Theodor Fontane as a critic of the drama

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Theodor Fontane as a critic of tlie drama

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THEODOR FONTANE

AS A GRITIC OiF THE DRAMA

BY

BERTHA E. TREBEIN

SoBMiTTEii IN Partial Ii'ulhlment of, the Rjequikements for
THE Degree OF Doctor of PHixosoPHY, in the Faculty
, , OF PhiEosophx, CoLipiBiA University

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
;■ • , , 1915: ^ :, . .'- -

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY GERMANIC STUDIES

THEODOR FONTANE AS A CRITIC
OF THE DRAMA

COLUMBIA UNIVERSIXy PRESS
SALES AGENTS

New York:
LEMCKE & BUEGHNER
30-32 West 27th Street

London:

HUMPHREY MILFORD

Amen Corner, E.G.

THEODOR FONTANE

AS A CRITIC OF THE DRAMA

BY

BERTHA E. TREBEIN

Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for

THE Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Faculty

OF Philosophy, Columbia University

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
1916

Copyright, 1916
By Columbia Universitv Press

Printed from type, May, 1916

TO THE MEMORY OF
MY FATHER

Approved for pttbUcation, on behalf of the Department of
Germanic Languages and Literatures of Columbia University.

Calvin Thomas

New York, June, 1915

PREFACE

The following study of Theodor Fontane's criticism of the
drama is the outgrowth of interest in that author's English period
awakened by a suggestion of Professor CamiUo von Klenze of
Brown University. It is a pleasure to me to acknowledge here
my indebtedness to Prpfessor von Klenze for thus introducing me
indirectly to a phase of Fontane's activity, less widely known than
some others, that shows the "consistent realist," the "path-
finder," as the late Richard M. Meyer terms him,^ in process of
growth.

The privileges of examining unpublished material and of using
the excerpts from it which appear below I owe primarily to Mr.
Friedrich Fontane of Berlin-Grunewald, but my thanks are due
also in this connection to Dr. Paul Schlenther of Friedenau.

I wish to express my appreciation further to my colleague,
Professor Mary E. Markley for reading my manuscript and for
helpful suggestions concerning it; to Professor F. W. Heuser of
Columbia University and to Dr. Dorothy Brewster of the Exten-
sion Department for careful assistance in proofreading; to the
librarians of Cornell, Harvard, Yale, and Columbia Universities
and of the Royal Library in Berlin, to the Secretary of the
Deutsches Haus, Columbia University, to Dr. W. Paszkowski,
Mrs. Paul Fesca and Miss Rose Paucksch of Berlin, and to my
colleague. Professor Lucile Alexander, for other courtesies that
furthered my work. I do not forget my indebtedness to the
late Dr. Rudolf Tombo, Jr.

My deepest obligation is, however, to Professor Calvin Thomas
and Professor Wm. Addison Hervey, of Columbia University. To
them I am indebted for the inspiration that comes from unfailing
scholarly guidance, for generous and kindly interest, and for prompt
and valuable advice throughout the various stages of my work.

Agnes Scott College,
October, 1915.

' Richard M. Meyer, Die deutsche Literatur des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts,
(3. umgearbeitete Aufl., Berlin, igo6), 549.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

INTRODUCTION (WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH) .... xiii
I. CONDITIONS ATTENDING FONTANE'S CRITICISM OF

THE DRAMA

±. His Interest as London Correspondent in Shakespere on

the London Stage

2. Disadvantages of the Position of Critic of the Royal Stage

of Berlin

The Reasons for Fontane's Interest in Dramatic Criticism

II. FONTANE'S CONCEPTION OF CRITICISM ....

1. As Revealed in his Criticism of Others ...

2. As Revealed in his Criticism of Himself ... .

III. FONTANE'S PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR THE ELE-
VATION OF THE STAGE 55

1. To the Public . ... . ■ S6

2. To the Playwright . . . . S8

3. To the Director . . . ... 72

4. To the Actor . . . . ... ... 90

IV. FONTANE'S DRAMATIC THEORY . . .... 103

1. Realism in Comedy and Farce . ... .... 105

2. The Artistic Use of Situation . . ... 109

3. Dramatic Economy .... 114

4. The Nature of Humor . . 115

5. The Relation of Guilt to Character in Tragedy . . . . 118

6. The Problem-Play . . . . ... 121

a. The Dramatized Fairy-Tale ... . . .122

b. The Social Problem Play .123

c. The Problem in Historical Drama . . . 128

7. Dramatic Instinct . . . ... ... 130

a. As Shown in the Use of the Poetic Element . . . 131

b. As Shown in External Form . . .132

c. As Shown in Tone . .... .-133

d. As Shown in Language i34

e. As Shown in Reliance upon " Retroactive Power " . 138

8. The Classic: Its Advantages and Its Limitations . . . 139

9. The Realistic: Its Advantages and Its Limitations . . 143
10. A Plea for the Romantic . . . . . i47

V. CONCLUSION: FINAL ESTIMATE OF FONTANE AS A

CRITIC OF THE DRAMA 150

I. Advantages and Disadvantages in his Method and Style . 151
'2. Tentative Comparison with Lessing, A. W. Schlegel and

Tieck 160

APPENDIX 165

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . i77

INDEX 189

II

17

36
40
49

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN FOOTNOTES

References to " Gesammelte Werke von Theodor Fontane" are as follows:

"Werke" . . . . W

Series of " Werke " . . . i or 2

Volume in Series . . Roman numeral

Page (not introductory) . Arabic "

Page (introductory) . . Roman "

Unpublished letters . . . L

Diary D

Vossische Zeitung . . . . V. Z.

Beilage B

" Die Londoner Theater " . L. T. (used in Chap. III).

INTRODUCTION

Any study of Theodor Fontane's development as critic
must at this time be based necessarily upon more or less
incomplete data. His notebooks are a sealed volume, like-^
wise a number of articles, not included in the published
"Nachlass" ("Gesammelte Werke von Theodor Fontane,"
2 Serie, IX, Berlin, 1908), which were incomplete or which
Fontane had for some other reason withheld from print.
The letters to acquaintances and friends that have been given
to the public appear with the introductory statement that
this material — as far as collected — would fill many volumes
besides,^ and although the editors aimed to choose for publi-
cation whatever afforded valuable new glimpses into the life,
work, and varied interests of Fontane, it may be inferred with
comparative certainty from the spontaneous bits of individu-
alistic criticism in the letters selected that the unpublished
correspondence has more to yield in this line.

It is not safe to infer that the dramatic criticism is more
complete at present than other lines of the critical work.
Certainly no last word can yet be spoken. The inventory
of posthumous material contains, in axidition to stating the
possibility of an extant translation of "Hamlet," an item re-
ferring to criticisms of Ibsen, Kielland, Zola, and another con-
cerning personal accounts of miscellaneous reading (the latter
supplemented, however, by the comment that much of this
material has appeared in print). The records of the Berlin
literary club, "Der Tunnel xiber der Spree," which in 1914
were in the initial stages of preparation for publication by
Dr. Fritz Behrend under the auspices of the Royal Library
in Berlin, will no doubt reveal something of value in regard

1 W, 2, X, XI; c£. X, Vorwort, I.

XIV

to the earlier years. Fontane was a member of this club
1844-1865; he held the office of substitute secretary from
July to October, 1846, from April, 1850, to February, 1852,
and was regular recording secretary from September, 1852,
to May, 1854.1 The only information that I received from
Dr. Behrend concerning Fontane's records was that they were
regarded by some of the Tunnel members as rather too
strongly colored with personal conviction, from which one
may infer that they might be of interest in their bearing
upon the early period of his development as a critic.

Yet a number of considerations seem to justify at this
time a study of Fontane's criticism of the drama. That part
of the theater criticism published in book form, "Kritische
Causerien iiber Theater" and "Die Londoner Theater" ("Ge-
sammelte Werke," 2. Serie, VIII, Berlin, 1904), gives only a
relative idea of the extent of his contributions in this line. Dr.
Schlenther, the editor of the " Causerien," states that his collec-
tion contains only about one^third of the whole number of
reports on the theater. He expresses the conviction that the
reports had been undervalued by the public at lar^e, partly
because readers of the criticisms as they appeared piecemeal in
the daily press lost the element which rendered each report but
a fraction of a harmonious whole full of insight into life and
art. He makes no attempt, however, to trace a connection
between these so-called "Chats" and the earlier essay on the
London stage, or to treat the development of Fontane's ar-
tistic convictions in the "Chats" themselves and thus define
"das geistige Band" of which he speaks as the unifying
factor.^ His desire was that the writer's work should speak
for itself in the main. Therefore, although this collection
shows much of Fontane's ingenious method, its incomplete-
ness and the arrangement of the reports chronologically with
reference to authors make it, in spite of its very suggestive

' The records of the Tunnel were not accessible to me; the above data
are from a brief printed report found in the Royal Library, Berlin, cata-
log No. Aa, 2148, (1914) "Zair Geschichte, des Uterarischen Smmtag-Vereias,
'Tunnel iiber der Spree' in Berlin, 1827-1877"; cf. p. 24.

2 W, 2, VIII, Vorwort, V.

XV

introductory appreciation, primarily a reflector of Fontane's
cleverness and versatility.

The title, "Critical Chats," is in spite of appropriateness
somewhat misleading as to the value of the content of these
reports. Fontane was, indeed, so brilliant and unusual a
causeur both in actual intercourse and in his books that this
phase of his work has with justice been the occasion of much
comment. All his readers find in it a quality of style, rare
at best, especially rare in German literature. Those who did
not know him personally prize it as an avenue of approach to
closer contact with a gifted and lovable personality. To
those who came into immediate relationship with him, his
frank but courteous good-fellowship, his true humanity —
based on insight and free from sentimentality — his inex-
haustible store of anecdote, his humor, his esprit made his
whole work seem at best but a partial expression of the man.
The desire of those who write about him to keep his indi-
viduality fresh and vital is unquestionable evidence of what
personal contact with him must have meant. The spice of
personality is perhaps nowhere more prominent in his work
than in his critical reports. He himself laid stress upon this
element in criticism,' but to consider this the dominant
factor in its. value is to underestimate its deeper worth.

Fontane called himself on one occasion at least a causeur ^
and regarded this faculty with some satisfaction as a part of
his heritage from French ancestry. He added, however, on
this occasion — he was speaking here of the conversational
style in his narratives — that he was above all an artist and
realized as an artist that brilliant conversation is not every-
where in place. The same relativity of stylistic values is
found in his criticism. The style and method are secondary
in that they are determined by the character of the play in
hand. The chatty style frequently gives way, accordingly,
to a tone of deep seriousness. Yet the brilliance of the
causeur seems to have thrown into lingering shadow the often

' The discussion in Chapter II shows the importance which Fontane
attached to this element in criticism.
2 W, 2, VII (Berlin, 1904), 22.

XVI

less obtrusive worth of the critic's point of view. Fontane
has an estabUshed reputation as ballad- writer, as "Wanderer,"
as historian, as narrator, as letter-writer. His criticism has
been overlooked except as it has been revealed in something of
its unity in the "Causerien." ^ Some wit of Fontane's own
day interpreted his signature "Th. F." as an abbreviation for
"Theater Fremdling." Whether the term really established
itself in his lifetime or not, such he has to some extent
remained.

The present study rests upon the conviction that the con-
tent of Fontane's criticism is worthy of more detailed con-
sideration than it has received. It has been my purpose
first to inquire into his attitude toward the drama and to-
ward criticism in general; then, following as far as possible
the chronological development of his convictions on esthetic

1 Fontane's poems (including ballads) reached the 15 th edition
(Cotta) 1910, and selected ballads were brought out separately (Cotta)
1907. Volume I ("Grafschaft Ruppin") of "Wanderungen durch die
Mark Brandenburg" had its 13th edition (Cotta) 1909; vol. 2 ("Oder-
land"), loth ed. (Cotta) 1907; vol. 3 ("Havelland"), 12th ed. (Cotta)
1910; vol. 4 ("Spreeland"), loth ed. (Cotta) 1910. " Kriegsgefangen,"
brought out as a volume of the collected works (Fontane, Berlin) in
igo6 after 5 previous editions up to igoo, has had its i8th-2oth thou-
sand, and a French translation, "Souvenirs d'un prisonnier de guerre
allemand en 1871," was brought out in Paris, 1892. Of the narratives,
"Irrungen, Wirrungen" had its 7th ed. 1901 (coll. works, Berlin);
"Effi Briest," its z6th ed. (coll. works) 1909, and a French translation
appeared (Fontane, Berlin) 1902; "Der Stechlin" hadits 3d ed. 1899, the
year after its appearance, its 19th ed. (coll. works) 1909; various other
volumes have had various editions: "Unwiederbringlich" and "Grete
Minde" passed the 6th ed. (Cotta) in 1904 and 1908 respectively and
were brought out among the coll. works in 1912 and 1911; "Unwieder-
bringlich" appeared in Danish translation ("Grevinde Volk"), 1894.
The family letters ("Briefe," i. Sammlung, Berlin, 1905) had their
6th complete ed. (Fontane, Berlin), 1911, the ist vol. reaching the nth
ed.; the letters to friends ("Briefe," 2. Sammlung), the ist-4th ed.
(Fontane, Berlin), 1910. The "Causerien" passed through 3 editions
in 1904, the year of their appearance, and were brought out among the
coll. works in 1908; they did not contribute to the growing fame of the
author during his lifetime but came as a reminder to a more limited
public than that to which the narratives, poems, and books of reminis-
cence appealed, of an activity relinquished officially years before.

XVll

questions concerning dramatic art, to work out a conception
of the system according to which he pronounced the judg-
ment of approval or disapproval; to give, finally, in merely
suggestive lines -a comparative evaluation of his work as
critic. The study makes no claim to include close investi-
gation of the justice of the criticism of individual actors in
their various roles; it deals with histrionic art only in its
bearings upon dramaturgic principles. Since the perform-
ances at the Royal Theater, upon which Fontane's regular
press reports are based, were in German — exception being
made only for visiting actors and actresses of renown from
foreign countries — titles of plays are as a rule given in Ger-
man in his criticisms. Although the essay on the London
theaters is on Shakspere as seen in England, he used the
titles in his own tongue, since he wrote for a public that
knew Shakspere in German translation. His reports on the
French players were, on the other hand, on plays given in
French by a visiting troop in Berlin; these titles he gave,
naturally, in French. For the sake of added uniformity I
have given in English the titles of all except German and
French plays.

Many excerpts from Fontane's criticism have been neces-
sary in order to show chronological development or thel
invariableness of Fontane's norms, as the case might be, yet
the treatment of individual points is, of necessity, in nearly
every case suggestive rather than complete. The illustra-
tions referring to the Vossische Zeitung (1870-1889) as a source ;
have not been published elsewhere before; occasionally the
excerpt from this paper overlaps that portion of the same
report published in the "Causerien" and such cases have been
noted. It has been my privilege to read copies of the general
diary (as yet unpublished) and of the family letters not included ^ '
in the volumes given to the public, and a few miscellaneous
unpublished criticisms in the original; also to use for com-
parison with my citations copied from the Vossische Zeitung
the collection made by Fontane of his own reports and re-
views and those of contemporaries in which he was parti-
cularly interested. The diary record is incomplete, made

XVIU

apparently often from memory for periods of from one
week to a month or more. The unpublished family letters,
as would be inferred from the introduction to the published
volumes,^ furnish on the whole additional evidence rather
than new evidence. There are, however, occasional bits of
value bearing in some way upon the criticism of the drama.
Some statements concerning conditions, too, supplement those
found in the published letters and thus contribute, in the
absence of a biography, to a more complete knowledge of
the periods of Fontane's life devoted in part to criticism.
The excerpts * from the diary and the unpublished letters
used in the following chapters have been compared with the
original manuscript under the direction of Mr. Friedrich Fon-
tane, son of Theodor Fontane, have been approved by
him and by Dr. Paul Schlenther, both members of the
Theodor Fontane Nachlass-Kommission, and are published
with their permission.

Except for some changes in type the excerpts follow accu-
rately the sources from which they are taken; i.e. the Vossiscke
Zeitung, the corrected copies of the manuscript letters and of the
diary, the published letters as found in "Gesammelte Werke,"
respectively. Roman t3T)e is used throughout this study, and
simple italics are used to express both simple italics and spaced
type in corresponding lines in the soiu-ces. Inconsistencies or
peculiarities in spelling have been retained; e.g. Ael teste (F. Z.
Jan. 3, 1878, B2; of. below, p. 73), achte (ibid.), Aechtheit
(V. Z. Nov. 19, 187s, Bi; cf. below, p. 86) but AusserUchkeit
(W, 2, Vm, 563 ; cf . below, p. 89) ; Herman Grimm W, 2, XI,
388; cf. below, p. 38) but Hermann (report on "Die Hermanns-
schlacht," V. Z. Jan. 21, 1875, B2); Fores (F. Z. Nov. 18, 1875,
B3; cf. below, p. 84) but Forres ("Jenseit des Tweed," Berlin,
i860. Chap. XVHI, 235 ff.); Maasse (F. Z. Mar. 8, 1882, Bi).

The following sketch of Fontane is added here to provide,
in points of formative influence and fact, sufficient general back-

' W, 2, VI, Vorwort, VII.

' Omissions of unimportant or irrelevant phrases are indicated in all
excerpts used by a series of dots.

XIX

ground to facilitate a clear understanding of the part that
dramatic criticism played in his interests. A detailed outline
of his work, as far as it can be determined from the accessible
sources, is given in the Appendix.

Henki Theodore Fontane — commonly known as Theodor
Fontane — was the eldest of five children of Louis Henri
Fontane, an apothecary, and Emilie Fontane, born Labry,
daughter of a silk-merchant. Both parents were of French
Protestant descent. Their forebears had been among the
refugees to Germany after the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes; colony traditions had been kept fairly intact through
the fact that the French families were inclined to intermarry;
as a result, through the intervening generations rather a
marked feeling of pride in their French descent had preserved
itself in a satisfying sense of distinction that savored of
superiority.

The paternal grandfather, Pierre Barthelemy Fontane, had
been successively teacher of painting and drawing to the
royal princes and private secretary to Queen Louise before
the disaster of Jena. He was then provided for modestly as
warden at Nieder-Schonhausen and eventually found him-
self through three fortunate marriages a comfortable property-
owner in Berlin. On the maternal side there was an uncle
with a suspiciously German name who had come into pos-
session of a manorial estate. Other facts, as far as they could
be followed on German soil, offered no extraordinary basis for
family esteem; the paternal great-grandfather was a tinner,
as was his father before him; the great-grandfather on the
mother's side, a stocking-weaver.' Fontane's parents took
pleasure, nevertheless, in vying with each other on occasions
in claim of family connection, giving imagination free play
where fact failed, as Fontane relates with characteristic

' Points in regard to the ancestry of Theodor Fontane are taken from
the introductory pages of his "Meine Kinderjahre," Autobiographischer
Roman, 7. Auflage (Berlin, igii). Other references to this work will
for convenience and uniformity be to vol. II of "Gesammelte Werke,"
2. Serie, in which the introductory pages mentioned do not occur. The
characterization of Fontane's parents depends largely upon the opening
chapters of this work, to which no special references are made.

XX

chuckle in his sketch of his childhood. Speculation went so
far, indeed, that Emilie Labry Fontane, in other respects a
person of stern common-sense, was convinced in her own
mind of connection with Cardinal Fesch, in other words with
"nicht mehr und nicht weniger als der Onkel Napoleons."

The parents were opposites and of striking individuality.
The eldest son's temperament combined fortunately the rarer
qualities of both. The debt that Fontane owed to their per-
sonality and their influence he acknowledges most clearly in
his autobiography. In answer to the self-imposed question
of how he was reared (erzogen), he writes: "not at all and —
excellently. . . . What the parents are, how they affect us by
the very fact of their existence (ihr blosses Dasein), that is the
determining factor."^

The father, whom Fontane fondly terms "ein Original," spent
three years at the Gray Cloister Gymnasium in Berlin, served
as apprentice to an apothecary there from 1809 to the spring
of 1 8 13, then at the age of not full seventeen years was one of
the first volunteers to respond — rather, as he said, on ac-
count of the fascination of the soldier's life than from excess-
ive patriotism — to the proclamation of Frederick William III
to his people. From 1814 to 1818 he completed his prepara-
tion as apothecary, passed the state examination in 1818, mar-
ried, and the following year bought the Lion apothecary shop
in New Ruppin. But he entered practical life far from man-
hood's estate in point of development,^ — a "fantastic vision-
ary," with a passion for newspaper reading, a love of anecdote,
and a keen sense of humor, which — among other qualities —
his literary son inherited. The humdrum life and the people
of the little provincial town bored him, he "gave himself over
to more genteel passions" and squandered at cards in the
years between 18 19 and 1826 a small fortune. He was
always more or less a ne'er-do-well, but at the same time in a
sense favored by fate. He succeeded in selling the property
in New Ruppin in 1826 for twice what he had paid for it,

1 W, 2, II, 168.

^ Cf. his own words to his son at the time of Fontane's last visit to
him a few months before his death, W, 2, II, 204 f.

XXI

settled for ten years, after the better part of a year spent in
search of a location to his taste, in the Pomeranian coast
town of Swinemiinde, was made (as early as 1828) a member
of the town council, the sittings of which he never at-
tended, and established his social life equally soon among the
best families of the place. Several rapid changes after 1837
brought the family to Berlin. Separation from his wife en-
sued, and the last twenty years of his life were spent in soli-
tude in Schiffmlihle near Freienwalde, where he died in 1867.

