overseas: Wilhelm Raabe and the filling of the world. Wurzburg 2009.
  3. ^ Wilhelm Raabe: Stopfkuchen . In: Wilhelm Raabe: Collected Works , second volume. Munich 1980, p. 327.
  4. ^ Karl Hoppe : 1. Origin of the work, 2. Publication and recording. In: Wilhelm Raabe. Complete Works. Braunschweiger edition vol. 18, Göttingen 1963, appendix pp. 419–435.
  5. ↑ Raabe, Stopfkuchen . P. 374.
  6. ↑ Raabe, Stopfkuchen . P. 357.
  7. ↑ Raabe, Stopfkuchen . P. 338.
  8. ↑ Raabe, Stopfkuchen . P. 358.
  9. ↑ Johannes Graf, Gunnar Kwisinski: Heinrich Schaumann a baron of lies? Just as he looked for the secluded “Rote Schanze” as his home, his character was revealed at a young age. His strength and intelligence remained hidden, at least it was not visible to the childhood friends. He has definitely decided against living in mass, far from the church, from all conventions and church obligations, and can lead the desired life contentedly in his own kingdom. Thus the character that at first appeared to be clumsy and lazy has revealed itself to be stable and strong. On the narrative structure in Raabe's “Stopfkuchen”. In: Yearbook of the Raabe Society. Max Niemeyer Verlag, Munich 1992, pp. 194-213. (Quote not yet verified)
  10. ↑ See H. Oppermann: On the problem of time with Wilhelm Raabe. Yearbook of the Raabe Society 1964, p. 70.
  11. ↑ See H. Meyer: Raum und Zeit in Wilhelm Raabes Erzählkunst. Raabe in a new perspective. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1968, p. 118
  12. ↑ See H. Meyer: Raum und Zeit in Wilhelm Raabes Erzählkunst. Raabe in a new perspective. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1968, p. 123.
  13. ↑ a b c d Helmuth Mojem, Peter Sprengel: Wilhelm Raabe: Stopfkuchen - life struggle and body fullness. In: interpretations. 19th century novels. (= Universal Library No. 8418). Reclam, Stuttgart 1992, pp. 350-386.
  14. ^ Wilhelm Raabe: Stopfkuchen. A story of sea and murder. (= RUB 9393). Stuttgart 2004, p. 63.
  15. ^ Wilhelm Raabe: Stopfkuchen. A story of sea and murder. (= RUB 9393). Stuttgart 2004, p. 91.
  16. ^ Wilhelm Raabe: Stopfkuchen. A story of sea and murder. (= RUB 9393). Stuttgart 2004, p. 156 f.
  17. ^ Romano Guardini: About Wilhelm Raabe's "Stopfkuchen". In: Hermann Helmers (Hrsg.): Raabe in a new perspective. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne / Mainz 1968, pp. 12–43.
  18. ↑ a b c d Søren R. Fauth: The mutual murder and the ingenious view. Raabes Odfeld, Stopfkuchen and the philosophy of Schopenhauer. In: Søren R Fauth, Rolf Parr, Eberhard Rohse (eds.): “The best bites from the cake” - Wilhelm Raabe's narrative: contexts, subtexts, connections. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2009, pp. 135–166.
  19. ^ Wilhelm Raabe: Stopfkuchen. A story of sea and murder. (= RUB 9393). Stuttgart 2004, p. 191.
  20. ^ Wilhelm Raabe - autobiography . Wikipedia article Wilhelm Raabe. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  21. ^ Wilhelm Raabe: Stopfkuchen. A story of sea and murder. (= RUB 9393). Stuttgart 2004, p. 126.
  22. ↑ Herbert Blume: Literarily transformed reality. Wolfenbüttel in Wilhelm Raabe's novel Stopfkuchen. In: Sören R Fauth, Rolf Parr, Eberhard Rohse (eds.): “The best bites from the cake” - Wilhelm Raabe's narrative: contexts, subtexts, connections. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2009, pp. 241–282.
  23. ↑ Topics and style of realism . Wikipedia article Realism. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  24. ↑ Katharina Grätz: Old and new bones in Wilhelm Raabe's stuffing cake. On the problem of historical relativity and its narrative mastery. In: Yearbook of the German Schiller Society 42. (1998), p. 242.
  25. ↑ Katharina Grätz: Old and new bones in Wilhelm Raabe's stuffing cake. P. 252f. and Wilhelm Raabe: Stopfkuchen. A story of sea and murder. Stuttgart 2006, p. 103, lines 28-30, p. 104, lines 16f.
  26. ↑ Katharina Grätz: Old and new bones in Wilhelm Raabe's stuffing cake. P. 254.
  27. ↑ a b Katharina Grätz: Old and new bones in Wilhelm Raabe's stuffing cake. P. 243.
  28. ↑ Katharina Grätz: Old and new bones in Wilhelm Raabe's stuffing cake. P. 264.
  29. ↑ Katharina Grätz: Old and new bones in Wilhelm Raabe's stuffing cake. P. 103, line 30.
  30. ↑ Katharina Grätz: Old and new bones in Wilhelm Raabe's stuffing cake. P. 103, lines 30-34.