Fontane portrays his mother, on the other hand, as rather
delicate, sensitive, resolute, unselfish, deeply emotional —
except in matters of religion, in which she was a "child of
reason " — of distinct social dignity and charm, but practical,
stern of principle, often matter-of-fact, not without sar-
casm, — on the whole, "ganz Character." Her happiest years
were those of her early married life in New Ruppin, to which
she returned with her daughter Elise after her separation, sur-
viving her husband by little more than two years.

Except by this sister, Fontane asserts that he was never
in any sense dethroned from his mother's affection by the
children that followed him. He enjoyed, however, to the end
a relation of love and sympathetic understanding with both
parents. He says in the story of his life that in much which
he was inclined to censure at the time of occurrence he later t-
felt his mother to be wholly right. His father he mentions
with deep gratitude for material help freely given to him in
the early years in England, upon which rested that modest
part in good fortune (des bescheidenen Gliickes) that life had
in store for him; he writes of him in another connection "noch
weit Tiber seine Bonhomie hinaus ging seine Humanitat." ^

Theodor Fontane was born in New Ruppin, December 30,
1819, and entered school there at the age of seven. But his
early years were not burdened with study. He was placed in
the City School in Swinemiinde in 1827, but only for a short
time, since his mother, who had remained behind the family
for some weeks to recover from a threatened nervous break,
decided promptly upon her arrival in the new place of resi-
' W, 2, II, 170; cf. also, 46.

xxu

dence that he would receive enough harm from his associates
and the general atmosphere to outweigh any possible accre-
tion in knowledge. There were then no private teachers to
be recommended in Swinemunde and it was consequently de-
cided to let him grow up naturally (wild aufwachsen). He
read an hour daily with his mother, and had lessons in Latin
and French vocabulary, history, and geography with his
father, whose "Socratic method" could not, from Fontane's
later accounts, have overtaxed the boy. It seems to have been
the attitude of both parents, although Fontane mentions
only his mother in this connection, that the only objection
to temporary lack of actual schooling was that it was con-
trary to custom. "Das bisschen Lernen, das war jeden Augen-
blick wieder einzubringen." ^

One of the chief families in the town soon imported, how-
ever, a certain Dr. Lau as tutor for their son, and Fontane
was placed with Wilhelm Krause under his instruction. The
self-esteem of the new incumbent was due to two facts: that
he was a pupil of Schleiermacher and that he knew "Der
westostliche Diwan" by heart. He possessed also peda-
gogical tact, and Fontane seems to have remembered him
with respect and something of affection. Lau was succeeded
in the autumn of 1830 by another theological student, whose
hold upon his pupils was less secure, but to whom Fontane
acknowledges a debt of gratitude for the fact that he was
required under this tutelage to memorize the ballads of
Schiller, irrespective of length or of his own intelligent under-
standing of them. Christmas of 1831 brought him, however,
a notable beginning in hand-books for his personal posses-
sion, — as family portion, so to speak, for with them came
the information that his exodus from family life was near at
hand in order that this desultory training might end.^

The prospective new experience was eagerly welcomed, but
Fontane writes of his childhood, nevertheless, that it was "all
poetry." The years had been rich in that preparation for
life which no schooling can give. The novel experiences of

> Cf. W, 2, 11, 148 f., iss.
2 Cf. W, 2, II, 156 f., 167.

XXIU

the harbor town, the breath of romance that came to the boy
from the mysterious mists, the storm-tossed waves and the
unexplored distances beyond them, certain unique associations
with his father, the days when the social life of the family
reached its most genteel zenith, all fastened themselves upon
his memory, spurred his fancy, and quickened his observa-
tion. His studies of human nature had their beginnings here.
The charm of freedom from the trammels of routine had
been tasted. Yet the realization that a reasonable degree of
system and stability — some fixed point in the compass — is
essential to a balanced life, had not been omitted.

In 1832 Fontane was entered at the Gymnasium in New
Ruppin, but by this time he was destined for the apothecary's
calling, and in 1833 he was transferred to a technical school in
Berlin, which differed from the Gymnasium in that it offered
more science with a smaller requirement in languages. In
1836 he began apprenticeship in the Rose Apotheke in Berlin.
He did not find preparation for his proposed vocation wholly
pleasant, but the appearance from time to time of lyrics and "-
ballads of his fabrication in the Berliner Figaro, his "Leib-
und Magenblatt," added zest to life. He was, moreover,
released from a quarter-year of the customary four years of
service, ended the abbreviated period no less fortunately with
an examination only twenty minutes in length, and felt that
he had launched into life, indeed, when on the same day he
found spread upon some pages of the Figaro the opening chap- ,
ters of his first narrative, " Geschwisterliebe," followed by
the significant words "to be continued.'"

The greater part of 1840 he remained with Mr. Rose. The
Apotheke was, fortunately for him, the center of a reading
circle for modern books. His duties were not excessively
strenuous, and he writes that all he knew of Young Ger-
many he learned from the books of this circle, from which no '
one but himself cared to benefit. His introduction by a
friend of polytechnic days to the Lenau Club led to the pur-
chase of a volume of Lenau that accompanied him through
life. Through a Platen Club he was inspired with admiration

1 Cf. W, 2, II, 224, 25s, 160, 233.

XXIV

for Platen, and when after these temporary associations he
left Berlin in the autumn of 1840 for Burg, he was writing
trochees (which in later life, he confesses, he did not dare to
read) in imitation of Anastasius Griin.^

Two months of typhoid and a period of convalescence at
home interrupted his new literary aspirations. In 1841 he
took a position with an apothecary in Leipsic and a year of
important relationships ensued. Through some members of
a Schiller Club, for which he had written a satirical squib,
" Shakespeares Strumpf," he was introduced into a Herwegh
Club. Here began his acquaintance with Max Miiller, whom
he met later in England, and his warm friendship with Wil-
helm Wolfsohn, a young Jew, even at that time an authority
on Russian literature, later editor with Robert Prutz of Das
deutsche Museum and founder of the Nordische Revue.

About Easter, 1842, illness again enforced a vacation of
some weeks, after which he took a position with a Dresden
apothecary for a year. Returning to Leipsic in 1843 he
started with zeal into the study of Greek and Latin, thinking
to establish himself as a writer there. Instead, for reasons
which he does not explain, he returned home to Berlin in Oc-
tober and in the spring of 1844 presented himself as a volun-
teer for military service in the Franz Regiment. Hardly had
he done so when he applied for a furlough in order to avail
himself of an unexpected invitation from Hermann Scherz,
an old school friend of New Ruppin, for a trip of two weeks
in England. Easter of 1845 found him, nevertheless, absolved
of the duty of military service according to the original
plan, and Fontane had in addition gained impressions from
the brief experience in England which were to determine to
some extent the trend of the coming years.^

The year 1844 had been of vital importance to Fontane in
another way. Through Bernhard von Lepel, a friend of
some years' standing and an oflicer in the Franz Regiment, he
had become a member of "Der Tunnel iiber der Spree," a
Sunday afternoon literary club which flourished in Berlin

• Cf. W, 2, II, 24s, 26s, 302.
2 Cf. W, 2, II, 34S ff., 374, 383 f.

XXV

from 1827 to 1877. The Tunnel was originally a club of
dilettantes, but during the years of Fontane's membership it
had on its contributing lists a number of men who have since
made worthy additions to art or to letters. Moritz Graf
Strachwitz, Christian Friedrich Scherenberg, Emanuel Geibel,
Theodor Storm, and Paul Heyse were among the more promi-
nent creative writers. Felix Dahn, Heinrich Seidel (humorist),
Dr. Werner Hahn (literary historian), Richard Lucae (archi-
tect), Wilhelm Wolff (sculptor) were also members. Aside from
these Fontane there learned to know intimately: Wilhelm von
Merckel, always thereafter his benefactor, who gave him that
initial connection with the Literary Bureau of the Interior
without which his independent start in letters would at least
have been delayed; Dr. Franz Kugler, art historian, with
whom he later edited the Argo; Friedrich Eggers, editor of
the Deutckes Kunstblatt, who first published many of his
letters on the London stage; George- Hesekiel, whose con-
nection with the Kreuzzeitung was to be advantageous to
him; Adolf Menzel, one of the leading artists of the century,
whom he later acknowledged as a model in point of general
artistic tendency. That a man of letters in the making found
inspiration in this atmosphere goes without saying. Fon-
tane found in addition, through the fact that his work met
a certain degree of approval, just the support he needed at
that time, the confidence of men with a basis for judgment.
He had previously attempted chiefly poems of freedom in the ^
style of Herwegh, who from Leipsic days had been his pat-
tern. An independent, individual bent had not revealed
itself. Through its commendation of his ballads the Tunnel
facilitated a decision as to what trend his work should at
least temporarily take. He wrote to Storm (1854) the un-
usually frank and generous admission that he owed it to the
Tunnel that he had mounted again the nag (Gaul) on which
he belonged.'

Although literary interests were naturally from this time
constantly more and more engrossing, Fontane's purpose to

' For Fontane's full account of the Tunnel cf. "Von Zwanzig bis
Dreissig" in W, 2, III; for the letter to Storm, W, 2, X, 107.

XXVI

sustain himself as an apothecary had not yet been relin-
quished. In 1845 he served for a time in the Polnische
Apotheke, where he found a friend and literary sympathizer in
his colleague, Friedrich Witte, later for many years a member
of the Reichstag. He passed his pharmaceutical examination
in the summer of 1846, entered the Jung Apotheke in 1847,
and from June, 1848, to October, 1849, was engaged at
Bethanien Hospital in preparing nurses for the professional
examination in several required subjects. He had written
a number of Prussian historical ballads, or as he terms them,
"poetische Dichtungen im Volksliedton," ' well received in
the Tunnel, and a ballad-cycle, "Von der schonen Rosa-
munde," when in 1848 Percy's "Reliques of Ancient Poetry"
and Scott's "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border" fell into
his hands, and his own ballad impulse was strengthened.

The decision to risk an independent literary career came
near the end of 1849. In November of that year Wolfsohn
persuaded Moritz Katz in Dessau to bring out the Rosamond
cycle.^ In 1850 the Prussian ballads appeared as a book,
"Manner und Helden," the first edition of collected poems
was arranged for, and in October Fontane married Emilie
Rouanet-Kummer,* to whom he had been betrothed since
1845. He writes to Paul Schlenther (1889) in regard to this
first edition of poems that he received for it sufficient remun-
eration in advance in the summer of 1850 to buy a wedding
outfit and perhaps also to pay for the bridal carriage.^

If Fontane entered his new career with any illusory hope
of rewards that were not hard-won, it must have soon been
dispelled. He had dedicated a poem to Count Schwerin in
1849 ("An den Marzminister Graf Schwerin-Putzar ") that
was never acknowledged, and in 1851, hearing that the king
had been pleased with a certain ballad (probably "Der Tag

1 Cf. W, ■!, Ill, 204, 21.

2 Cf. "Theodor Fontane's Brief wechsel mit WUhelm Wolfsohn"
(Berlin, 1910); also below, p. 29.

» Cf. W, 2, III, 214 f., 206. — As the name Rouanet indicates, Fon-
tane chose his wife from the French colony; Kummer was the name of
her guardian and adopted father.

* W, 2, XI, 23s.

xxvu

von Hemmingstedt"), he made a petition to him for recog-
nition, to which there was no response.' Nor was the struggle
to be temporary. A large part of 1852 he spent in London in
the vain endeavor to establish in connection with the Prus-
sian ministerial press an English correspondence that would
prove lucrative. On his return his main purpose seems to
have been to make a mere living, since in addition to edi-
torial work and contributions to various journals he lectured
and gave private lessons on a diversity of subjects. The fol-
lowing year he was threatened with a severe break in health;
but in 1854 his various activities were resumed and he added
to his publications a collection of London letters, "Ein Som-
mer in London," the fruit of the English experience of two
years before. An opportunity for prolonged residence in
England came in the autumn of 1855 as a relief. In August,
1858, vonLepel joined him for a trip through Scotland, which
resulted within a year in the volume, "Jenseit des Tweed," ^
eventually also in the "Brandenburg Travels," for the silent
appeal of the Scottish Lakes to his deep-seated love for the
Mark aroused the impulse to reveal in sketches and song
the unrealized beauty of the land of his birth and the intrinsic
individual worth of its makers. In 1859 the resignation of
ManteufEel caused a somewhat summary return to Berlin;
the time of his contract was only half over,' and he found
himself under shadow of the suspicion that rested upon all
who had had even minor connection with the ministry.

His period of foreign residence had been long enough, how-
ever, to convince him that in spite of his early enthusiasm for
England, more particularly for London, he would not wish
to leave Germany permanently. From this time on he left
Berlin only for brief trips and vacation outings, and so closely

1 Cf. W, 2, X: 198 Getter to Friedrich Eggers); 33 (letter to Friedrich
Witte).

'^ This book is published under the title "Jenseit des Tweed" and is
so referred to W, 2, X, 204, footnote; it is entered in the Register to W,
2, XI, (496) as "Jenseits des Tweed" and is so referred to W, 2, VI, 98,
footnote.

' Cf. W, 2, XI, 152; W, 2, III, 139 f.; the whole English period is
treated more fully below, p. s ff-

XXVlll

is much of his work connected with the life of the Prussian
capital, that he has come to be considered the chief literary
mirror of Berlin society in the last quarter of the nineteenth
century.

In June, i860, George Hesekiel, the friend mentioned above,
in charge of the French correspondence of the Kreuzzeitung,
was instrumental in securing for him the English correspon-
dence of the same paper, and he entered upon a position,
which, although none too congenial in its requirements, made
for ten years slight demands upon him owing to a lax interest
in English affairs at that time,^ in which he enjoyed con-
sequently more leisure for his own pursuits than he had
ever known. The years resulted in his accounts of the wars
of 1864 and 1866 — after some time spent respectively in
Denmark and Bohemia — in the preliminary drafts of his
only extensive historical novel, in the collection of vast
quantities of material on the people and the traditions of
Brandenburg province, and in numerous feuilletons in different
papers entitled "Studies of the Mark," later to be collected
in the volumes, " Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg."
The diary makes a bare statemeiTt of the fact that in 1867
he received the order of the crown (Kronen orden), probably
in recognition of his book on the Danish war. But honors
that were not substantial meant little to him. The with-
drawal in 1868 of the yearly allowance of three hundred
Taler that had been granted to him by the KuUusminis-
terium left a lasting sting, which a gift of one hundred and
thirty Friedrichs dr'o by order of the king in 1869 for his volume
on the Austro-Prussian war ameliorated but did not remove.^

The next two decades of Fontane's life (1870-189^) are
those in which dramatic criticism is his basis for fixed re-
muneration. The first brought the realization of a cherished
plan in trips to Italy in 1874 and 1875, on one of which his
wife accompanied him. It was darkened to some extent —
and more than temporarily — by an attempted secretaryship

' W, 2, III, 145; cf. also below, p. 18 f.

^ Cf. W, 2, X, 296 (1872, letter to Mathilda v. Rohr); the gift mentioned
was made in two parts, 1869-70 (cf. below, p. 12, excerpt from D).

XXIX

at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1876; the unpleasantness
of extricating himself from this wholly uncongenial position
was followed by a severe strain, due to his resignation, in the
sympathetic although not always unruffled relation to his
wife, at other times in every sense the sharer in his interests
and plans, a faithful and unselfish comrade, copyist, and help-
mate.' Depression and irritation from these causes are
counterbalanced in part, however, by joy and satisfaction,
which letters both to his wife and to friends reveal, in the
development of the children,'' now growing to maturity. His
son Theodor, who developed distinct literary gifts and even
considered letters as a profession, passed with credit in 1875
the examination for university matriculation from the French
Gymnasium in Berlin, on which occasion Fontane wrote him
as follows:'

"Ich glaube nicht nur, dass Du der erste 'primus omnium' in der
Familie bist, ich bin dessen gewiss. Nach meiner nun durch vier
Generationen gehenden Kenntnis zahlt as zu den fragwtirdigen Vor-
zugen unsres Geschlechts, dass nie ein Fontane das Abiturientenexamen
gemacht, geschweige vorher di^ Stella eines primus omnium baklaidet
hat. Dar Durchschnitts-Fontana (wohin von Mutters Saite auch
Daine Vettarn gerechnat warden konnan) ist immar aus Oberquarta
abgagangan und hat sich dann weitar-gaschwindalt, das baste Tail
seiner Bildung aus Journalen dritten Ranges zusammanlesand. Ich
war schon aina Ausnahme, ein abnormer Zustand, der nun durch Dich
seinen Abschluss gefunden hat."

In 1878 the diary notes that "Theo" is preparing for the
Referendar examination and in 1878 and 1880 that Martha

1 C£. W, 2, VI and X (letters of 1874, 1875, 1876).

' Of the seven children, three died in early childhood. The other four
grew to maturity and three survive their father: the eldest son, George,
was at his death in 1887 military instructor in the Haupt-KadeUen-An-
stalt in Lichterfelde, near Berlin; Theodor has for some years been a
councillor in the Ministry of War; Martha, the "Mete" of the letters
and the devoted companion of her father's later years, is now Fr. Prof.
Fritsch of Berlin; Friedrich, the youngest son, is the well-known pub-
lisher of Berlin-Grunewald (Cf. W, 2, VI, 3, 33, 117, notes; X, 155,
note).

2 W, 2, VI, 232; cf. also, VII, 160 f.

XXX

(frequently spoken of in the letters to his wife as unusual or
gifted) has passed the teacher's examinations.

This decade was one of varied literary products. The first
part of it was devoted almost exclusively to the books on the
Franco-Prussian war, for which Fontane entertained, as the
diary shows, hope of a Gnade not in the form of title or
order, but in vain.^ The period brought also the accounts
of his personal experiences in collecting material for the war-
books and great additions to the "Brandenburg Travels."
But it is the work in historic narrative that gives distinctive
character to this decade: "Vor dem Sturm," a valuable his-
torical contribution to the understanding of the years 1812-
13, came to completion and proved the author's creative
power in animating the past, if not his feeling for the essen-
tials of compact narrative form; the Novelle, "Grete Minde,"
based on an old chronicle of Tangermiinde, shows mastery of
form with even greater plastic, imaginative and poetic power
than was revealed in "Vor dem Sturm"; "Schach von Wuthe-
now," less masterful, but a faithful mirror of the elements of
degeneration in the Prussian army before the battle of Jena,
the only other completed work in which Fontane attempted
an accurate suggestive picture of the past, was planned in this
period although not finished until 1882.

In the decade 1880-1890 many preconceived plans — among
them the " Brandenburg Travels " — were completed. Fon-
tane refused in 1882 Friedrich Bruckmann's request to write
a life of Emperor William I.'' Interest in the ballad asserted
itself strongly in 1889,'' but the period is marked particularly
by an entirely new departure, the realistic novel of Berlin
society. This genre was helped to maturity, as it seems from
its late appearance, by the prolonged study of localities and
people devoted to the "Brandenburg Travels," and by the
conviction repeatedly expressed in the dramatic criticism that
art needed to draw closer to life. "L'Adultera" and "Cecile"
aroused discussion but were not triumphantly convincing.
"Irrungen, Wirrungen" proved, however, to the younger

' Cf. W, 2, X, 380.

» Cf. W, 2, XI, 64 f., 19s f.

XXXI

generation of seekers after new literary form and method that
their iconoclasm should not be universal, that the lines of
their search led out, in fact, from the independent artistic
conception of this mature writer in their midst who had al-
ready embodied in artistic form a related ideal. "Stine"
followed in this style. "Graf Petofy" (not a story of Berlin
life), begun in these years, carried this impulse into the 90's,
where some of its best products lie.

In Fontane's family life this was a period of various changes.
His two older sons married, his first grandchild was born, and
in 1887 his eldest son died.*

The years following 1890 do not round out a full ten in
number, but their fruition is such as the previous decade
promised. Many honors came to Fontane at last after long
years of somewhat sparing recognition. The festive celebra-
tion of his seventieth birthday ushered in the period, bringing
with it, because of his dislike of ceremony, more of unrest
and depression than of satisfaction. In January, 1890, the
Vossische Zeitung settled a welcome pension upon him in
appreciation of his long and faithful service as theater-critic.
He was one of the recipients of the Schiller prize in 1891 in
the absence of dramatists equally worthy of recognition. In
1894 the university of Berlin conferred an honorary doctorate
upon him.* Various new editions of former works appeared,
and two of his books were brought out in translation.'
Nothing seems to have given him as great satisfaction, how-
ever, as the appreciation which Julius Rodenberg expressed of
the honor that his name brought to the Deutsche Rundschau.
In addition to his own words of regard Rodenberg wrote him
that Conrad Ferdinand Meyer considered " Unwiederbring-
lich" the best novel in point of art form that the Rundschau
had ever published and commended it further for delicate
psychological treatment, life-likeness, and its ever-present
touch of poetry. Fontane's reply was that he had waited

' Cf. W, 2, VII, 134 f., 136 f., 141 f-, IS4, IS7 f.
' Cf. W, 2, XI, 242, 262 f., 332 (and note).

' Cf. above, p. xvi; the diary notes also (1871) in regard to "Kriegs-
gefangen": "Macht Gluck, wird unter anderm ins Russische iibersetzt."

XXXll

a life-time, or at any rate since 1876, when he resigned his
position at the Academy of Arts, for such recognition, "und
es woUte nicht kommen. . . . Nun, im Erfullungsmoment
'muss wohl- ein armer Teufel sterben.'" '

But other laurels awaited him. This, too, was a period of
undiminished productivity. Different phases of work reached
their zenith: the realistic novel touched with romanticism,
in "EflS Briest"; the satiric narrative of the Berlin bourgeoisie,
in "Frau Jenny Treibel"; the ripe character study set against
a political background, in the last narrative, "Der Stechlin."
Besides, new poems and ballads appeared, and volumes of
autobiography and reminiscence rounded out for posterity a
life of constant, keen, but sane interest, and courageous in-
dustry. These done, Fontane contemplated a return to the
"gods of earlier years," to romance and studies of Branden-
burg. He wrote with enthusiasm of prospective work on East-
Frisian material, "Die Likedeeler," that he had picked up in
the course of a summer outing ten years before; again, Sep-
tember 17, 1898, of a plan to treat "Das Landchen Friesack
und die Bredows," for which he had been collecting material
since 1889.^ These and a number of other works were found
in his desk in various stages of completion when death sur-
prised him three days later. They bear evidence that in
spite of his seventy-nine years his creative faculty was as
fresh as his humor and his sympathy with youth.

' W, i, XI, 259 f.; cf. also, 340!.

^ Cf. W, 2, XI, 344 f., 472 £.; also, 499 (Register).

THEODOR FONTANE
AS A CRITIC OF THE DRAMA

CHAPTER I

Conditions Attending Fontane's Criticism
OF THE Drama

"Das Lehen ist nie langweilig und in seiner kiinstlerischen Darstellung
am wenigsten." (Theodor Fontane — June 21, 1878.)'

The only point from which to reach a just estimate of any
result is that which keeps in view two things: the purpose
of the producer, and the conditions under which he worked.
These fundamental restrictions have perhaps more than or-
dinary bearing upon Theodor Fontane's dramatic criticism.
He was not a critic who wandered at will in the highways
and by-ways of books. The impelling force of earning a
comfortable livelihood for himself and his family was always
behind him. Only in his creative work — the poems, bal-
lads, novels, and prose tales — did he enjoy a certain freedom
from transmuting into material maintenance the opportunity
which the moment offered; and that degree of freedom,
which he enjoyed there, he earned in large part in the servi-
tude of occasional criticism.

The business of making literature for the sake of daily
bread was distasteful to him, as to all men of creative bent.
The feverish quest of news was not his idea of journalism.^

' L — From Berlin to his wife.

* Dec. 5, 1855, he wrote to his wife (i) from London: "Zum Teil
bleiben wir auch mit allerneuesten Nachrichten, die uns so rasch nicht

But the new announcements in the publishers' lists, current
events, and his own more serious literary pursuits always
prescribed his reading to a great extent. He writes to Ma-
thilde von Rohr (Jan. 1869) that it is necessarily confined
to the work he has in hand.^ In thanking Wilhelm Hertz
(Dec. 1878) for Heyse's translation of Giacomo Leopardi he
writes that it is beautiful without and within, but that he
leafed it through with pain, not on Leopardi's account, but
for purely egoistic reasons, since in the treadmill of service
and daily work he cannot even read that sort of book, except
in summer, when for a few weeks he turns his back upon
regular pursuits.^

zugiinglich sind, hinter unseren Rivalen zuriick; lauter UmstSnde, die
Dr. Metzels Laune eben nicht golden machen. — Die Sache liegt nam-
lich so. Ich bin nie und nimmer der Meinung gewesen, dass es uns
glticken wiirde, hinsichtlich neuester Nachrichten mit unseren CoUegen
concurriren zu konnen, ja, ich habe im Oktober eigens erklart, dass das
unmoglich sei. Ich habe die Ansicht gehabt, dass es sich um die Ver-
fechtung und Vertretung eines Prinzips handle, und dass es daraut an-
komme, verniinftige, wohl uberlegte Dinge zu sagen, aber es war mir
fremd, dass eine Hetzjagd in Bezug au£ Neuigkeiten angestellt warden
soil."

' W, 2, X, 258 f.

* W, 2, X, 396. — Various diary entries also show that browsing was
a luxury to Fontane. From 1872, for example, there is a paragraph
indicating that the range of his reading had previously excluded much,
known certainly to men of letters and to many casual readers as well:

"Meine Lekture von Neujahr bis Ende Marz war Willibald Alexis.
Im April — zur Unterbrechung meiner Kriegsbuch-Arbeit — schrieb ich
einen biographisch-kritischen Aufsatz uber W. Alexis fiir Rodenbergs
'Salon.' Ende Mai reiste Emilie nach Neuhof; am 6. Juli ich und der
ganze Haushalt nach Krummhubel. Sehr schone Zeit. Viel gelesen:
Heinrich von Kleists sammtliche Dramen und Erzahlungen, Jean Pauls
Katzenbergers Badereise, Achim von Arnims Essay uber Volkslieder und
die Kronenwachter."

From 1873 there is another of similar character:

"Im Juli auf 7 Wochen nach Gross Tabartz in Thuringen. ... In
Tabartz viel gelesen: Tristram Shandy, Sentimental Journey, Schopen-
hauer, Schiller-Goethe Briefwechsel."

From 1877 there is an entry indicating that even vacation reading had
a definite purpose behind it.

What may be termed Fontane's real activity in the line of
dramatic criticism falls into two periods of very unequal
length. The first is the period of his residence in London
as official correspondent ' for the Preussische Zeitung and Die
Zeit, organs of the Prussian Ministry, and belongs to the
first decade of his independent literary life, when he was
known — and by no means widely — only as a writer of
ballads and other verse.^ "Die Londoner Theater," reports
on Shakspere as produced on the London stage, were origi-
nally some of the feuilletons' on English conditions contri-
buted (1855-1859) to home papers. The second is the period
of reports for the Vossische Zeitung on the Royal Theater of
Berlin and covers, with but two short breaks, a sweep of
almost twenty years (1870-1889). At its beginning his
"Wanderungen" and the books on the Danish war (1864)
and the Austro-Prussian war (1866) had already added to the
reputation of the ballad-writer. At its end he had gained
distinct popularity as "Brandenburg Traveler," and had
added to his literary achievements success in the realistic
novel. He did not yet occupy that unique position which he
held a year later * as the sole representative of his own literary
generation honored by the young iconoclast stage reformers,
Holz, Schlaf, Gerhart Hauptmann, Otto Brahm, and Paul

"Juni und Jxdi war ich sehr fleissig und beendigte den 3. Band meines
Romans, war nun aber so herunter, dass ich aus Berlin fortmusste. Ich
ging in den Harz. In Thale (auf Partien, die totlich langweilig sind,
verzichtete ich) machte ich die Correctur des 3. Bandes und beschrankte
mich darauf, um s Uhr Nachmittage in den 'Waldkater' zu gehen und
hier bei Thee und Milch und wahrend die Bode unmittelbar in meinem
Riicken brauste, Walter Scott zu lesen und zwar den 'Alterthumler.'"

The novel referred to here is "Vor dam Sturm," which appeared in
1878. In 1866 he said that he had had the material in mind for ten
years, and spoke of dependence on Scott in a general way in his work
upon it (W, 2, X, 246, 252; cf. also Appendix, creative work, 1863).

1 W, 2, VI, I.

' Cf. Appendix, previous to 1855.

» W, 2, VIII, 4SS-

* Erich Schmidt, "Theodor Fontane. Ein Nachruf" {Deutsche Rund-
schau, Nov. 1898, 270-283).

Schlenther; but his work in realistic narrative and his ap-
preciative criticisms of Ibsen's technic had prepared the way
for this distinction.

In addition to the criticism in fulfilment of definite obliga-
tions through a period of almost two score years, both letters
and feuilletons flowed freely from his pen. The most lengthy
discussions of drama found in the letters are with reference
to the Free Stage, but many other bits are of importance
because of the spontaneity for which Fontane's letters stand.
The vast number of scattered feuilletons come into considera-
tion only in a limited way, since they were in large part on
subjects not connected with drama. In all, the dramatic
criticism represents a development of thirty-five years, begin-
ning with what is usually considered the prime of life, closing
when Fontane's own creative power had, in spite of his
seventy years, not yet reached its zenith. Because of this
continuity and the rare phenomenon of his late development,
there is no other single line of his work and interest that
affords as complete a basis for judging his general growth
in esthetic conviction as this.

For the early dramatic criticism, spasmodic in nature as
compared with the later work, a clear perspective is best
secured through a review of some of the facts of Fontane's
life from 1850 to i860. He married in October, 1850, on the
prospect of a position in the Literary Bureau of the Ministry
of the Interior.^ His autobiographical sketches, which reach
only to this point, close, however, with the statement that
"after a month and a half his whole ecomonic basis, the
Literary Bureau, was in the air, and he again upon a stormy
sea."

The year 1851 was difficult. He writes to Friedrich Witte: ^

"Fast entschlossen bin ich, mich nicht zu verkaufen und werde
mich weder durch Not noch durch Tranen davon abbringen lassen;
schlimmstenfalls muss ich sehen, als Abschreiber oder iiberhaupt als
HandsLiheittT mein Bret zu verdienen."

' W, -2, III, 294, 299.
' W, 2, X, 38 f.

In February, 1852, shortly before leaving to try his for-
tunes in London, he wrote to Wolfsohn, advising him against
Berlin.^ Competition, he says, is incredible, and exceeded
only by a niggardliness in praise and recognition that de-
prives one of the spirit necessary for existence.

London conditions, too, were by no means encouraging.^
He had been sent to England on an indefinite arrangement,
and the publications he represented kept him unsettled in
regard to the future.' He seems to have received no fixed
salary for his work in the beginning. A letter of July 20
reveals the fact that through a successful interview on the
part of his wife with Dr. Quehl, the press manager in Berlin,
they were again assured of the 40 Reichstaler, on the pros-
pect of which they had married. Nevertheless Fontane ex-
pressed very decidedly the wish to remain temporarily in
England, and considered various means to make this possible
on a basis independent of the ministerial press. Bunsen,
the Prussian ambassador at the English court, attempted to
secure a professorship for him at Cambridge or Oxford.* A

• "Theodor Fontanes Brief wechsel mit Wilhelm Wolfsohn" (Berlin
1910), 92.

' Yet the exhilaration lacking in Berlin he seems to have found at
first in London. He wrote to his wife {L — dated, 2. Pfingsttag; the
year is omitted, but the letter was with those of 1852 and agrees with
them in content): "Man stiirze sich in diesen Menschenstrudel, der sich
London nennt, und die Seele kehrt frisch, wie aus einem Bade, immer
wieder zu ihrem Tagewerk zuriick." — Again (d. 14. Juni, 1854): " Ich
hatte dir London gern gezeigt; denn wiewohl mir nicht allzuviel hier ge-
gluckt ist, bleib' ich doch nach wie vor dabei: es ist das Grosste was
diese Erde hat."

' He wrote to his wife {L — July 12, 1852): "Ich dachte mal ein
anerkennendes oder zustimmendes Wort tiber meine Artikel zu horen,
statt dessen steht in jedem Briefe: sie sind noch nicht gedruckt. Auf
der anderen Seite kann ich mir wieder nicht denken, dass man sie
absolut unbedeutend findet, man wurde sonst bereits Anstalten getroSen
haben, mich von hier abzuberufen. . . . Im Uebrigen ist mein Geld
total consumirt, da ich von Mr. Hudson noch nichts erhalten habe und
mich weder melden kann noch mag. . . . Ich hoSe, dass du im Stande
bist, mir was zu schicken."

* W, 2, VI, 12, 17-25.

6

school position was also hoped for,* and as a last resort he
considered the possibility of establishing himself on a secure
basis as an apothecary." But all these plans failed, and he
finally returned home in November to take up his earlier
position on the staff of the Preussische Zeitung, supplement-
ing this activity with lessons in the English language and
courses of lectures on English literature and his experience
and impressions in England.

In September, 1855, he was sent back to London to es-
tablish a German-English correspondence for the promotion
(Unterstiitzung) of Prussian political interests. This stay
lasted till January, 1859, broken only by brief visits home in
the fall of 1856 and the spring of 1857.' The first year and
a half — the period of the Shakspere reports — was again a
time of unrest, of strenuous demands and anxious uncer-
tainty as to the permanency of the new undertaking.* In
January, 1857, conditions improved. There was an increase
in salary, and in July his family joined him for the remainder

' He writes to his wife {L — August 23, 1852): "Die Sachen stehen
in diesem Augenblick wieder gut. Es ist sehr leicht moglich, dass ich
an der City School (eine Art Gymnasium) deutscher Lehrer werde mit
wenigstens $o£ jahrlich Gehalt. . . . Das Eine halte fast, wenn auch
wieder mein HoSen und Harren hier umsonst sein sollte — das Geld ist
nicht weggeschmissen."

2 W, 2, VI, 27 f.

' W, 2, VI, 36, 66, 90.

* He writes to his wife (Z. — Dec. 5, 1855): "Ich habe schon manch-
mal in meinem Leben gearbeitet, aber die gegenwartige Biiffelei ubertrifft
alles. . . . Jetzt gehoren auch die Sonntage der Arbeit (Redactions-
Briefe, Buchfiihrung, Lektiire der Sonntagsblatter etc.) und von Besuch
eines Theaters ist gar nicht mehr die Rede. Glaube nicht, dass das
dem Geiste Nahrung gibt, dass man irgend etwas dabei lernt; man wird
flinker, luiegt Routine, das ist alles; im Uebrigen wird man jeden Tag
mit Gottes und der Zeitungen Hilfe diimmer. So liegen die Sachen,
nicht eben erbaulich. Es gabe doch ein Zauberwort, das alles doch aus
Grau in Rosa zu farben; wenn Metzel schriebe: 'ich bin mit Ihrer
letzten Wochenarbeit zufrieden; ich soil Ihnen gleichzeitig die Aner-
kennung des Ministerprasidenten ausdriicken; einzelne Zeitungen fangen
an regelmSssig Ihre Correspondenz zu benutzen; wir sind entschlossen
es ein Jahr lang fortzusetzen; schreiben Sie Ihrer Familie, dass es Zeit
sei zur Uebersiedlung etc' Aber solch Brief wird nicht eintreffen."

of his stay.i But the reports on the London theaters took
first form against the darker background.^

The mere fact that Fontane collected and rearranged these
reports a year and a half after the first writing shows that his

> W. 2, VI, 76, 91-

• Again letters to his wife bear testimony (These excerpts are all
from L; the only reference to the Shakspere reports in the published
letters occurs in a letter to Friedrich Eggers, August 31, 1857, in regard
to the publication of an article on Macbeth — W, 2, X, 176 f.):

Sept. 16, 1855: ■ ■ . "Mit Muhe rappelte ich mich gegen 5 Uhr heraus
und trottete bis weit in die Oxford-Strasse hinein, wo in einer Quer-
gasse, auf einer BUhne 2ten oder 3ten Ranges, Shakespeares Kichard III
aufgefuhrt wurde. Es war die letzte Vorstellung, und wenn ich sie nicht
sah, so war sie mir fiir immer verloren. . . . Ich werde nun auf einer
3ten und wenn ich Gluck habe auf einer 4ten Vorstadt-Buhne, Shake-
spearesche Stiicke auffuhren sehen und dann 3 oder 4 Briefe uber diesen
Gegenstand an's Kunstblatt schicken."

Feb. 13, 1857: . . . "Wenn ich dazu komme, diesem Briefe einen Auf-
satz iiber den 'Sommernachtstraum' beizulegen, so sei so freundlich,
denselben uoch am selben Tage oder spatestens am Dienstag abzuschrei-
ben. . . . Wenn die Kreuz-Zeitung es dann nicht druckt oder vielleicht
es kiirzt, so hab' ich dann doch Deine Abschrift. Ich will namlich einen
grosseu Aufsatz fiber die Shakespeare- Auf fuhrungen in London schreiben,
^hnlich wie fiber die Wochenblatter."

Feb. 20, 1857: . . . "Zunachst bitte ich Dich die Aufsatze herauszu-
schicken, die ich im Herbst 55 fur's Kunstblatt von hier aus geschrieben
habe i) fiber Heinrich VIII, 2) Richard III, 3) Hamlet und 4) Sturm."
Reference is to the Deutsches Kunstblatt, Zeitschrift fiir bildende Kunst,
Baukunst und Kunstwerke, Organ der Kunstvereine von Deutschland. It
was published in Berlin as a Thursday weekly, and edited by Friedrich
Eggers, a friend of Fontane. Fontane's letters on the London theaters
appeared anonymously in the supplement, Literatur Blatl, under the
general title "Shakespere auf der modernen englischen Buhne" as
follows:

Nov. 1, i8ss, Erster Brief — Heinrich VIII im Prinzess-Theater.
Nov. IS, 185s, Zweiter Brief — Richard III im Soho-Theater.
Nov. 29, 1855, Dritter Brief — Hamlet im Sadlers- Wells-Theater.
Dec. 27, 1855, Vierter Brief — Der Sturm im Sadlers- Wells-Theater.
Oct. 2, 1856, Funfter Brief — Antonius und Cleopatra.
Apr. 16, 1857, Sechster Brief — Die beiden Edelleute von Verona — im
Sadlers- Wells Theater. Siebenter Brief — Konig Heinrich IV (Erster
Teil).
Apr. 30, 1857, Achter Brief — Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor; — Die

Komiidie der Irrungen.
June II. 1857, Neunter Brief — Coriolan.

interest in the subject, a comparison of German and English
methods in presenting the Shaksperean plays, continued.
Yet there is no evidence other than this that he attached
any great importance to this work. In presenting the ma-
terial to the pu'blic a second time, he makes no claim for
it and that of the companion essays except its treatment
of comparatively new themes.' Comparison with the book
form shows that the letters on the theater, as printed in the
Literatur Blatt, had in some places been greatly abbreviated.
The content, in so far as given in both, is, however, largely
identical, and the point of departure for the criticism of the
individual plays is never changed. The chief difference lies
in the fact that in the combined essay the performances are
treated — for the sake of unity — under the subdivisions of
the several theaters, as the main title, "Die Londoner The-
ater," would suggest. Fontane attributes the appearance of
the new volume to his desire to rescue his honest efforts from
the oblivion that is the usual fate of newspaper articles;
but it is with the admission that there is always involved in
the revival of such things the question whether form and
content justify giving them new life or whether the decree
must be to let the dead rest.

His attitude toward his prose work in general was in the
early years one of indifference. In 1849, when he decided
at all costs upon a literary career, he took his stand, in spite
of discouragingly small receipts, on the basis of verse in the
main.^ He argued that if he wrote a poem, he added the
poem to his possessions at least, that a poem that was only

' W, 2, VIII, 4SS. This introduction was written for the volume,
"Aus England (Studien und Brief e uber Londoner Theater, Kunst und
Presse),'' which appeared in i860. It included in addition to the divi-
sion on the London stage, a lengthy report of the Manchester Art Ex-
hibition, a chapter on the London weeklies and one on the dailies. The
section on art gives attention to Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Gains-
borough; the historic painters with emphasis on Benjamin West; the
genre-painters, especially David Wilkie and Landseer; the landscape
artists, with emphasis upon Turner. All of these subjects are connected,
therefore, with the reference to new themes.

' W, 2, III, 291 f.

9

fair was worth something, whereas an essay was likely never
to be wanted; but at the bottom of his reasoning lay, of
course, a deep-seated preference for verse. He had, too, the
conviction that his natural gift was in this line, although he
was conscious that he lacked the lyric temperament which
makes a great poet.' As late, indeed, as 1882, he wrote to
his wife of the comparative value of his early prose and
verse: ^

"Ich sehe jetzt klar ein, dass ich eigentlich erst beim 7oer Kriegs-
buche und dann bei dam Schreiben meines Romans ein Schrift-
steller geworden bin; d. h. ein Mann, der sein Metier als eine
Kunst betreibt, als eine Kunst, deren Anforderungen er kennt. . . .
In poetischen Dingen hab' ich die Erkenntnis 30 Jahre friiher gehabt
als in der Prosa; daher lese ich meine Gedichte mit Vergniigen oder
doch ohne Verlegenheit, wahrend meine Prosa aus derselben Zeit
mich bestandig geniert und erroten macht."

On the other hand, it was characteristic of Fontane not to
underestimate his work. One of the chief sustaining forces
in his struggle in the literary world was confidence in his
ability. He writes to his wife from London concerning the
anxiety he notes in his mother's letters in regard to his
future.'

"Die gute Alte schreibt mir so herzlich, so liebevoU, so opfer-
bereit, wie immer; dennoch hat ihre stete Hoffnungslosigkeit nicht
nur was Niederdriickendes sondem auch was Verletzendes. Ich bin

' W, 2, X, 107 f. He wrote to Storm (Feb. 14, 1854): "Das Lyrische
ist sicherlich meine schwachste Seite, besonders dann, wenn ich aus mir
selber und nicht aus einer von mir geschaSenen Person heraus, dies und
das zu sagen versuche."

W, 2, VI, 81. He wrote to his wife (Jan. 8, 1857): "Ich bin gewiss
eine dichterische Natur, mehr als tausend andre, die sich selber anb6ten,
aber ich bin keine grosse und keine reiche Dichternatur. Es drippelt
nur so. Der einzelne Tropfen mag ganz gut und klar sein; aberes ist
und bleibt nur ein Tropfen, kein Strom, auf dem die Nationen fahren
und hineinsehn in die Tiefe und in das himmlische Sonnenlicht, das sich
drin spiegelt."

" W, 2, VII, 17 f.

' L — June 14, 1852.

10

nicht in der Laune, hier auf meinem Stubchen den Frahler zu spielen,
und fuhle in Demut, dass man ohne Gottes Beistand immer verloren
ist. Aber nach menschlicher Berechnung liegt kein Grund vor, warum
ich zum Verhungern ausersehen sein soil. Ich weiss wie viel mir
fehlt, aber ich weiss auch, dass ich in der langen Reihe derer, die
von ihrer Feder und ihren Kenntnissen leben, lange nicht der
diimmste und erbarmlichste bin."

There is evidence also, that his contributions to the papers
were "ehrliche Arbeit,"^ and that he himself held them supe-
rior to the daily mass of feuilletonistic work.*

"Seit dem laten hab' ich in der Tat fur die Vossin nicht mehr
geschrieben. Ich argerte mich uber einige dumme Bemerkungen
und muss noch jetzt sagen, dass ich ein Recht dazu hatte. Ich
kann mich nicht mehr wie den ersten hasten kleinen Kriiger trak-
tiren lassen. Ich verlange, dass eine Redaktion den Unterschied
fiihlt und anerkennt, der zwischen einem Feuilleton von mir und den
gewohnlichen Machwerken (einzelne gliinzende Ausnahmen gem zuge-
geben) existiert und wenn sie das nicht kann oder will, so passen wir
nicht zusammen."

Moreover, the subject involved gave the work value; the
opportunity to see Shakspere in England was unusual and
constituted no small factor in the advantages ofEered by the
foreign experience. Although Fontane took a pharisaic at-
titude on the whole toward things academic, because of their
deadening influence upon personality, yet he realized that his
tools were none too well whetted for the vocation he had
chosen. His best training had been as an apothecary. He
had taken his place behind the prescription counter early,
and entertained afterward a plan that did not prove feasible
for returning to the school desk.' He welcomed the stay in

' Cf. W. n, VI, 76 (1856); Fontane used the term "ehrliche Arbeit"
in his introduction to "Die Londoner Theater" (i860); cf. W, 2, VIII,
455-

' i — This letter is not dated, but is with those to Mrs. Fontane and
follows immediately one of July 25, 1856. The published letters for
this month and year throw no light upon the opening sentence of the
excerpt.

' " Brief wechsel" (Wolfsohn), 16 (1843).

11

England, therefore, as a life-apprenticeship,' and in this edu-
cation, somewhat novel for that time, it is the performances
of Shakspere that call forth his greatest enthusiasm. He
writes:^

"Die Shakespeare- Vorstellungen interessieren mich lebhaft und
ich habe die ganze Woche Brief e iiber die Auffiihrungen des 'Ham-
let' und des 'Sturm' geschrieben. Heute Abend sehe ich den
'Othello' in einem Vorstadttheater. Noch andere Vorstellungen
stehen in Aussicht. Diese Theaterabende sind das beste, was ich
bisjetzt gehabt habe."

The fact that he planned to unite all the reports a year
and a half later, and finally brought them out in book form
the year after he returned to Berlin, indicates not only that
his interest continued, but that he regarded this part of his
work as one of the most valuable fruits of the English period.

Fontane's regular work as critic began ten years later,
when he was engaged by the Vossiche Zeitung to report on
the Royal Stage. His work opened with an account of "Wil-
helm Tell," given on August 17, 1870, the day after the

' He wrote to his wife from London {L — June 14, 1852): "Das
Leben hier ist grossartig, anregend und lehrreich im hochsten Maasse,
ist aber zu gleicher Zeit auch ungemiitlich, und gelegentlich sogar
trostlos und niederdiuckend. . . . Es entbehrt wahrer Herzlichkeit
und Gemiitlichkeit, die am Ende fur einen Deutschen keine Luxus-
artikel sind — aber es ware ungeiecht solch Leben deshalb ein schlechtes
und trauriges zu nennen. . . . Es wiirde trostlos sein, so immer leben zu
miissen, aber auf Monate, die noch dazu eine Schulzeit sein sollen, ist es
am Ende auszuhalten, wenn man nicht eine besonders dicke Sentimen-
talitats-Ader im Leibe hat. Ich bin zu Zeiten sehr traurig gewesen, aber
nie weil ich mich in meiner Isoliertheit kreuz-ungliicklich gefuhlt hatte,
sondern immer nur, wenn mich die Furcht anwandelte: 'am Ende ist
alles vergeblich gewesen und Du kehrst nach Berlin gerad' so zuruck wie
Du weggegangen bist — ein Halbgelehrter oder noch weniger.' Die
Furcht mag in meinen Briefen mit durchgeschimmert und dem Ganzen
das Ansehen gegeben haben, als ging' es mir schlecht; die Wahrheit von
der Sache war aber die: ich fuhlte mich schlecht; nicht Aeusserliches
fehlte mir, sondern nur Hoffnung und Mut lagen in mir danieder."

2 To his wife from London (L — Oct. 27, 1855).

12

triumph of the Germans at Vionville. The one all-consuming
interest — the war — dulled enthusiasm for dramaturgy, and
only weekly reports followed up to the middle of September.^
Fontane had in the meantime been commissioned to write
a book on the war, and left for the scene of action Sep-
tember 27, only to be arrested as a spy soon after by the
French. He was released late in November to find that his
experience had gained him not a little newspaper-fame, and
resumed his theater reports on December 14th.''

' According to a, statement in script entered by Fontane in the collec-
tion made by him of his criticisms as they had appeared in the daily
papers — (cf. above, p. xvii).

2 The date of resuming this work is again entered by him by hand in
his folio-collection of his criticisms. Various letters referring to his ex-
perience in France are found, W, 2, VI. The request for a third war-
book came to him from R. v. Decker (W, 2, VI, 174, 184), printer in
ordinary to the court. Decker had published the earlier war-books of
Fontane also, and these had had some recognition from the throne, as
the following entry in the diary under the general heading "1870"
shows:

"Geh. Rath Hahn eroberte mir eine Unterstutzung seitens des Mini-
sters des Innern; die Voss. Ztng. engagierte mich, an des alten Gubitz
Stelle, als Referenten fiber die Koniglichen Schauspiele. Anfang Juli
Uberreichte Geh. Kab. Rath v. Wilmowski S. M. dem Konige den 2.
Halbband meines 66er Kriegsbuches, wofur ich abermals ein Geschenk
von so Friedrichsd'or erhielt. Es brachte grosse Freude ins Haus und
heiteren Sinnes reisten wir, die Wohnung zuschliessend, am 12. Juli
von hier ab, um 4 Wochen in Warnemunde zuzubringen. Aber schon
am 15. erfolgte die Kriegserklarung Frankreichs. Ein ungeheurer Larm
brach los, dessen Wellen wir selbst in dem stillen Warnemunde ver-
spiirten."

That Fontane did not wish to sever his connection with V. Z. through
the absence necessitated by the quest of material for his new book is
evident from a stray letter found among the unpublished letters to the
family. It is uncertain to whom this was addressed, probably — in the
opinion of Mr. Friedrich Fontane — to Dr. Herm. Kletke, editor-in-
chief of V. Z. It reads:

"Besanfon d. 25. Oktober, 1870.

Hochgeehrter Herr Doctor.

Sie werden moglicherwise schon wissen, dass ich in Domremy, zu
Filssen der Jungfrau von Orleans, verhaftet worden und von Ort zu Ort
geschafft worden bin bis hierher. Ich hoSe hier auf Freiheit; das
Zunglein in der Wage hat lange geschwankt und erst seit gestem steht

13

The only other break of any considerable length in his
long period of service as critical reporter occurred five years
later, when through the kind offices of personal friends in-
terested in art he was made first secretary of the Academy
of Arts in Berlin. The position did not prove to his taste
and he resigned it after a few months to resume independent
literary pursuits and the reports on the theater.'

es fest, dass ich nach Roche-sur-Yon, einer Stadt von etwa 9000 Ein-
wohnern in der Vendue, geschafft werden soil."

"Ich habe ein Sentiment, dass der Friede ziemlich nahe ist und mochte
deshalb den Wunsch ausgesprochen haben, dass mir die Berichterstat-
tung iiber die K. Schauspiele verbleibt; es wird nicbt schwer halten einen
Stellvertreter zu finden. Dazu kommt, dass das Theater, so lange der
Krieg dauert, nur ein untergeordnetes Interesse bietet. Geht dies aber
alles nicht, oder hegen Sie die Ansicht, dass der Friede noch weit sein
kann, so werd' ich es allerdings nur begreiflich finden konnen, wenn Sie
sich nach einem andern Berichterstatter umsehen."

' The diary entry (under 1876) concerning this position at the
Academy of Arts is as follows: "Am 15. Januar fragte mich Zoellner,
auf einer grossen Reunion bei Heydens, ob ich wohl geneigt sein wurde,
an Stelle des jiingst verstorb. Prof. Gruppe, die Stelle eines ersten
Sekretairs der Akademie der Kiinste anzunehmen? Ich sagte 'ja.'
Lucae focht darauf die Sache durch, und am 6. Marz, nachdem
ich unmittelbar vorher meine Bestallung erhalten hatte, wurde ich in
mein neues Amt eingefiihrt. Ich fand es von Anfang an miserabel,
schleppte mich aber bis Ende Mai hin, wo mir der Geduldsfaden riss.
Ich hatte eine Scene im Senat, und reichte am andern Tage meinen
Abschied ein. Nach langen, langweiligen und kamp feieichen Wochen, in
denen ich die Menschennatur nicht von ihrer glanzendsten Seite kennen
lernte, erhielt ich am ■^. August meine Entlassung, die schon am 17. Juli
vom Kaiser bewiUigt war. . . . Am i. Nov. fing ich an, energisch an
meinem Roman zu arbeiten, nachdem ich am i . Okt. wieder als Referent
fiir das K. Theater bei der Vossin eingetreten war. . . . Eine Reise
machte ich in diesem Jahre nicht, weder Zeit, noch Geld, noch Stimmung
waren dazu vorhanden." (For further reference to ZoUner and Lucae,
cf. W, 2, VI, 141, 142; X and XI. The novel referred to here is
"Vor dem Sturm" — cf. above, p. 2, n. 2.)

In addition to this break in Fontane's criticism due to the temporary
secretaryship at the Academy of Arts, there were briefer intermissions
almost yearly due to variable health. Physical limitations had to be
combated throughout his whole career. As early as 1853 he wrote to
Wolfsohn that a cough of six months' persistence had ranked him as a
tubercular. (" Brief wechsel, " 105). In 1861 he writes of a long period

14

The letters on the London stage have at least this advan-
tage over the work of the later period that the choice of sub-
ject is not only spontaneous, but based solely on deep interest
in the master-poet of Avon. The list of plays upon which
the later reports are made shows/ on the contrary, that the

of ill health during which his work suffered (W, 2, VI, 116). The years
1882 and 1883 were particulariy unfruitful because of illness (W, .s,
VII, i). Excerpts from the diary for 1870, 1873, and 1877 are re-
spectively as follows:

"Bis Mitte Februar verging alles leidlich, dann wurde ich krank,
eine bose, endlose Grippe, eine wahre Geduldsprobe, die mich iiber 10
Wochen lang zu jeder Arbeit unfahig machte.''

"Die Wintermonate vergehen wie gewohnlich, unter Arbeit, Gesell-
schaftsmajonaise und Krankheit."

"Am 13. Jan., wieder auf einem Heydenschen Ball, erkrankte ich und
war ein paar Wochen lang am Arbeiten gehindert. Dann hielt ich mich
bis Ende Marz und beendigte in dieser Zeit den 2. Band meines Romans.
Nun aber kam Krankheit; ich wurde recht elend und war erst Mitte
Mai wieder leidlich im Gange."

' The following averages are based on data (1871-1889) concerning
the Royal Theater of Berlin from " Statistischer Riickblick auf die Konig-
lichen Theater zu Berlin, Hannover, Cassel und Wiesbaden, 1867-1881,
1882-1889" (Berlin, Druck von A. W. Hayns Erben). In making up these
averages the years 1870 and 1876 have been omitted entirely, since they
were years of little critical activity on Fontane's part. The greater
number of inferior playwrights have been omitted from the following list
altogether, if their hold upon the repertoire of the Royal Stage was
either strictly ephemeral, spasmodic, or persistently so small as to be
practically negligible.

Average no. of performances yearly, 280-290, not including opera.

Average no. of plays presented yearly, 82, ranging from 51-110.

Bauernfeld, Eduard von, 2-14 performances yearly, 15 yrs.

Benedix, Roderich, average of 20 performances yearly (4-10 plays),
i8 yrs.; lowest no. (11), 1883; highest (50), 1871.

Birch-Pfeiffer, Charlotte, i-io performances yearly, 18 yrs.

Brachvogel, Albert E., average of s performances yearly, 16 yrs.;
1874, 19; "Narziss" given every year 1878-1888.

Byron, "Manfred" given 4 times, 1877.

Calderon, 2-5 performances yearly, s yrs. (last 3 yrs. consecutive).

Erckmann-Chatrian, "Die Rantzau" given 25 times, 1883, and 3-6
times each year after, except 1886.

Freytag, Gustav, average of 4 performances yearly, r8 yrs.; 1886, 15.

Geibel, Emanuel, 2-6 performances yearly, 1 883-1 888.

15

chaff in the provender offered the critic could tend only to
choke critical zest. A greater number of the performances

Gensichen, Otto F., average of 6 performances yearly, 14 yrs.; 1881, 23.

Goethe, 236 performances in all: average, 13 yearly, i8 yrs.; 1887, 20.

Gottschall, Rudolf von, 3-7 performances yearly, 5 yrs. (between 1872
and 1879).

GriUparzer, Franz, average of 3 performances yearly, 10 yrs.

Gutzkow, Karl F., 2-8 performances yearly, 12 yrs.; "Uriel Acosta,"
9 times in 1879 and from 2-4 times almost every year after.

Hebbel, Friedrich, 2 performances, 1874.

Heyse, Paul, rare up to 1882; after that, average of 12 performances
yearly, ranging 6-32; "Die Weisheit Salomos," 21 times, 1888.

Hillern, Wilhelmine von, 18 performances, 1882; after that, 2-10 yearly
up to 1889.

Ibsen, "The Lady from the Sea" given 15 times, 1889.

Iffland, August W., average of s performances yearly (ranging i-ii),
14 yrs.

Kleist, Heinrich von, 'average of s performances yearly, 17 yrs.;
"Hermannsschlacht" given 25 times, 1875.

K.otzebue, August F. von, very occasional.

Laube, Heinrich, 1-9 performances yearly, 9 yrs., but with long pauses
when nothing was given.

Lessing, average of 9 performances yearly (ranging 6-14), 18 yrs.

Lindau, Paul, average of 13 performances yearly, 16 yrs.; 1880, 47.

Lindner, Albert, 17 performances in all, 1883.

Ludwig, Otto, 2 performances of "Erbforster" (i, 1881; i, 1882).

Moliere, 34 performances in all, spasmodically.

Mosenthal, Salomon von, 1-4 performances yearly, 8 yrs.

Moser, Gustav von, 302 performances in all: average of 16 yearly,
18 yrs.; 1872, 50.

Putlitz, Gustav von, 187 performances in all, ranging 5-37, 17 yrs.

Schiller, 497 performances in all, average of 27 yearly, 18 yrs.;

1887, 93-

Scribe, Engine, average of 8 performances yearly (ranging 1-25), 16 yrs.

Shakspere, 615 performances in all (4-13 plays); average 34 yearly,
18 yrs.; 1874, SS-

Spielhagen, Friedrich, 1871, 6 performances; 1875, 10.

Topfer, Carl, 1-9 performances yearly, 18 yrs.

Turgenef, "Natalie" given 10 times, 1889.

Voss, Richard, from 1884 average 1-9 performances yearly.

Wichert, Ernst, 121 performances in all: average of 7 yearly, 15 yrs.

Wilbrandt, Adolf, 85 performances in all: average of i-io yearly, 15 yrs.

Wildenbruch, Ernst von, 173 performances in all, beginning 1882,
ranging 7-57 yearly; 1889, 57.

16

of the Royal Stage were, to be sure, devoted yearly to Shak-
spere than to any other dramatist. Schiller ranked next.
Goethe showed no mean proportion, but ranked nevertheless
below von Moser. Kleist and Grillparzer received little at-
tention and Hebbel was almost tabooed. Foreign plays —
chiefly translations from the French — and an overwhelming
mass of prosaic or trivial third or fourth rate material, taken
in part from the evanescent productions of the day, and in
part — when this source failed — from the "harmless" and
dramatically sterile period of the 30's and 40's, filled in the
repertoire. Even in 1889, when all the world was opening
its eyes to the just demand for new life in drama and to the
compelling innovations of the modern school, established
tradition retained its grip on the Royal Stage.* The new
plays presented were of the old type. After the premiere of
"Brigitta" Fontane writes:^

"Am Sonntag die 'Gespenster' auf der Freien Biikne, am Dienstag
'Brigitta' im Koniglichen Schauspielhause. Die 'Gespenster' frisch
und lebendig, wie nur je eine lebendige Brigitta; 'Brigitta' so tot,
wie nur je Gespenster sein konnen. Fiir die Freie Biihne und fur
die realistische Schule, die nach Herrschaft oder doch mindestens
nach Mitregierung ringt, kann nichts Besseres passieren als die Vor-
fiihrimg solcher R. Vossschen Stiicke."

When the announcement was promising, the performance
usually left much to be desired. The note of regret that
most of the actors of the Royal Stage cannot do tragedy and
history is frequent. There are repeated references, too, in
Fontane's reports to mediocre ideas and to lack of interest

1 Lack of progressive spirit showed itself also in various ways in con-
nection with even the plays accepted. Otto Biahm writes in a report
on Heyse's "Colberg" (V. Z. 21. Okt., 1883, No. 493) that the author
had expressed regret to him in a private letter that the original version
of this play containing the character of Heinrich Marx, "the snake-skin
that he discarded long before," is still creeping along in Berlin. Brahm
notes that a recent program of the Royal Stage follows finally the change
made by Heyse in 1873 (V. Z. 28. Sept. 1883, No. 453). Sacrificing the
original love-episode, he transformed Heinrich Marx into the brother of
Rose Blank.

2 W, 2, VIII, 298.

17

on the part of the directors, and the testimony of contempo-
rary critics supports his position.^

There are naturally evidences that the task of criticism on
the basis of poor repertoire and mediocre presentation was
often irksome. After Berndal's masterly impersonation of
the Great Elector in Kleist's "Prinz Friedrich von Homburg"
Fontane writes'' that the burden of the day and the particular
burden of the evening fell away, that the pure atmosphere of
genuine art refreshed the tired spirit and fanned up once
more old hopes of golden days. In 1878, he writes:

"Diese Theater- Wirtschaft muss doch endlich ein Ende nehmen.
Von Sonnabend bis Sonnabend 4mal, und die beiden langen Bilder-
besprechungen, das ist zuviel. Da muss man Pietsch sein."'

Again in 1883 (from the diary):

"Es war bestimmt, dass ich auch das Referat uber das 'Deutsche
Theater' iibernehmen soUe, meine Krankheit machte dies aber un-
moglich und so trat College Brahm fur mich ein. Ich bin froh, dass
ich's Ids bin ; es ging solch Doppelreferat liber meine Krafte. Freitag
den 2ten Nov. war ich nach 5 Monaten zum ersten Male wieder irn
Theater (Struensee) und empfing, ein paar Scenen abgerechnet, den
Eindruck einer grossen Unnatur. Unter allerlei Theater-Manieren
eine Rolle herkommlich 'runterzuspielen (genau wie ein Leierkasten-
stuck) heisst nicht Schauspieler sein. Ich bange vor dem, was kommt.
Nur Lustspiele sind ertraglich."

The question then arises: What made this branch of Fon-
tane's activity tolerable for so long a period? The reports
were written to meet the obligation of the day, without any
thought on his part — so far as is known — of preservation
in permanent form. The collection which he later made of
them was made to satisfy his own interest and for reference.'*

' Cf. criticism of "Die Jungfrau von Orleans" by Paul Schlenther,
V. Z. Feb. 5, 1887; also, Karl Frenzel, "Die Zukunft des Schauspielhauses,"
Nationaheitung, Dec. 13, 1888.

2 W, 2, VIII, 327-

' Z. — To his wife, Berlin, June 4. — Fontane wrote also many reports
on art exhibitions. — Ludwig Pietsch was art critic for V. Z. (cf. W, 2,
X, 333 i-)-

< W, 2, VIII, Vorwort, IV.

18

Throughout the whole time he carried in mind and developed
literary plans of larger import.^ He had passed in 1870, when
the work began, the struggle for mere existence in the field
of letters. Had this not been so, it is not likely that he
would have endured a service that offered only material
compensation for its bonds.

The whole argument of his life is against persistence on his
part in a situation which did not satisfy to some degree an
inner need and afford a certain freedom for self-expression.
On this account (1849) ^^^ connection with the democratic
Dresdner Zeitung was brief. A few weeks after accepting the
position, he writes to his friend Wolfsohn, who had secured
it for him:^

"Eben erhalt ich einen sehr freundlichen, anerkennenden Brief
von der Dresdner Zeitung, der mir trotz aUedem erklart, dass mein
letzter Artikel 'Preussen — ein Militair-oder Polizeistaat?' wegen der
durchgehenden altpreussischen Gesinnung nicht habe abgedruckt
warden konnen. Ich wundre mich iiber diese Erklarung gar nicht,
— sie ist ganz in der Ordnung; aber es geht daraus hervor, dass ich
fiir jene Zeitung nicht schreiben kann, wenn gerade das, was mich
am meisten erwarmt und erhebt, von ihr verworfen werden muss.
Ich bin nun mal Preusse, und freue mich es zu sein."

His disregard for the public career, for which his father had
hopes, is further testimony. He writes to his mother from
England (1858):'

"... ich zieh' es aber, selbst einschliesslich aller Sorgen und Ge-
fahren, durchaus vor, als Lehrer, Artikelschreiber und Stundengeber
mich arm, aber unabhangig durchzuschlagen."

His resignation from the Kreuzzeitung ^ was without any
provision for another position. Finally, upon resigning the
secretaryship at the Royal Academy of Art, he writes to his

' Cf. Appendix.

' " Brief wechsel," 46; also, 37, 40 f.

' W, 2, VI, 99; ct. also 96 f.

* This was another name for the Neue Preussische Zeitung, successor
to the Preussische Zeitung. Fontane had been connected with the min-
isterial press from the beginning of his literary profession, with the Neue
Preussische Zeitung, of which Dr. Beutner was chief editor, for ten years

19

wife, whose opposition to the renunciation of the new position
was not mild: ■■

"Ich ersehne den Moment, wo ich aus diesem wichtigtuerischen
Nichts, das mit Feierlichkeit bekleidet wird, wieder heraus sein
werde. Dinge, Personen, Zustande sind alle gleich unerquicklich.
Ich passe in seiche Verhaltnisse nicht hinein und will mich lieber
weiter qualen."

The only conclusion to draw is that there were for Fontane
certain sources of satisfaction in the work of dramatic criticism
that counterbalanced the unfavorable conditions and made his
sacrifice for it worth while. Among these, a belief in the
theater as a power probably played some part, although no
excessive importance is to be attached to this factor. It was
not the purpose of the drama, in his opinion, to exploit truths
or to teach facts, although he demanded that due regard be
paid to these, when they provided a natural and necessary
background for the human beings whose inner life was there
to be set in relief. For him the stage stood first among good
and elevating diversions.^ That it should have power in this
capacity is at times very definitely stated in his criticism.
From England he asks the question, why such a play as
"Antony and Cleopatra" is not given at home? He spurns
the excuse that the great mass cannot appreciate it and declares
it to be the problem of the stage to awaken such appreciation.
The enthusiasm with which he writes of the feeling of the folk
in England for Shakspere, who in Germany is considered
"caviar for the people," shows clearly his ideal for the stage.'

(W, 2, VI, ii8, 191-199). His resignation took place in 1869. A some-
what tardy addition to the diary (under 1870) refers to it as follows:

"Am Oster-Sonnabend (16 April) hatte ich eine Scene mit Dr. Beut-
ner, ennuyirte mich aufs ausserste und beschloss meine Stellung auf-
zugeben und in Freiheit ein neues Leben zu beginnen. Am Mittwoch
nach Ostern (20.) schrieb ich ihm einen Xundigungsbrief und habe seit
jener Zeit die Schwelle der Redaktion nicht mehr uberschritten. Es war
ein Wagniss, aber in diesem Augenblick, 4 Monate nach dem Abbruch,
preise ich meinen Entschluss. Es scheint, dass es das Richtige war."

• W, 2, VI, 241; cf. also, 239-242 f; X, 368 ff., 377 ff.

» W, 2, XI, 287 (letter to August v. Heyden).

» W, 2, VIII, 478 f.

20

It is not impossible that he felt some pride in being critic
for what was — in position at least — the first stage in Ger-
many. At any rate, he labored zealously to arouse in the
Royal Theater of Berlin the desire to take the place incum-
bent upon it of leader in German dramaturgic art. There
are not infrequent withering suggestions to the efifect that
the Royal Stage is unworthy of its calling. A few salient
examples will suffice here: (1872) he relegates " Auf dem Ober-
hof" (Birch-Pfeiffer) to the suburban stage with the words
that it is ridiculous elsewhere;^ (1873) he writes that the
Royal Stage cannot be satisfied with the requisites for an
amateur performance;^ (1878) he refers to the superiority
of the Meiningen performances not only in setting and cos-
tume, but in histrionic ability and general poetic charm,
with the opinion that if the situation cannot be remedied, it
is none the less to be regretted that a troop of players from
a little German Residenz should have to serve as models every
year for the Royal Stage.^

The gratification that comes from the consciousness of being
an active molding force certainly did not enter into the
considerations that led Fontane to retain this work. There
are various indications of the belief that criticism was in this
sense a thankless task, that conditions were practically in-
flexible. The persistence with which he maintained his
standards brings with it ever-increasing admiration for his
courage in facing lack of response. It is impossible to dis-
connect his detailed and careful suggestions for improvement
from all hope of realizing visible result. In other lines of
work he was by no means insensitive to worthy appreciation
and praise. Furthermore, a letter at the end of his long and
steady race, containing suggestions concerning his successor,
shows a far different dream of what criticism might do.''

This somewhat impersonal attitude toward recognition,
which prevailed in spite of temporary irritations* and dis-

> W, 2, VIII, 116 f. 8 W, 2, VIII, 60 f.

» W, 2, VIII, 119. * Cf. W, 2, XI, 219 f.

' Cf. W, 2, VI, 280. —He writes to his wife here: "Die Sachen von
der Marlitt, von Max Ring, von Brachvogel, Personen, die ich gar nicht

21

couragements, the ability to maintain confidence in the
word he spoke, side by side with the consciousness that it
was at best but a small wedge to open the way to improve-
ment, may be attributed to the presence, in balanced form,
of apparent contradictions in his nature. The necessity for
self-expression was behind his work. He evidently enjoyed
objectively, too, the sense of adding his word to the current
of daily opinion.^ But a deep, optimistic belief in the benefi-
cence of existing order, in life as a determining force, working
by gradual processes for good, resigned him to the fact that
he was but a small part of a great whole, and gave him,
without any low valuation of his contribution to the whole,
a kind of superiority to its immediate influence. He wrote
to Georg Friedlander (1889):"

"Beifall, Zustimmung, Ehren bedeuten uns immer noch was, als
ware damit etwas getan. Das ist aber falsch und unklug. Wir
miissen vielmehr unsere Seele mit dam Glauben an die Nichtigkeit
dieser Dinge ganz erfullen und unser Gliick einzig und allein in der
Arbeit, in dam uns Betatigen unser selbst finden."

But Fontane did not have to lean continuously in his work
as critic either upon his life-philosophy or upon his convic-
tion as to the function of the stage. Natural as it was that
there should have been periods of depression and that when
at seventy he relinquished regular work of this kind, the
sense of compulsion in it should have come to be burden-
some,' yet various degrees of pleasure came to him quite
spontaneously in connection with his visits to the theater.

There are indications, direct and indirect, that his fondness
for novelty tended to make even the waste places in his long
service as theater-reporter more productive of interest for

als Schriftsteller gelten lasse, erleben nicht nur zahlreiche Auflagen.
sondern werden auch womoglich ins Vprder- und Hinter-Indische uber-
setzt; um mich kiimmert sich keine Katze."

^ C£. W, 2, XI, 301 (letter to Friedrich Stephany, June 6, 1893, in
regard to a criticism which he was contributing voluntarily).

2 W, 2, XI, 227.

« Cf. W, 2, XI, 232 (letter to P. Schlenther).

22

him than they would have been for many. He wrote to his
wife from London: ^

"Ich kann dir hier keine Genusse versprechen, aber wir sind nun
mal auf ein apartes Leben angewiesen und vor allem darauf, rastlos
zu probieren, wo Fran Fortuna denn eigentlich steckt."

To Ludwig Pietsch (1874) :*

"Alles Aparte, Courageuse, die Tradition lachend bei Seite Schie-
bende reizt mich."

He was interested in new interpretations of standard roles,
if there was anything in the text to justify the innovation,
whether he could give it the approval of first choice or not.
Miiller's FalstafE,' which on the whole lacked originality, of-
fered this interesting new point: where Falstaff impersonates
the king,* Miiller assumed the attitude and manner of speech
of a king from a puppet-play, taking his suggestion apparently
from the words of Mistress Quickly. Fontane's personal
opinion is clear from the statement that what isn't tabooed
(verboten) is permissible; but he says that the effect was
very good. In regard to Kraussneck's Tell, the simple,
natural man instead of the usual natural hero, he writes: ^

"Es wohnt dieser Auffassung ein grosser Reiz inne, und ganze
Scenen wurden dadurch ungewohnlich ansprechend. . . ."

This interest in new interpretations, whether they coin-
cided with his preference or not, is but a phase of Fontane's
objectivity. He writes to Friedlander (1893) of his sense for
facts as they were: *

"Ich habe das Leben immer genommen, wie ich's fand, und mich
ihm unterworfen. Das heisst nach aussen bin, in meinem Gemute
nicht."

' L — (cf. above p. s, n. 2, from first letter).

» W, 2, X, 334-

' Cf. V. Z. May 8, 1877.

< "Henry IV," Part I, Act II, Sc. 4. The Knes in question — from the
Schlegel translation (cf. " Shakespeares dramatische Werke," ubersetzt
von August Wilhelm Schlegel — 6ter Teil, Berlin, 1800, S. 83) are: "O
prachtigl Er macht es den Lumpen-Komodianten so naturlich nach, wie
man was sehen kann."

5 V. Z. Dec. 14, 1880, B 3. 6 W, 2, XI, 309.

These words are indicative of his attitude toward the stage;
he accepted what it offered at its face-value. When the of-
fering lacked the excellence which affords artistic pleasure, he
was interested in it as a product of conditions. The per-
formance of "Richard III" on the Soho stage in London
took incredible liberties with the text.' It constructed an
entire new opening scene, in which Henry VI appeared as
prisoner and the Duke of Oxford reported the murder of the
Prince of Wales by the Yorks; it added the murder of Henry
VI (from Part III, "Henry VI"); it adapted to its own pur-
poses the Macbeth monolog, "Is this a sword — "; it left
in Act IV no stone upon another of the original. Yet for
Fontane this mutilated "Richard III" was food for reflection
as an interesting proof that Shakspere may be made to appeal
to even the lower classes.

Fontane's more than usual interest in human beings, also
contributed without doubt to his enjoyment of this work. His
fondness for intercourse with people amounted to a real need.
Pressed as he was by the necessity of making his work lucra-
tive, he never for this reason isolated himself for any great
length of time. One of the frequent notes in his diary in
the early years of pressure, incomplete as this seems to be

— at times in fact the only subjective note — is "geplaudert."^
The character and the vast number of his letters evince

^ W, i, VIII, 469-475. — Rewrites of it to his wife (i — London.
Sept. 16, 185s): "Mein Kunsteifer wurde belohnt; ich genas wahrend
des Spiels. Daraus hast Du aber nicht zu schliessen, das es sehr schon
war; es war nur sehr interessant, Parallelen Ziehen zu konnen und in
mehr als einer Beziehung lehrreich. Die kleine Biihne, die das Stiick
gab, heisst das 'Soho-Theater'; nach dieser Auffiihrung zu schliessen
miisste es lichtiger ' O ho-Theater ' heissen."

* The following citations (D, i860) are characteristic:
"d. 20. 2. — Gearbeitet (Evangeline) — EUora bei uns. Liibke liest
ein Kapitel aus seiner Kunstgeschichte (Masaccio und Ghirlandajo).

— Geplaudert.

"d. 25. 2. Gearbeitet (Longfellow.) In den Rutli bei Prof. Menzel.
Gesprache uber bairische und sachsische Kriegsgeschichte — die letztere
wird von Blomberg und Menzel sehr verteidigt. Nachher Plaudereien
uber Kopisch, Ferrand und Minding. — Die Kreuz Ztg. bringt meinen
Artikel uber Ruppin. Geplaudert.

24

pleasure in chats on paper and loyalty to absent friends.
His family letters show interest in every detail connected
with the domestic and social life of his wife and children.
Both diary and letters mention constantly people of interest
whom he meets in social gatherings or in the course of the
summer half-holiday. His "Kinderjahre" and "Von Zwan-
zig bis Dreissig" are very largely recollections of people. He
was a faithful member of three literary clubs,"- and the minor
note in his letters from England is due in large part to the
sense of separation from his friends, and from the inspiration
which he found in them.

"d. 26. 2. Sonntag. — Gearbeitet (Longfellow). — In den Tunnel;
Ernst Schultze liest ein Elfen-Gedicht. Festsetzung einer Concurrenz
zum letzten Sonntag im April — (ein erzahlendes Gedicht). Nach Haus.
Geplaudert. Gelesen (Oxford).

' These have been mentioned (p. 23, n. a). — The membership of
"Der Tunnel uber der Spree," the most celebrated literary club of the
period, included the most prominent personages of Berlin, engaged in the
pursuit of any branch of art. (Cf. W. 2, III, 5-10; Wilhelm Liibke,
"Lebenserinnerungen, " Berlin, 1891, 185 f.) Fontane entered the Tunnel
in 1844 (W, 2, III, 6); a letter of Nov. 1861 shows him still an active
member (W, i, X, 227), and according to a, brief record of statistics
("Zur Geschichte des literarischen Sonntags-Vereins"; cf. above, Introd.,
p. xiv, n. i), he was a member as late as 1865, and one of the most
active contributors to its programs: 1844, 9 so-called Spline (cf. W, 2,
III, 13); 184s, 15; 1846, 23; 1847, is; 1849, is; i8so, 7; i8si, 4; 1852,
8; i8s3, 7; 1854,4; i8ss, 4; i8s9, 11; 1861,2; 1862,3; 1864, i; 1865, i.
Three prizes are recorded: for "Der Tag von Hemmingstedt " in 1851 (cf.
W, 2, X, 34); for "Lord Athol," 1855; for "Gorm Grymme,'' 1864. Fon-
tane himself laid value upon the influence of the Tunnel in his develop-
ment (cf. W, 2, X, 107; XI, 309). His words: "Das Beste was ich
weiss, hab ich durch Umgang, Erzahlung, Lektiire gelernt" (i — to his
wife, London, March 18, 1837), cannot but have reference in part to
this.

The Rutii was founded by Franz Kugler in 1852 (W, 2, X, 75) It
was made up of especially kindred spirits from the Tunnel, and held
weekly gatherings also (Wilhelm Lubke, op. cit., 186). Fontane was one
of the original members and was devoted to it as late as 1892, when he
had become one of only three attendants (W, 2, XI, 286).

The Ellora was composed also chiefly of members of the Tunnel. It
was limited to seven. It began (1852) with weekly meetings (Liibke, 187),
and Fontane mentions attending it in Sept. 1871 (W, 2, X, 290).

25

"Was ich hier auf die Dauer nicht ertragen kann, das ist das
Alleinstehn, die geistige Vereinsamung. . . . Es fehlt mir aller Zu-
spruch, alle Aufmunterung, alles Mitbestreben, alles, was wohltut,
erfreut, erhebt, begeistert." '

A quarter of a century later he writes in a vacation letter
from Krummhiibel:^

"Ich habe hier mehr Personen gesprochen, mehr Konversation
gemacht, mehr Fragen beriihrt, mehr Lob und Freundlichkeit ein-
geerntet, als in Beriin in einem ganzen Jahre. Wie lebe ich denn in
der Reichshauptstadt? Arbeit bis um 3, Mittagbrot, Schlaf, Kaffee,
Buch Oder Zeitung, Abendspaziergang und Tee. Von 365 Tagen
verlaufen 300 nach dieser Vorschrift. Du denkst 'ich wunsche es
so.' Das ist aber nicht der Fall; ich diirste nach Umgang, Verkehr,
Menschen, aber freilich alles muss danach sein und speziell die
Formen haben, die mir gefallen, sonst danke ich fur Obst und ziehe
die Einsamkeit vor."

The types which the stage presents are likely to be in
themselves more vivid than the average type of daily inter-
course. Moreover, they brought him into contact with the
creative impulse of author and impersonator engaged in the
solution of problems of art, in the striving for an ideal. For
these reasons, the reflected life of the stage was often more
interesting to him than the reality offered by social inter-
course. He wrote (1892) to von Heyden concerning the the-
ater:'

''Die Sache hat einen Reiz und auch die Personen. Ein Geheimrat
muss schon sehr gut sein wenn er so interessant sein soil wie Frau
Kahle oder die kleine Conrad." *

Moreover, there were occasional hightides in the reper-
toire, and Fontane's response at such times indicates that
his critical work had for him, temporarily, an interest second
to none. The rare phenomenon of Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex"
calls him from Ruppin, where he had evidently gone to col-
lect material for the "Wanderungen." He writes with ap-
preciation that the season has begun brilliantly, that it is

1 W, 2, VI, 95 f. » W, 2, XI, 287.

2 Z — To his wife, Aug. 9, 1884. * Cf. W, 2, VIII, 337 S., 382 ff.

26

rumored that "Oedipus Coloneus" and "Antigone" and a
cycle of Shakspere histories are to follow.*

In 1877 this cycle claimed his attention along with the
work on "Vor dem Sturm.'"" A twofold predilection was
involved here, — Shakspere and history. Fontane was never
a blind hero- worshiper. His assertion' that we take too
biased a position toward our classic writers, when we attempt
to idolize even what is imperfect, may be applied to his atti-
tude toward Shakspere. He speaks of wide, waste places in
"Antony and Cleopatra";* considers some of the love-
speeches of Juliet too subtly pointed; * objects to the treason
in Part II of "Henry IV";* and finds some of the humor in
"Twelfth Night" unintelligible because it is distinctly the
product of its own time.' Yet Shakspere is for him the ideal
combination of human truth, delicacy and depth of concep-
tion, variety and realism in the portrayal of character, sim-
plicity and poetic power in language, inexhaustible and
refreshing humor.*

His fondness for history antedated even his enthusiasm for
Shakspere; if not an inheritance from his father, it was at
least so successfully nurtured in impressionable years through

* V. Z. Sept. 23, 1873, B 2. (Parts from this report are given, W, 2,
VIII, 1 f.) The diary note here is (1873): "Ende Sept. nach Ruppin-
dem Einzug der 24er beigewohnt, die aus Frankreich (Verdun) zviriick;
kehren. Vorher Besuch in Wusterhausen, Trieplatz und Tramnitz
gemacht, um mein Rohr-Kapitel schreiben zu konnen. Nach Berlin
zuriick, um der 1. Auffiihrung des 'Xonigs Oedipus' beizuwohnen, dann
abermals auf S Tage nach Ruppin."

* Here the diary reads: "Anfang Okt. reiste ich nach Frankfurt a.
O., um fiir den 4. Band meines Romans die notigen Lokalstudien zu
machen. Dann begann ich diesen Schlussband. — Im Theater war
ziemlich viel zu thun; die Shakespeare 'schen Eonigsdramen wurden in
einem Cyclus gegeben."

3 W, 2, XI, 16 f. (letter to Wilhelm Hertz).

* V. Z. May 27, 1871, B 2.

» V. Z. Jan. II, 1874, B 4 (report on "Was ihr woUt").

* W, 2, VIII, 13.

' 7. Z. Jan. 26, 1884, B i (additional to W, 2, VIII, 21 ff.).
' He tried his hand at translating "Midsummer Night's Dream" (W,
2, VIII, Vorwort, XII) and also "Hamlet" (cf. above, p. xiii.)

27

unique instruction by question and anecdotes/ that in this
branch, if in no other, Fontane's generally desultory educa-
tion attained brilliant results. He writes to Storm in regard
to this (1854):='

"Als ich ein dreizehnjahriger Tertianer und im iibrigen ein mittel-
massiger Schiiler war, hatt' ich in der Geschichte solches Renommee,
dass die Primaner mit mir spazieren gingen und sich — ich kann's
nicht anders ausdrucken — fur's Examen durch mich einpaucken
liessen. Zum Tail war as blosser Zahlen- und Gadachtniskram, doch
entsinne ich mich andrerseits deutlich eines Triumphes, den ich fai-
erte, als ich meinen Zuhorern die Schlachten von Crecy und Poitiars
ausmalte."

His intimate knowledge of facts, and the hold which the great
characters of the past had from childhood taken upon his
imagination, made him attach more than ordinary impor-
tance to the presentation of historic characters upon the stage,
take unusual pleasure in a Shaksperean history as faulty in
form and as lacking in unified dramatic content as "Henry
VI," ' and study with extreme interest the adaptability of
the Chronicles to the stage.

The year 1878 brought as another oasis in the general
dearth the conjunction of the first performances of Calderon's
"Life a Dream" and Grillparzer's "Traum ein Leben."
Grillparzer did not see the footlights of the Royal Stage
frequently, and of the plays given "Medea" was presented
most often. It was the first appearance of a drama by
Calderon in Fontane's experience as reporter.* December
13, the day after the Grillparzer premiere, he wrote to
Wilhelm Hertz that he had sat at his desk "en suite" till
after seven in the evening over a comparative criticism of
the two plays, and there is here a naively frank expression of
pleasure in trying his powers.^

"Ueber zwei seiche Stiicke zu schreiban, sie zu parallelisiaren und
jedes in seiner Art zu wiirdigen, ist wirklich schwer, und wenn ich

1 W, 2, II, 149 ff. ' Cf. below, pp. 76 f.

2 W, 2, X,io6. * Cf. above, p. 14, n. 1.

6 W, 2, X, 398.

28

damit fertig bin, wundre ich mich immer, dass ich's iiberhaupt
konnte. Naives Gestandnis!"

The Wildenbruch premieres (1882) furnish an instance of
violent disapproval.^ The diary, more than a bare record of
fact at this point, shows flashes of personal conviction, and
even the briefer entries, in which such traces are lacking,
indicate that this new apparition in drama had vital interest
for Fontane. This appears from the following extracts :

(18. Jan.) . . . "Um 9 zu Heydens; grosse Gesellschaft. Gesprach
mit Herrn v. Wildenbruch iiber seinen 'Harold', demnachst ein in-
teressantes politisches Gesprach mit General Fabre du Faure iiber
Bismarck. Spat nach Haus."

(21. April.) . . . "Um 6i ins Theater; E. v. Wildenbruch's 'Harold'
kommt zur Auffuhrung und erringt einen grossen Erfolg. Es ist
sehr wirksam und talentvoll, aber au fond schwach, sogar sehr
schwach; Hugo Burger in der Tragodie, also Scenengeschicklichkeit
und Raffinement, eine Mischung aus der nie was werden kann. Diese
Leute haben nur ein Organ fiir die Wirkung, nicht fur die Wahrheit,
und daran scheitern sie."

(22. April.) "Von 9 Uhr friih bis 9 Uhr Abends en suite an der
Kritik uber 'Harold' geschrieben. ..."

(23. April.) . . . "Besuch von Dr. 0. Brahm; Gesprach uber'Harold'
und Julius Wolffs ' Tannhauser'. Auslassungen iiber bornierte Be-
riihmtheiten."

(25. April.) . . . "Frenzels Kritik iiber 'Harold' gelesen. ..."

(27. April.) "Berliner Fremdenblatt und Tageblatt gekauft wegen
der Kritiken (Harold)."

(9. Dez.) . . . "Riitli bei mir, statt bei Menzel. Zugegen: Lazarus,
ZoUner, K. Eggers, zuletzt auch Heyden. Ich musste gegen 7 ins
Schauspielhaus, wo Wildenbruchs 'Opfer um Opfer' gegeben wurde.
In Wahrheit, Willkiir, Unsinn, die Steigerung von 'Harold'. Armer
Stiimper, der sich einbildet in Heinr. v. Eleists Sattel weiter reiten zu
konnen. Den Sattel hat er vielleicht, aber nicht das Pferd."

(10. Dez.) . . . "Kritik geschrieben iiber 'Opfer um Opfer'. ..."

(11. Dez.) "Kritik iiber 'Opfer um Opfer' corrigiert und zur
Post gegeben."

(12. Dez.) "Gearbeitet: Dreilinden. Um 3 Uhr zu Zollner zur
Gratulation. Brief von Heyden in der Wildenbruch Frage, sehr

1 Cf. W, 2, Vm, 2S4 ff.

29

liebenswurdig. Novellenstofi aufgeschrieben ('Irrt, wirrt'). Emilie
liest mir 2 vorzugliche Rezensionen iiber Wildenbruchs 'Opfer um
Opfer' vor, eine von Frenzel in der Nat. Ztg., die andre von Oscar
Blumenthal im Tageblatt. Gelesen."^

But Fontane was interested in dramaturgy even when the
repertoire offered no particular phase of value. He wrote to
Schlenther on resigning from his post as stage-critic * that
he had not been a reluctant theater-goer and that he was
always entertained, even when what the program offered was
horrible (scheusslich). Of all forms of literary expression,
the drama seems to have had — next to the lyric — the
strongest appeal for him, and he had cherished the plan of
trying his own hand at dramatic production. He wrote to
Wolfsohn (Nov. 1847) that the best things he had done so
far — ballads and sketches of historic characters — made a
natural transition to epic and drama.' He speaks with satis-
faction of the fact that his "epic poem in nine brief songs"
("Von der schonen Rosamunde") has not been without its
appeal to Berlin hearts and says that he would begin work
at once with righteous zeal on a drama that has vital hold
upon him, if he did not have to deal out prescriptions to the
public instead of five-foot iambics. In 1848 a letter from
von Lepel to Fontane mentions the latter's plan for a tragedy
"Cromwell,"^ and the first act of a tragedy "Karl Stuart"
was read in the Tunnel in 1849.^

* Frenzel's criticism {Nationalzeitung, No. 581, Dec. 12, 1882, Morgen-
ausgabe) emphasizes the lack of originality shown in this play, compares
it with Gutzkow's "Ein weisses Blatt" and Spielhagen's "Liebe fiir
Liebe," deplores the fact that Wildenbruch has left the realm of his-
toric drama, and charges him with imitation of the French. Blumenthal's
criticism {Berliner Tageblatt, No. 581, Dec. 12, 1882, Morgenausgabe,
— I. Beiblatt) is entirely in the tone of sarcastic mockery, of which
Fontane did not usually approve in criticism. (Cf. below p. 46.)

2 W, 2, XI, 232.

' " Brief wechsel" (Wolfsohn), 30.

* Bernhard von Lepel, "Vierzig Jahre Briefe" (Berlin, 1910), 107.

» Carl Wegmann, " Theodor Fontane als Ubersetzer englischer und
schottischer Balladen" (Munster in Westfalen, 1910), no; Wegmann,
who had access to the Tunnel records, reports that it consisted of two
scenes — the first in the royal castle, the second in a tavern — that

30

Both "Cromwell" and "Karl Stuart" remained fragments.
Of the first, what developed for publication was " Cromwells
letzte Nacht," a dramatic monolog in which Cromwell jus-
tifies himself and prefers death to the return of the ghost of
Charles, as it had appeared to him in a dream.' In 1850,
von Lepel referred ^ in a letter to Fontane's plan of publishing
part of an act of "Karl Stuart," and the first edition of the
poems contains a dramatic fragment of this title.' It has
the heading "Erster Akt " and corresponds in setting to the
suggestion from the Tunnel report of the first scene of the
original read in the Tunnel. It is a scene in the apartment
of the king, in which the wishes of the Minister, Earl Straf-
ford, and the queen, Henriette Marie of France, come into
conflict concerning the banishment of Marie de Medici, and
Strafford, in spite of his triumph with the king, foresees his
fall. The later editions of Fontane's poems include only the
"Puritaner Predigt," * reported by Strafford to the king.

Fontane's interest in the drama as a form may have been
whetted in the beginning also by the fact that a number of
his friends were trying their skill in it. He writes of Heyse's
"Francesca von Rimini" in 1850, and again, somewhat ad-
versely, in 1851.* He notes (1851) that Kugler had read a
five-act tragedy, "Kaiser Pertinax," in the Tunnel.^ In 1854-
1855 both Wolfsohn and von Lepel consulted him concerning

the history of the land, the feeling of the people, the intrigue of indi-
viduals, the agitation of the masses are excellently exposed in dialog that
is brief, rapid, and fruitful of tension.

1 Cf. W, 2, I, 174 f. The form in which the poem appears here is
with but few changes the same as in the first edition ("Gedichte von
Theodor Fontane," Berlin, 1851, iioff.).

' Bernhard v. Lepel, op. cit., 159 f.

' Cf. "Gedichte" (1851), 251-284.

* W, 2, I, 171 ff. — This is slightly revised at the beginning and at
the end, to give it direct instead of indirect form.

' W, 2, X, 13, 18, 24. — According to Fontane's statement Kugler's play
aroused no great enthusiasm, yet for some reason this is one of the few book;
that he asked his wife (1856) to bring with her to London. The list, made
up of classics, hand-books, and the works of friends, is as follows:

L — "(London, d. 15. Januar '56).

"Schiller, . . . (Keine Prosa).

31

dramas in the process of growth.* That Fontane's judg-
ment concerning drama was of value even at this early date
is shown (1854) in a letter to the effect that Eduard De-
vrient had expressed the same adverse opinion in regard to
Wolfsohn's "Herr von Tausend Seelen" as Fontanel and in
the fact that this play, revised according to their criticism,
had at least a brief stage success (1856).'

There are other indications that Fontane could more than
hold his own with his literary friends; his "Tag von
Hemmingstedt" was awarded the Tunnel prize against con-
testing poems of both Heyse and von Lepel,* and only Heyse
had made such a strong appeal to the public as he. More-
over, although the fondness for detail which he shows
in his travels and narratives, and his tendency in the latter
to avoid the treatment of conflict, argue against dramatic

"Goethe, den 'Faust' und ein altes schlechtes Buch — Lepeln gehorig
— worin Goethe's Gedichte enthalten sind. Treibt sich irgendwo 'rum.

"Heine, Gedichte I und II und Romanzen.

"Morike, Storm, Scherenberg.

"Lessing (nur die beruhmten 3 Stucke).

"Lenau (die kleine Ausgabe).

"Paul Heyse, die Bruder.

"Merckel, der XJrlaub.

"Lepel, Gesammelte Werke.

"Kugler, Pertinax. Und der Band wo 'Genesius' drin steht.

"Fontane, Gesammelte Werke, namentlich aber das verkannte Album.
Auch eine Argo.

"Shakespeare nicht. Ich habe ihn hier. Wenn Platz ist, die Ueber-
setzung.

"Platen, 1. und 2. Band.

" Franzosisches Lexikon.

"Heyses Fremdworterbuch. Dies bezahlt die Kasse der Deutsch-Engl.-
Correspondenz.

" Wegen anderer Sachen sei so gut anzufragen. Die gewiinschten Werke
der Riitlionea und ihre Basreliefs werden sie mir hoflEentlich schenken.
Heine und Morike treibst Du vielleicht billig auf."

' " Brief wechsel" (Wolfsohn), 109; Bernhard v. Lepel, op. cit., 256 f.

2 Cf. "Briefwechsel" (Wolfsohn), 109. — Fontane's opinion, if ex-
pressed in writing, is not among the published letters.

» Bernhard v. Lepel, op. cit., 289. The play was entitled in revised
form "Nur eine Seele." Cf. also "Brief wechsel" (Wolfsohn), no, note.

* W, 2, X, 34.

32

ability, he was not without certain important requisites
for this literary form. The power of realistic dialog would
have been as valuable to him in drama as in narrative.
The use of brevity and thrilling suggestion, which he shows
in the English ballads, evinces power to produce tension.'

Perhaps the fact that Fontane was not impressed by the
work of his friends was one influence that made him abstain
from drama. He considered Kugler an accomplished man, but
not an original poet. He found von Lepel lacking in critical
ability, and his "Herodes" weak in structure in spite of the
brilliant details that in his opinion characterized all of von Le-
pel's work.2 He regarded the drama, too, as a difficult form
and seems to have doubted his ability to excel in it. He
wrote to Friedrich Witte (1851) that he could do nothing
with drama until he had repose and freedom from the cares
incident to making a livelihood. He wrote (1856) to
Henriette von Merckel,' who had praised "Der letzte York"
and expressed the wish that he would write a drama, that
he had microscopic germs of a dozen dramas in mind, but
that even if he were in the near future to receive a sinecure
with 1200 Thaler attached, he should probably not attempt
drama. A time that demanded special permission for the
expression of a liberal thought in the third scene of the third
act would, he said, be unpropitious for even a Shakspere,
and although it was the right of genius to overcome all
difficulties, he was no genius.^

' Cf. Carl Wegmann, op. cit., 21 £f., 33 ff., 40, 59 S. Wegmann points
out that Fontane's version of "John Musgrave and Lady Barnard" is
better motivated and more tragic than that of Percy, that Fontane's
omissions add dramatic directness to "Das Douglas Trauerspiel," that
he gives dramatic structure to the action in "Lord Athol," that he sub-
stitutes dramatic for epic touches in "Marie Duchatel," in "Schon
Margret und Lord William," and in " Chevy Chase." — Most of these
ballads were read in the Tunnel between Dec. 1848 and April, 1855.

2 W, 2, X, 35, 185.

' W, 2, X, is8.

* Fontane refers here to the forbidden introduction of a Margrave
upon the stage, and Dr. Schlenther is of the opinion that he may have
had in mind a cycle of HohenzoUern dramas (cf. Paul Schlenther, "Aus
Theodor Fontanes Friihzeit," Berliner Tageblatt, Beiblatt 4, Nov. 16, 1910).

33

Although the hope of producing a drama was never real-
ized, Fontane's interest in the process of production remained.^
The duty of reviewing a large proportion of the premieres of
his period would have been intolerable to many men, but it
was not so to him.^ Details interested him, and his atti-
tude was usually that of study and of investigation as to
method. He wrote on resigning from the Royal Academy
of Arts: ^

' ' Eine gute Theaterkrltik, um das Kleinste herauszugreifen, ist
viel, viel besser als diese Reskripte-Fabrikation, bei der ich noch
nichts Erfreuliches habe herauskommen sehn."

The premiere of Koberstein's "Um Nancy" (1773) was
instructive to him, not on account of the worth of the play,
but for the evidence it afforded that a play may be good in
structure, at least acceptable in general conception and char-
acter, and yet fail absolutely through lack of poetic (dich-
terische) technic* He wrote (1878) in his diary of the
work of reporting upon French players:

"Mit dam i. Jan. fand sich auch wieder die franzosische Schau-
spieler-Truppe ein und dieselbe Miihsal begann wie im vorigen Jahre.

* He spoke with some feeling late in life to Dr. Schlenther of his
"Karl Stuart" and of the preservation of the fragment (cf. Paul Schlen-
ther, op. cii.).

* Reports on plays by contemporary authors and on others produced
for the first time on the Royal Stage constituted one special function of
the theater critic (according to information from the editorial office,
V. Z.). There was no stipulation as to the number of criticisms per
week; the number four of which Fontane speaks (cf. above, p. 17, n. 3)
must have been self-imposed, therefore, from interest and sense of duty.
In spite of the temporary renunciation of his position (1876), of almost an-
nual interruptions from illness, and of the fact that the last three years
(1887-1889) show criticisms of only 11 premieres out of 27, Fontane's
record from 1871 to 1889 shows reports on 180 of the 219 new plays
presented (this statement is based on a comparison of my own record
of Fontane's reports for the V. Z. with the printed statistics of the
Royal Theater; cf. above, p. 14, n. i).

' ' W, ii, VI, 241.

* V. Z. Feb. I, 1873, B i!. (A part of this report is found W, 2, VIII.
226 f.)

34

Diesmal aber erhielt ich 2 Billets und war in der angenehmen Lage
meine Frau, die das franzos. Theater liebt, mitnehmen zu konnen. Ich
fing auch an, dabei zu lernen, nicht sprachlich aber literarisch."

His discussion of "Antony and Cleopatra" shows a similar
point of view. After treating the chief weakness, the death
of Antony at the end of Act IV and the attempt to change
the sequence of scenes, he writes: ^

"Ein solcher Abend gewahrt einem mehr ein wissenschaftUches
Interesse, als einen kUnstlerischen Genuss. Man lernt, man fordert
sich, man empfangt einen Gradmesser mehr, man gewinnt Einblicke in
grosse Vorzuge, denen nachzustreben ist, in kleine Fehler, die zu ver-
meiden sind."

When he relinquished the post of critic (1889), he had
ceased to feel any pleasure in reviewing mediocre plays, but
he wrote to Friedrich Bruckmann^ that he enjoyed writing
columns on the performances of the Free Stage. Between
1887 and 1889 he saw the fulfilment of his hopes for modern
drama realized to some extent in Wildenbruch's "Die Quit-
zows," in Bjornson's "A Gauntlet," more especially in the
technical art of Ibsen; ' and he passed through no period of
groping and wavering, as did some of his contemporaries,*
before he could appreciate the new technic. A last evidence
that Fontane's criticism of drama was not perfunctory lies in
the series of enthusiastic discussions of the work of Tolstoi,
Holz and Schlaf, and Gerhart Hauptmann,' which he con-
tributed voluntarily to the Vossische Zeitung or held at length
in letters to friends after his regular work as critic was fin-
ished. His response in the midst of opposing colleagues was
again as spontaneous and direct as that to Ibsen, and more

> V. Z. May 27, 1871, B 2.

2 W, -2, XI, 231.

' Cf. W, 2, VIII, 26s fif., 219 flF., 189 ff.

* He writes (ZJ, 1889): "Nur ein einziges Stiick tritt im Laufe der
• Saison mit den 'Quitzows' in Concurrenz, Ibsens 'Die Frau vom Meere.'
Nur die Ibsenianer und ich treten dafur ein, alia andren verhShnen und
verurteilen es."

» Cf. W, 2, VIII, 207 ff., 300-316. — W, 2, XI, 312 f., 381 ff., 411 ff.

35

enthusiastic, because he saw in the new drama a truer repro-
duction of life.

Dr. Schlenther writes of Fontane that he had stood almost
alone in the center of literary production for half a century,
a voice in the desert, attempting by honest effort to direct
the artistic taste of his time into proper channels.' His be-
lief in art as a living thing, a necessary expression of the
great truths of human life, to which every generation and
every contributor may give something new, made it possible
for him to enjoy testing every effort toward new attainment,
every attempt to revive what was of value in established
forms. There is, however, a tendency to dismiss Fontane's
critical work with mere mention, or with half charitable
statements of neutral shade, except for the respect shown for
his individuality and his human wisdom. The fact that he
could recognize good in a poor play may have been inter-
preted to mean that his standard was variable or his ideal
easily satisfied. There is no more conclusive proof to the
contrary than in his attitude toward the naturalistic drama.
His firm conviction throughout his work had been that the
drama should mirror actual life. Nevertheless, although he
looked upon this attainment of the naturalists as a triumph,
their goal meant for him only a temporary resting place.
Art, in his opinion, demanded a broader conception of life.
Therefore, he regarded the work of even the naturalists as
only a most important contribution toward a completer
drama of the future.

» W, 2, VIII, Vorwort, XX.

CHAPTER II
Fontane's Conception of Criticism

" Was nicht in der Wahrheit steht, das stirbt."

Th. Fontane (W, 2, VIII, 254.)

In certain fundamental lines the trend of what may be
expected in Fontane's critical work is determined at the
outset by opinions which he expressed in regard to criticism
in general and by testimony concerning himself as critic.

To him the learned application of established theory to the
question in hand meant little or nothing. Not tenets but
sensations are to sit in judgment. In 1877 he writes that
impressions may err, but that even in error they avail more
than dead law.' Again in 1886, in praise of Schlenther's
criticism, he declares that a fresh, normal, strong feeling alone
makes the critic, that everything else — especially measuring
by a certain yard-stick, be it Tieck, Lessing, or even Aristotle
— is nonsense and shows only dependence.'

Fontane's lack of academic experience and theoretical train-
ing naturally leads us to the questions whether he was not
forced to this initial point of view, whether he could upon
any other basis take a place beside professional critics.

A certain sensitiveness to the weakness of his professional
armor manifests itself, to be sure, in different ways. A sense
of triumph when the unacademic succeeds cannot but reveal
an undercurrent suggestive of the untrained man and his
personal struggle in the literary world. This is certainly not
the dominant impulse in his cordial congratulation of Otto
Brahm on receipt of the first prize from the Allgemeiner

' W, 2, VIII, 221.

2 W, 2, XI, 108.

37

Verein fUr deutsche Literatur for his Kleist biography, but
it is present, no doubt, as a minor ingredient. He writes:*

"Als KoUege habe ich — und mit mir gewiss viele — noch die
Spezialfreude gehabt, dass ein Schriftsteller den ersten und ein Pro-
fessor erst den zweiten Preis errungen hat. Es ist recht gut, dass
wir Professoren und Geheimrate haben, aber ihre Alleinherrschaft
dann und wann gebrochen zu sehn, ist doch eine Wonne, weil ein
gelegentlicher Triumph von Gerechtigkeit und bon sens."

There are evidences, too, especially in the testimony of
the later years, of a sense of unfitness on his part in academic
circles. One must feel that had Bunsen been successful in
securing for Fontane early in his career a professorship at
Oxford or Cambridge, he would have accepted it with brave
front, although he wrote to his wife that the idea was ludi-
crous.^ He realized, no doubt, that in England his native
tongue would be an asset, in addition to his literary ability
and his devotion to letters, upon which he could not expect
to count at home; but he seems also to have had something
of the adventurer's spirit in the tendency to interpret differ-
ent national conditions as a less severe standard which he
might turn to his advantage. He writes from London:'

"Wenn ich erst die Sprache inne haben werde, so wird sich noch
manches finden; bedenke, dass man hiernur ein bisschen Wissen und,
versteht sich wie uberaU, ein bisschen Gliick zu haben braucht, so ist
der Lehrer fertig, wogegen man mich iu Deutschland immer nach
meinem Pass fragen und mir diese Laufbahn verschliessen wird."

It is, however, only in the early period of struggle for a
foothold that any trace of this spirit occurs. He writes to
Maximilian Ludwig of the celebration of his seventieth
birthday: *

"Die Festtage waren sehr schon und haben mir wohlgetan. Trotz-
dem bedurfte es nicht meiner Skepsis, um ein gut Teil davon nicht

1 W, 2, XI, 87 (Jan. 1884). Brahm had a university training but was
not a scholar by profession.

2 W, 2, VI, 17.

' L — (To his wife, dated "2. Pfingstag." Cf. above, p. 5, n. i.)
« W, 2, XI, 240.

38

recht zu glauben. Fur viele war es Ulk, Radau, Mumpitz, und einige
fochten mit, deren Devise war: 'Wir woUen doch mal sehen, was man
dem Berliner alles einreden kann.'"

Although he adds here that the consciousness of this feeling
does not affect him greatly, since one finds it everywhere in
life, there is in his non-acceptance of Erich Schmidt's invita-
tion to the Weimar celebration (1896) unquestionable evi-
dence of his tendency to recoil from what might be considered
by others an aggressive claim to recognition. He writes: '

"Ich habe geantwortet, 'dass ich nicht konne,' was wegen Karls-
bad auch wirklich der Fall ist. Aber wenn es auch anders lage, wiirde
ich doch 'wait vom Schuss' zu bleiben suchen. Ich kann mich da
nicht mit einem Male gut einreihen. Abgesehen davon, dass einige
in den Verwunderungsruf: 'Gott, nun auch hier noch' ausbrechen
wiirden, passe ich wirklich in die Sache nicht recht hinein, well ich
der da zu spielenden Rolle nicht gewachsen bin. Es ist mir gelegent-
lich passiert, dass ich mit einem lateinischen oder selbst griechischen
Zitat wie mit du auf du angeredet worden bin, wobei ich immer das
Gefuhl gehabt habe: 'Erde tu dich auf — ein Gefiihl, das mir in
Weimar leicht noch mal erbluhen konnte. Denn trotzdem ich meinen
Lewes und sogar meinen Herman Grimm gelesen habe, habe ich
doch von Goethewissenschaftlichkeit keinen Schimmer und wiirde
jeden Augenblick die Angst haben: 'Jetzt geht es los.'"

But important as these instances are, they are isolated.
When Fontane feels himself upon a footing that involves no
apparent claim of equality with scholars and that cannot,
therefore, be legitimately denied him, he regards adverse
criticism, although sometimes irritated by it, with charac-
teristic objectivity. This fact-sense reveals itself nowhere
more strikingly than in a letter to Friedlander concerning the
honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy, conferred upon him
at the end of his seventy-fourth year by the University of
Berlin.'' Without depreciating the value of the honor paid

' W, 2, XI, 387 f.

' It is interesting to note that in spite of the scorn which Fontane
frequently expressed for the methods and influence of scholarship, he
was impressed and gratified by this honor. Both the letter cited (cf. W.
2j XI, 330) and the diary express pleasure in it. The latter reads here:

him and at the same time without overestimating his merits,
he shows the conviction that in spite of the influence of friends
in securing such distinctions, he is as worthy of them as
others.

His conception of criticism was indeed in no sense a sub-
terfuge. It had its foundation in the belief that all true art
is born necessarily of spontaneous impulse, that the esthetic
nature is an incessant creative force, that individuality is
a source from which new values may accrue constantly to
established norms. It is wholly in keeping with the need of
self-expression, which led him personally into the pursuit
of letters for a doubtful livelihood. It is in keeping, further,
with the place of importance, beside esthetic worth, that he
granted to sincere originality in his praise of Scherenberg's
poetry, when he said that its essence lay in its separation
from tradition and in its tendency, in spite of frequent
lack of beauty, to build upon new foundations in content and
form.^

For Fontane criticism involved, however, a second element
equal in importance to the intuitive basis that it required,
the explanation of the involuntary response of the esthetic
sense to external stimulus. He writes (1874) in connection
with Wichert's "Die Realisten":^

"Das Gefuhl, das mich begleitete, war das einer gewissen Nicht-
Befriedigung, eines bestandigen Gestortwerdens in eben angeregten
Stimmungen. . . . Der Kritik liegt es ob, sich uber solche Emp-
findungen klarzuwerden und das Warum einer gewissen Missstim-
mung zu ergriinden."

This duty of criticism to explain impressions is at times
closely connected with the idea that the critic is a molder
of public taste. Fontane, accordingly, grants to the critic

"1895. Ich habe hier nachzutragen, dass ich im Nov. oder Dec. 94,
kurz vor meinem 75. Geburtstage, seitens der philosoph. Fakultat der
Berliner Universitat zum Doctor honoris causa ernannt wurde. Eine
grosse Freude, die ich wohl Schlenther und Prof. Erich Schmidt ver-
danke, welch letzterer die Fakultat mobil machte."

• W, 2, III, 495-

' W, 2, VIII, 211 £.

40

by no means unlimited freedom. The reflection of indi-
viduality advocated by him does not admit of caprice. The
esthetic standard, according to which the first involuntary
record of approval or disapproval is made, must be stable
and must show above all else a response to the test of artistic
necessity or artistic truth. He says in his merciless criticism
of Frl. Clara Ziegler (1872) that the public stands under the
influence of external appeal alone, but the critic must justify
what the stage offers on the basis of truth and of unity be-
tween underlying thought and visible line and form.^ In the
conclusion of "Hans Lange" he sees (1882) an unnecessary
sacrifice of consistency and strength in the character develop-
ment of Bugslaff, the Duchess, Hans Lange, and the peasant
mother, entailing a sacrifice of truth in the effect of the
whole. Fontane asserts that his purpose here is to call the
attention of the public to a weakness in organic development,
not to suggest to the writer how he shall improve his work.^

"Nichts ist misslicher, als einen Dichter beraten woUen; was
man ihm sagen kann, hat er sich langst vorher gesagt. . . . Aber
was der Dichter weiss, das Publikum weiss as nicht, oder doch nicht
immer. So stehe dann nur seinetwillen hier, was ich zu sagen
habe."

The fact that Fontane had in hand a work of Heyse may
have prompted this explanation in part. His criticism of
Heyse is in the main apparently both open and just. Occa-
sionally, however, it shows a startling amount of considera-
tion given to a mediocre play, as in the report on "Das
Recht der Starkeren," ^ and in such cases it does not carry
conviction with it. It seems restrained, at times by the
sense of professional courtesy, at times, in the absence of
spontaneous approval, by the fear of yielding unconsciously
to personal prejudice. He and Heyse had had different ideas
of art from the early days in the Tunnel, and Heyse's supe-

1 W, 2, VIII, 346.

' V. Z. Oct. 18, B I. — This criticism, Fontane states, is based on the
revised play, which brings the original five acts into the compass of four
and thus gains in brevity.

' Cf. V. Z. Jan. 18, 1884, B i.

41

rior attitude had always irritated him. He wrote in 185 1
that Heyse considered everything poor that was not by
Goethe or himself,' and as late as 1889 that Heyse could not
accustom himself to the fact that taste changed in the course
of fifty years.^ His relations with Heyse were not unfriendly.
They continued to exchange occasional letters and visits after
Heyse left Berlin for Munich, and Heyse even attempted to
secure for Fontane the position of secretary to King Maxi-
milian of Bavaria,' through which Fontane would have been
closely associated with the Munich circle of poets. But there
was never any deep sympathy between them. Fontane was
more than ordinarily interested in Heyse's triumphs, his pro-
ductivity, his lyric gift, but he felt that Heyse had no very
flattering opinion of his ability ^ and confesses on one occa-
sion a sense of uneasiness when he has a report on one of
Heyse's dramas in hand. The method used here — of testing
by consistency and truth — is, however, most common in Fon-
tane's work. His recensions of "Hans Lange" show uni-
formly, moreover, that he gives this drama high rank except
for its conclusion. The judgment pronounced here must
therefore be accepted as sincere, whether the expression of
purpose is one largely of courtesy or not.

Certain secondary restrictions limit even further the critic's
method. The nature of a criticism should depend, in Fon-
tane's opinion, to some extent upon the standing of the
author whose work is in question. Therefore, he applies
an entirely different norm to a tragedy by Grillparzer or
Otto Ludwig and to a comedy by Lubliner.* He admits
that there is such a thing as imposing upon the spectator,
but feels that the critic should recognize the obligation of the
stage to amuse to the extent of not condemning an unpre-
tentious play when it involves a happy idea and affords
pleasure.*

The critic must take into consideration also the purpose
of the author. He says in connection with Lindau's "Grafin

1 W, 2, X, 3S. * W, 2, XI, 99.

2 W, 2, XI, 234. ' W, 2, VIII, 274.

3 Cf. W. 2, VI, 103 ff- 6 K. 2 . Oct. 12, 1871, B 2.

42

Lea" (1880) that it is unreasonable to compare it with "Na-
than der Weise" since Lindau's only purpose was to write a
play of social life, not primarily to give dramatic form to a
discussion of the race question.^ He defends warmly Heyse's
"Die Weisheit Salomos" (1888), insisting that it is wrong to
criticize this play adversely on the basis of historic inaccuracy.''

"... die historische Betrachtung auf Seiten der Kritik ist gut und
mitunter sogar unerlasslich, aber doch immer nur da, wo der Dichter
selbst es will und dam, der ihn zu beurteilen hat, den entsprechenden
Massstab in die Hand drtickt."

This instance has peculiar interest not only because it con-
cerns a work of Heyse — and one not received with favor by
critics in general — but especially because it has to do with
the point of poetic license in the treatment of history and
represents a complete change of view on the part of the critic
in the course of his experience. In 1870, Fontane had pro-
nounced Goethe's conception of Egmont, which had been the
delight of his youth, an atrocity (Greuel), an historic sin.
He admitted that a masterly portrayal made it acceptable
on the stage but said nevertheless:'

"War ftinfzig Jahre alt ist, Geschichte gelesen und in sich auf-
ganommen hat, kann dam 'Hares deutscher Nation' dieses Attentat
gagen ains der schonsten Kapital der Geschichte der Menschheit
nicht varzeihen."

There is certainly no suggestion here of the principle of
molding judgment in accordance with the purpose of the
author, yet it is a principle to which Fontane was faithful in
the main. He does not at any time take exception to Schil-
ler's free adaptation of history in "Die Jungfrau von Orleans"
and "Maria Stuart," and in 1880 he admits that even Egmont
may be made convincing by an actor who really grasps
Goethe's conception of this hero and can give the figure its
distinctive historic-romantic stamp, the basic element which
is its very essence.^

This condition, valuable in determining the worth of the

1 W, 2, VIII, 243 ff. ^ W, 2, vni, 49 f., 54 f.

» V. Z. Feb. 21, B I. * Ibid.

43

critic's message, does not affect the directness of his work or
absolve him from a truthful expression of opinion. The duty
of criticism is to speak the truth, only under exceptional
conditions to perform the ofl&ces of comfort and support'
(1880). Berlin criticism is in Fontane's opinion miserable in
all its branches, lacking in spirit and not free from restraint ^
(1886). The diary note in objection to Lindau's attitude
toward "The Lady from the Sea" (1889) is: "Lindau weiss
nicht recht, ob er loben oder tadeln, bewundern oder ver-
werfen soil." There is an indirect repetition, too, (1891) of
the charge of lack of truth in Fontane's attack upon the un-
certain fumbling and groping prevalent among critics. He
writes to his daughter that they are like criminals, afraid of
betraying themselves before court by something that might
some time be turned against them.'

The nature of successful criticism is further defined by the
obligation which Fontane lays upon it to point out the in-
trinsic significance of a work, the points in it that make it
distinctive or valuable. This opinion, taken from a letter
to Fontane's publisher, Wilhelm Herz, was called forth by
criticisms, lacking penetration, directed against his "Wan-
derungen," and the irritation that he felt led him here to
a sweeping subsequent statement, seeming to condemn all
contemporary German criticism.^ The general statement of
repudiation may, however, be called into question without
incriminating Fontane's sincerity in the basic demand in-
volved here for able criticism.

This demand is, indeed, reflected repeatedly in his work.
He praises Brahm's sensitiveness, insight, and style (1882),
but tells him that the vital point is lacking in his criticism of
Paul Heyse.* The passage referred to is as follows :

» W, 2, VIII, 38.

' W, 2, XI, 114 — from a letter to Moritz Lazarus in which he ex-
presses surprise that so little notice is taken of the Wereschtschagin
exhibition.

' W, 2, VII, 242. ■• W, 2, XI, 71 f.

' W, 2, XI, 74 f. — It was characteristic of Fontane that beauty of
form could never make him entirely insensible to a false note in content.
Brahm's essay (Westermanns Illustrierte Monalshefte, Bd. S3. S. 246 £f.)

44

"Ja, ich bin mit meinem Lobe noch nicht fertig, finde die Grund-
auffassung Heyses durchaus richtig und stimme, wenigstens vielfach,
auch dam Detail zu, das der Aufsatz bringt. Dies Wort 'Detail'
wahr ich absichtlich, weil ich das Wort 'Urteil' oder auch nur 'Ein-
zelurteir vermeiden mochte. Sie sehen nun schon, worauf ich hinaus
will. Sie haben Heyse sorgfaltig untersucht und der im Neben-
zimmer angstlich wartenden Familie das mitgeteilt, was diese. Par-
don, schon wusste. . . . Aber die Schlusse daraus haben Sie nicht
gezogen und haben der Familie nicht mitgeteilt, ob er leben oder
sterben muss. Und darauf kommt es an. . . . Wir diirfen von jedem,
der sich an Heyse heranmacht, ein persohnliches Farbebekennen in
diesen wichtigen Fragen erwarten und verlangen. ... In Ihrem
Aufsatze ist nicht Liebe, nicht Hass. Sie sagen im einzelnen eine
Menge hiibscher, geistvoUer, witziger, auch sehr zutreffender Sachen
. . . aber das eigentliche Wort, das Wort, auf das es ankommt, wird
nicht gesprochen. Ich stehe persohnlich so zu Heyse, dass ich ihn
fiir das grosste, noch mehr fiir das reichste Talent halte, das wir
zur Zeit in Deutschland besitzen, dessen Bedeutung aber durch einen
falschen Tropfen in seinem Blut immer wieder in Frage gestellt, in
vielen seinen Productionen einfach vernichtet wird. War' ich der
jungere, konnt' ich, ihn uberlebend, in die Lage kommen, iiber ihn
zu schreiben, ich wiird' ihn in meinem Essay sehr hoch und sehr
tief steUen und das Verkehrte und schliesslich doch auch sehr Unkon-
sequente seiner Lebensanschauungen und seines Liebeskatechismus
zu beweisen suchen. Heyse, den ich sehr liebe, weiss auch, dass ich
so iiber ihn denke."

An objection similar to that brought against Brahm in this
particular essay Fontane applies in a more general way to
Paul Lindau. He writes (1883) that Lindau is clever and
entertaining, but that in matters of chief concern he often
fails to hit the nail on the head.' Again, there is reference
to indistinctness or inaptness in Fontane's rejection (1883)
of the common tendency to put an author in one definite

shows appreciation of Heyse's art; it is fruitful of suggestion concerning
Heyse's pessimistic philosophy of life and his exaltation of the passion
of love; it does not define what Fontane considered a fatal flaw in
Heyse's work, an elusive esthetic weakness, — a lack of organic harmony,
due to a circumscribed conception of the truths of life.
' W, 2, VII, 46.

45

category for all time, simply because it is a convenient method
of procedure.

But direct treatment of salient and distinctive character-
istics does not involve severity, the charge he brings occa-
sionally against Paul Schlenther, whom alone he names in
the same class with Otto Brahm in points of cleverness, un-
derstanding, and style. He considers Schlenther's judgment
of von Hiilsen's direction of the Royal Stage (Berlin) and its
results not entirely just (1883), since it fails to take into
account the fact that neither Vienna, Munich, Dresden, nor
Hamburg can show a better sum total within the two decades
previous to this date.^ Fontane could not have disapproved
of the high ideal upheld in this pamphlet, since he kept an
unattained ideal in view constantly in his own reports. But
his work shows throughout a full consideration of the diflS-
culties involved in the hoped-for attainment. He writes to
Schlenther similarly (1886) that the art of finding plays bad
and saying so in complimentary terms has not yet been dis-
covered, but that he considers Schlenther's judgment of
L'Arronge's "Loreley" nevertheless more severe than neces-
sary.^

In spite of Fontane's demand that criticism mean self-
expression, the conviction is constantly apparent that it
may not be used to exploit personal prejudice or to accrue
to personal advantage. It must be simply a truthful expo-
nent of art. It excludes, therefore, both hero-worship' and
annihilation.' For this same reason, notwithstanding the high
valuation he puts on cleverness, he emphasizes the point
that brilliance and wit can be made nothing more than ac-

* The reference is to Schlenther's "Botho v. Hulsen und seine Leute."
— Fontane suggests later in the discussion of this pamphlet that the
radical nature of it indicates a desire on Schlenther's part to play some-
where the role of a Heinrich Laube. It is an interesting coincidence that
Dr. Schlenther was called in 1898 to the position Laube had once held
as theater-director (W, 2, VII, 80 f.).

2 W, 2, XI, 108 f.

' (1889) He regrets Frenzel's indulgence in malice and his extreme
position in regard to "The Lady from the Sea" (W, 2, VII, 249; VIII,
20s).

46

cessories in criticism. He prizes wit in Lindau (1875), but
only because he finds it in connection with more important
factors rarely found in unison, — good training and good
sense (Schulung, bon sens) and a wealth of happy ideas.*
He states (1883) that his reference to real critical gifts in
Blumenthal does not mean his wit, which is secondary in
criticism.'' He mentions wit (1886) among the critical assets
of Schlenther and Brahm, but it is primarily the qualities
of judgment, training, style, freedom from brutality and
caddishness which make them in his opinion model critics.*
In acknowledging the fine points in Otto Pniower's criticism
of "Irrungen, Wirrungen," he speaks (1888) of a happy change
in conditions, through which not wit alone but the serious
pursuit of truth has come to fulfil the function of the critic*
Displeased (1889) at the superficiality of the press-criticisms
of "Vor Sonnenaufgang," he writes:*
•
"Das alias sind Schimpfereien und Ulkereien, als Ulke zum Teil
sehr gut, aber auf das Eigentlichste hin angesehn oberflachlich und
boswillig, entweder ohne jedes wahre Kunstverstandnis geschrieben
Oder unter Zuruckdrangung aller besseren Einsicht. Es ist lacherlich,
diesen jungen Kerl so mit der landlaufigen Phrase, dass er auch ein
bisschen Talent habe, abspeisen zu woUen. Das ist gar nichts. 'Ein
bisschen Talent' hat jeder. Das kann man von jedem dritten Men-
schen sagen. Hauptmann hat ein grosses, ein seltenes Talent."

The conscious parade of knowledge also is unnecessary
and distasteful to Fontane in criticism. Conrad Alberti's
sensational exposition of the points of weakness in the man-
agement of the Royal Stage (1889) he considers void of new
ideas. He expresses gratitude that Minister von Gossler did
not summon him instead of Alberti for an interview on the
problems of the stage, but says that he could have given
him better, more natural, and truer suggestions. This is not
a revelation of strictly personal feeling; Fontane was not jeal-
ous of the honor shown to a younger man. His magnanim-

1 W, J, VIII, 239. ' W, 2, XI, III f.

2 W, 2, VII, 46. * W, 2, XI, 160.

' W, 2, XI, 222.

47

ity and his disinterested devotion to art show themselves in
a sympathetic regard for the ability of the younger generation
so marked as to make him a unique figure in literature; but
he demanded that every approach to art be sincere, that
every contribution that laid claim to artistic merit be the
expression of an irresistible impulse, free from utilitarian
motives. The dominant feeling in this specific case is ex-
treme irritation at the lack of appreciation of more capable
men. The less spectacular work of Brahm and Frenzel is
in Fontane's opinion superior to that of Alberti in both tone and
practical import."^ He does not deny the talent of Alberti
and Bleibtreu, but their ostentatious assumption of superi-
ority argues to him a degree of self-seeking incompatible with
genuine inspiration and the true exposition of art values.

Other phases of this parade of knowledge, to which Fon-
tane objects, are what he calls at one place (1886) the "Al-
lesbesserwissen" of the Scherer school — with their tendency
to make philology the basis of justification; at another place
(1891), the hypersagacity of critics who probe after truth to
such an extent that the result is an impression of utter lack
of truth.^' The term 'lack of truth' (hochste Unwahrheit)

1 W, 2, XI, 176 £f. — The title of Alberti's book is "Ohne gchminke,
Wahrheiten iiber das moderne Theater" (Leipzig, 1887). — Frenzel's
discussion, "Die Zukunft des Schauspielhauses " (cf. above p. 17, n. i)
treats the long hegemony of the Royal Stage in Berlin, the establishment
of a so-called folk-stage in Berlin (Belle-Alliance Theater) to encourage
striving playwrights and actors, the beneficial influence of the Meiningen
players, the strength of the "Deutches Theater" in classic repertoire,
1883-88, the decline of the Royal Stage during the same time — in both
repertoire and the training of actors, due to v. Hulsen's failure to ad-
vance the younger actors and to the death of older favorites. — Fontane
writes of Alberti: "Und nun kommt Alberti, zunachst doch nichts als
ein letzter Auslaufer dieser jetzt modischen, breitspurigen, jugendgrunen
Weisheit, und orakelt dem Minister etwas vor. . . . Unter den Stiicken,
die er zur Annahme empfiehlt, ist auch eins von Alberti. Dabei trifft
es sich sehr komisch, dass er — da er bei der Aufzahlung tuchtiger
dramatischer Krafte nach dem Buchstaben ging — eigentlich mit sich
selbst hatte anfangen miissen. Er hat aber doch Anzengruber (mit An)
seinem Alberti (mit Al) vorgestellt, well ihm dieser Vortritt doch zu misslich
vorkommen mochte."

' W, 2, XI, III, 261 f.

48

seems to mean here — if this statement be compared with others
concerning criticism — absence of that involuntary response to
the esthetic impression, which is the critic's basic requisite.

Fontane's judgment of what he terms the academic ele-
ment in criticism is at times, however, ill-grounded. He
writes of Dr. Schlenther's lecture on Ibsen (1889) that it is
clever, striking in parts, but not convincing (erobernd), —
a little academic in effect.' This lecture, the purpose of
which was obviously to arouse intelligent enthusiasm for
Ibsen's work in Vienna, shows, in fact, nothing more than a
skilful union of appreciative criticism with the necessary
background of fact and a clear, brief exposition of content.
Another instance of Fontane's antipathy to anything smack-
ing of learned criticism is his failure to recognize the purpose
of Max Nordau in "Einiges iiber Schillers Don Carlos"
(1896). Nordau's intention was distinctly not an apprecia-
tion of Schiller's art or a study of the structure of the drama,
but a discussion of the influences bearing upon the work in
the process of production.^ Fontane's comment on Nordau's
articles is distinctly unsympathetic in spite of his admission
that, if he remembers correctly, Brahm's book on Schiller
contains similar points:

"Mit Shakespeare macht er nicht Umstande, und Schiller kommt
auch nur noch gerade mit 'nam blauen Auge davon. Liest man das
alias, so erscheint einam Schiller wie der Drucker, Herausgeber, und
Gesamtredakteur des 'Friesackar Anzeigers,' dar sainan 'Don Carlos'
aus damaligen Zeitungsnotizan zusammen gaklebt hat. Was wir
jetzt im 'Don Carlos' haben, ist danach ein dramatisierter Leit-
faden zur Zaitgeschichte von 1770 bis 1790, Salat, Kompendiumge-
mengsel. Nordau erkennt nicht mal an, dass Schiller, das Miadeste
zu sagen, wanigstens mit einer vorztiglichen Wurstmaschine gear-
beitet hat."

^ W, 2, XI, 183 f. This lecture appeared in Zur guten Stunde (1889),
203 f.

^ Among these influences Nordau considers the episode of the Diamond
Necklace, enthusiasm for Shakspere, and certain character types from the
Shakspere histories, such as the tyrant, the court-intriguer, the pathetic
prince (V. Z. Dec. 18-20, 1896). — Fontane's comments are found
W, 2, XI, 406 ff.

49

Fontane's own aim in criticism may be inferred from his
judgment of the work of others as treated up to this point.
He makes in addition various scattered confessions in regard
to his work and his fitness for it. His first important refer-
ence to his own critical qualities occurs in the correspondence
with the actor, Maximilian Ludwig, concerning his adverse
verdict against the role of Uriel Acosta. He asserts here
(1873) that he is justified in his mStier by fineness of feeling
and a sense for art ; that he has unconditional faith in the
correctness of his impressions (Empfindung); and that if
this were not the case he would lay down the critic's
pen.' He is conscious, therefore, of possessing what to
him is the fundamental requisite for this branch of his
work.

This statement of confidence, although not restricted, was
made to bear directly upon literature and can hardly be
applied to other forms of art. Dr. Schlenther says of Fon-
tane, to be sure, that his critical impulse found expression
through the medium of the theater simply because this
avenue for income opened to him, an opinion based partly
upon the readiness with which he had agreed to contribute
art reports to the Kreuzzeitung, partly upon the fact
that the stage was to him only one of several places where
life might be portrayed in artistic form.'' This opinion Fon-
tane's correspondence substantiates to a certain degree; his
published letters to friends contain discussions of picture
galleries as detailed as those of books, and the unpublished
letters from Italy to his wife indicate a keener interest in
art than in literature. But a nature deeply sensitive to art
in any form is likely to respond with something of a thrill
to all its forms, and the interest in plastic art is naturally
uppermost in the course of a limited sojourn in Italy. More-
over, Fontane confesses at one point that he felt less confi-
dence in his judgment of art than in that of the stage. He
wrote to Karl Zollner from Naples (1874) that he should on

1 W, 2, X, 308 f.

2 W, 2, VIII, Vorwort, VI

50

his return have to be wary in expressing an opinion on
painting : '

"In die Heimat zuruckgekehrt, werde ich meine Zunge sehr hiiten
miissen, auch schon deshalb, weil ich selber sehr wohl empfinde, dass
es mir nach einer ganz bestimmten Seite hin an etwas sehr Wesent-
lichem gebricht, was main Urteil einseitig und ungerecht macht.
Lagan die Dinge gunstiger, so wiirde ich mich mit einem wahren
Feuereifer in diese Fragen sturzen und in einem Tone losgehen wie
etwa Uber die Iphigenie der Frau Erhartt."

In Fontane's last year as critic of the Royal Theater sev-
eral expressions of lack of confidence in his ability occur.
He writes (Jan. 19) — again to ZoUner — in connection with
the Alberti discussion that he doubts his judgment at times,
but only temporarily, that he is usually so sure of himself
that he might be classed in this respect with the Albertis and
Bleibtreus.^ To his daughter he writes (Apr. 13) that he
feels enviable confidence as a rule in his judgment of novels,
stories, and poems, but that he often experiences difl&culty
in judging a new play, especially as it appeals to him from
the stage. The examples which he cites in this instance
prove, however, that he is writing under the sway of an ex-
treme mood. Such a statement as that he sees hardly any
difference between "Iphigenie," "Des Meeres und der Liebe
Wellen," "Die Weisheit Salomos" and "Nausikaa" is capable
of no other interpretation.'

Over against this testimony must be set the facts of his
stand against Schlenther and Brahm in some points of
Ibsen criticism, and his direct and definite response to the
dramas of Gerhart Hauptmann. Brahm, reporting on the first
performance of "Ghosts" in Berlin (Jan. 1887) and the aston-
ishment of even some of the freest thinkers at the revolt
in esthetics which this play represents, said of Fontane:

' W, 2, X, 347. — Fr. Erhartt was one of the actresses of the Royal
Theater.

' Cf. above, p. 47, n. i.

' W, 2, VII, 193 f. — On "Die Weisheit Salomos" cf. above, p. 42;
"Nausikaa" (Hermann Schreyer) was criticized by Fontane as undra-
matic (F. Z. Apr. 13, 1889, B i).

51

"Ich sehe mich noch mit dem alten Weisen, Theodor Fon-
tane, streitend durch die Strassen irren, um das Residenz-
theater herum." ^ Fontane was evidently not to be won
unconditionally for Ibsen. He wrote (Aug. 1889) that Schlen-
ther and Brahm lacked maturity (Reife) in their judg-
ment of Ibsen's treatment of the marriage problem.^ A few
months later in discussing Gerhart Hauptmann (Oct. 22), his
art, his understanding of structure and general dramatic
technic, he wrote that he himself had perhaps more insight
into the questions connected with Hauptmann's work than
other critics. The only conclusion to draw is that neither
individuality nor self-confidence was on the verge of annihi-
lation in Fontane even when he gave up his regular activity
as critic.

The first demand that Fontane made of a critic, the
involuntary response to an esthetic impression, he con-
sidered absolute — in so far as anything is absolute — and
he felt that this faculty of correct sensibility had been laid
in his cradle at birth.' But he realized also that a critic
might possess this absolute essential, which is or is not within
him, irrespective of zeal or cultivation, and yet fail to some
extent in his work. A critic cannot exist without the esthetic
sense, but it is the union of this sense with the ability to
explain esthetic impressions that produces able criticism. In
regard to this relative factor of explanation, Fontane was
always conscious of weakness in himself. He practically
admits such a shortcoming (1873) in the correspondence with
Maximilian Ludwig, referred to before,* and earlier than this
(1871) he disclaims looking upon his opinion as the final
word : ^

' Otto Brahm, "Kritische Schriften uber Drama und Theater," hrsg.
V. Paul Schlenther (Berlin, 1913). — The performance of "Ghosts,"
referred to here, was at the Residenz Theater in Berlin. The argument in
question probably occurred in an intermission.

^ W, .i, XI, 207. ' W, 2, X, 308 f.; of. above, p. 49-

« Ibid.

' W, 2, VIII, 419; additional, V. Z. Oct. 3, B 2; this citation is in
connection with grateful recognition of a successful ensemble performance
of Heyse's "EUsabeth Charlotte."

52

"Denn die Anmassung liegt mir fern, mich als eine letzte, unfehl-
bare Instanz anzusehn, von der aus kein Appell an Hoheres denkbar
ist. Wer mich aufmerksam liest, wird deshalb in steter Wiederkehr
Aeusserungen finden wie etwa: 'es will mir scheinen', 'ich hatte
den Eindruck', 'ich gebe anheim'. Das ist nicht die Sprache eines
absoluten Besserwissers."

Twenty years of experience, and the fact that he had in the
meantime been asked to act as critic for the performances
of the Deutsches Theater ^ and of the French players ^ seem
to have effected little change in his opinion of his own powers.
He writes to his daughter (1891) that he never considered
himself a great critic, that in knowledge and keenness he is
far inferior to such men as Brahm, but that his directness
and honesty at least must have been refreshing to his
readers.' The term 'knowledge' might mean here a wider
acquaintance with literature, due to wider experience or
university training, since both Schlenther and Brahm were
university men. The term 'keenness' can have to do only
with ability in exposition, in answering the question "Why"
in regard to sensations and impressions.

However Fontane may have felt about this element in his
work, he was undoubtedly freer than most critics from some
qualities that limit esthetic insight and render improbable a
just and open verdict. Neither personal prejudice nor a
tendency to blinding enthusiasm enters into his criticism.
He says (1873) that he is free from the worship of names
and from following the cult of literary heroes; * (1875) that
antagonisms are far from his nature. His admiration could
mount to a high level of enthusiasm without drowning the
sound of the steady inner voice that pronounced esthetic
verdicts, as in the cases of Schiller, Otto Ludwig, Ibsen,
Hauptmann, Holz, and Schlaf. His condemnation could be
severe without any attempt at annihilation, as in the case of
Lubliner's "Gabriele," Brachvogel's "Narziss," Gutzkow's

' 1883; cf. above, p. 17.

' Cf. V. Z. 1874, '77, '78, '79 (Jan.-Apr.); these numbers contain his
reports on the French players in Berlin; cf. above, p. xvii.
3 W. 2. VII. 242 S. 1 W, 2. X. 308.

53

"Uriel Acosta," and Scribe's "Les doigts de fee.'" This
does not mean that he never condemned absolutely. He
could not have performed ably the function of criticizing the
plays produced on the Royal Stage between 1870 and 1889
without doing so. There are frequent expressions of regret
from him that blame outweighs praise in his work. But the
absolute rejection of plays that he attempted to criticize
seriously at all is rare. He writes of von Mosenthal's "Sirene,"
for instance:^

"Das Stuck ist nicht schlecht, es fullt seinen Abend, aber as ist
schlimmer als schlecht, es ist trivial. Trivial in der Idee, trivial in
den Characteren, trivial in der Sprache. Ich mochte noch hinzu-
setzen: trivial auch in der Gesinnung. Dazu auch hier wieder die
Wahrnehmung, dass die Gestalten, die uns das Leben schildern sollen,
nicht atis dem Leben selber, sondern aus dritter respective siebenter
Hand genommen sind, atts dem alien elenden Bestande herkommlicher,
vielleicht nie wahrgewesener Biihnenfiguren. . . ."

Again, of Moser's "Reflexe":'

"Wie kann man dergleichen schreiben, vor allem wie kann man
dergleichen auffuhren! . . . Wohin sind wir gekommen? Und wir
glauben, uns Uber franzosische Ehebruchsstiicke moquiren zu diirfen.
Dies ist ja alias viel bedenklicher. Und dabei hohl, hohl. . . ."

The usual course, however, in his reports is the consideration
of vulnerable as well as commendable points in the master-
pieces of master-minds, or the recognition of promise, however
slight it may be, in the work of the untrained, unpolished
playwright, the acknowledgment, in works that could by no
means be ranked as art, of any bits capable of use in a more
perfect structure.

Work based upon such foundations was naturally not
taken lightly. Dr. Schlenther testifies that no one was ever
admitted to Fontane when a criticism was in progress.*

1 The criticisms referred to here are found W, 2, VIII; the references
in order of mention are as follows: 61 f., 148 £f., 180-193 ff-i 3°°~3^° ^v
313 £f., 277 ff., 170, 143 ff-. 112 ff-

2 V. Z. Dec. IS, 1874, B 1.

' V. Z. Jan. 3, 1878, B 3. * W, 2, VIII, Vorwort, IV.

54

Fontane himself confesses that it was a serious matter, that
he often asked himself the question whether he could be re-
sponsible for what he wrote.* Even the casual reader of the
"Causerien uber Theater" will be impressed with the fact
that cases of testing a previous verdict are frequent in criti-
cism both of dramatic composition and of stage portrayal.
The critic says with gratitude, for example, of Adolf Klein's
impersonation that it proves his own demands neither false
nor unreasonable.^

Fontane recognized, furthermore, from the beginning, the
peculiar difficulty involved in worthy and just criticism of
the acted drama. He writes (1873) that a play makes a new
claim on a critic every moment and gives no time to test
subtle points for the explanation of shortcomings.' In the ex-
treme statement to his daughter (1889) in regard to his lack
of discrimination at times in judging a drama, the difficulty lies
in the acted play and in following and estimating quickly the
importance of details. The introduction to his criticism
of "Vor Sonnenaufgang" indicates that for him there was
a problem in every scene, since he did not take the easier
course of denunciation or of unreserved praise.* The fact
that there was a wide gulf frequently between his high ideal
and the dramatic or histrionic attainment with which he had
to deal, did not tend to decrease the burden of his under-
taking. Again and again the note of sense of duty occurs;
and duty for the critic meant to Fontane — as is obvious from
this discussion — the conscientious application of esthetic and
intellectual faculties, with no thought of personal advantage,
n reporting truth.

"Ich bin nicht dazu da, offentliche Billetdoux zu schreiben'
sondem die Wahrheit zu sagen oder das, was mir als Wahrheit
scheint." ^

1 W, 2, X, 308. ' W, 2, VIII, 420.

2 W, 2, VIII, 371 f. * W, 2, VIII, 300.

6 W, 2, VIII, 419 (1871).

CHAPTER III

Fontane's Practical Suggestions for the Elevation of

THE Stage

"Den hochsten Aniauf . . . nahm die Menschennatur, als sie einen
gothischen Dom in seiner VoUendung dachte. Aber er ist ein Ideal ge-
blieben und mit Recht; denn das VoUendete muss unvoUendet bleiben.
Die fertigen gotiscken Dome sind nicht voUendet und die voUendeten sind
nichlfertig." — T:h. Fontane (W, 2, VI, 9 f.).

Every serious critic is to some degree an educator. This
is especially true of the critic whose work includes a construct-
ive as well as a destructive element; nor does the statement
involve unquestioned acceptance of the principles according
to which he would build. The very negation of existing
conditions and the suggestion of substitutes arouse the criti-
cal attitude in others, and affect public sentiment — if only
indirectly.

The worth of both the destructive and the constructive in
Fontane's criticism has been largely overlooked. His work
has been considered primarily a record of impressions upon
a rather erratic plate, and therefore of value chiefly as a
revelation of an original and versatile personality. Richard
M. Meyer says that in the "Causerien" it is only human
beings — especially the actors themselves — that interest the
writer,* although he redeems the statement by an addition
to the effect that where actual people are portrayed (as in
Ibsen and Hauptmann), or where the result falls short of the
intention to present real life, Fontane rarely erred in a time
practically blind to such distinctions. Otto Ernst alone gives
him definite rank in the unequivocal assertion, unsupported,

' Richard M. Meyer, "Die deutsche Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts,"
3. umgearbeitete Auflage (Berlin, 1906), 556.

56

however, by facts or proofs, that he is the most important
critic of the theater that Germany has had since Lessing.*

Even casual reading of the two men reveals these striking
points of similarity, with whatever differences in tempera-
ment, purpose, and conditions they may be attended: both
were ardent believers in the worth of art; both were imbued
with a passion for truth; both brought to their work a
spirit of admirable patriotism; both united in their work
the destructive and constructive elements.

Destruction may rest entirely on a basis of theory. Con-
struction may be largely theoretical, but in order to be
enduring it must take into consideration practice as well.
Fontane's constructive criticism has to do, like Lessing's, with
both; but his methods are altogether different. He found
a strong basic theory adapted to German drama already in
existence. This he accepted for the most part without any
show of opposition, although it was not his belief that any
generation could establish an unalterable law for all time.
His constructive work is limited to improvement and exten-
sion, to the perfection of harmony between the various parts,
and to the development of detail. He could not call dramas
into being to illustrate his principles, as did Lessing; but
keeping the vision of a new national drama and a powerful
national stage before him, he made continuous suggestions
for changes in scene, in general structure, in the dramatic or
poetic conception of a play, and for the performance of wor-
thy plays according to the ideas of the author. The scope
of these suggestions becomes apparent only by separating
scattered bits from their context and massing them together.
Then only are the full proportions of the ideal toward which
he worked revealed: the disinterested co-operation of writer,
director, actors, and public in behalf of a complete whole.

His message to the public, most severe of all, is almost
entirely one of denunciation for pleasure in the mediocre
and for failure, therefore, to appreciate and demand the
best.

' Otto Ernst (Schmidt), "Bliihender Lorbeer" (Leipzig, 1910), 18.

57

Lacking an esthetic standard by which to judge, the audi-
ence shows no discrimination between the typical and the
individual in interpretation; between the external and the
internal in the portrayal of passion; between mere tempo-
rary effect and consistent natural motivation. They accept
affectation for reality; sentimentality for power. They are
ruled by prejudice or by prevailing sentiment. Fontane
writes of Wtinzer's portrayal of Louis XIV in Heyse's "Eli-
sabeth Charlotte" and of the attitude of the public:'

"Wem die Palme des Abends gebiihrt, ist nicht leicht zu ent-
scheiden; wir meinen indess Herrn Wunzer als Ludwig dem XIV.
Wir sprechen dies um so lieber aus, als Herr Wunzer im Allgemeinen
nicht das fragwurdige Gltick hat, zu den Lieblingen des Publikums
zu gehoren. O Publikum. — Eine so glanzende Leistung, dass Herr
Wunzer nach jeder einzelnen Scene Anspruch auf Beifall und Her-
vorruf gehabt hatte, aber Herr Wunzer steht nicht auf der Liste
derer, die, sie mogen spielen wie sie wollen, unter alien Umstanden
beklatscht werden miissen. Ein einziges Mai regten sich zwei
Hande und ihr leiser verschamter Klang halite, beinah komisch,
durch das stumm verbleibende Haus. Diese zwei Hande gehorten
dem Unterzeichneten."

Spectators lack all sense of responsibility as to their part
in the maintenance of art. That writers, directors, and ac-
tors are influenced by the decadent taste and even cater to
it Fontane indicates in his criticism of Lubliner's "Ga-
briele" (1878), in large part an imaginative description of
how LubUner and modern writers of his type proceed;^ be-
ginning perhaps with an extremely effective original sketch,
they add extraneous elements to appeal to popular favor
until eventually half of the initial charm must be sacrificed
in order to give the whole some ultimate form. Fontane
expresses surprise (1881) in a letter to Hertz that he has heard
nothing concerning a presentation of Heyse's "Weiber von
Schorndorf." The public, he adds, demands in a play either
love or a question of the day.*

1 V. Z. Oct. 3, 1871, B 2.

2 W, 2, VIII, 277 f.

3 W, 2, XI, 30.

58

They fail either to appreciate the national element in such
a playwright as Benedix, or to give the support to real art
that would call forth writers of higher rank. In a report on
"Der Traum ein Leben" (1889) Fontane makes the state-
ment that an increased demand and longing for real poetry
would again produce such poets as Grillparzer.^

Fontane's demand of the public is not exorbitant. He
realizes (1881) that it is not possible to raise millions of
people to the height of esthetic appreciation of art, but it is
reasonable to ask of them a distinction between sense and
nonsense.^ There is undoubtedly personal feeling, a reflec-
tion of personal experience, in part, in his vehement words
from 1886.'

"In den Augen des grossen Fublikums kann der Dichter nie
genug hungern; as ist sozusagen seine Spezialitat, und je fester der
Schmachtriemen ihm angezogen wird, desto reiner seine Lyrik. . . .
Bessere Dichterzeiten als am Versailler und Weimarer Hofe hat es
nie gegeben, und die jetzt existierende Abhangigkeit vom Geschmacke
des Publikums oder wohl gar von den Launen eines die Hand krampf-
haft auf dem Beutel haltenden Buchhandlers ist keineswegs ein
Idealzustand daneben."

But sixteen years of regular contact with the audiences of
the Royal Theater, and of observation of the taste they
manifested, are behind these words as well.

In Fontane's suggestions to writers, the theoretical and the
practical are present in fairly equal proportions. It is con-
venient here, however, in order to avoid confusion and repe-
tition, to attempt a separation of the two elements, to bar
for the present details which have to do more particularly
with theory, and to consider here only the influence Fontane
endeavors to exert on directing the current of production
into what he believes to be proper channels.

It may be due in part to the fact that he kept in mind
the difficulties involved in play-making that his attitude is

' W, ^, VIII, 109.

^ W, 2, VIII, 172. (From report on Brachvogel's "Narziss.")

' W, 2, VIII, i6s f.

59

rarely one of absolute repudiation. It is no doubt due in
part also to his pronounced predilection for the distinctive
element, or for discovering the basis for this element, in
things to the general observer not more than ordinary. He
writes (1871) in his report on a one-act play by von Putlitz
("Zwei Tassen"):*

"Man wird einraumen . . ., es ist ein sehr kleiner Stoff, aber er
ist nicht so klein, dass er nicht hinreissend sein konnte. Ja, wir
erklaren ofien, dass wir fur seiche Kleinigkeiten eine ganz besondere
Vorliebe haben, wenn das, was nun endlich da ist, uns als etwas in
seiner Art Perfektes beriihrt."

It is, indeed, only reasonable to expect in Fontane's dra-
matic criticism traces of a fondness for detail that is evident
throughout other branches of his prose work. This quality
reveals itself in almost every page of the " Wanderungen "
and determines to some extent his method in narrative.^

But Fontane's recognition of plays involving little art is
due also to his belief that the theater should afford enter-
tainment as well as elevation, and that the German reper-
toire was lacking in this respect. His personal preferences
were not in the line of the amusement play. He writes

» V. Z. Oct. 12, B 2.

* It is Fontane's ability to charm and hold his readers through the
commonplace occurrences of life to which Otto Ernst refers when he says
that he read to the sixteenth chapter of "Cecile" before he noticed that
nothing had happened (pp. cit., 17). Fontane himself says of his narra-
tive work (W, 2, VII, 80): "wer auf plots und grosse Geschehnisse wartet,
ist verloren. Fiir solche Leute schreib' ich nicht." As a rule things do
not happen in Fontane's narratives as in a novel of clear, structural
outline; "Irrungen, Wirrungen" and "Effi Briest" have a compelling
human appeal that holds the reader without any striking external struc-
ture of which he is conscious. In "Der Stechlin" the unifying principle is
the personality of the central figure; "Vor dem Sturm" Julius Rodenberg
termed a series of prose ballads, and so fine was the implication of lack of
general unity of the usual kind involved in this term that Fontane him-
self understood for the first time what others had meant by the charge
of loose construction brought against the novel (cf. W, 2, X, 407 ff.).

' W, 2, VIII, 71 f. — This report is a grateful acknowledgment of
"Die Piccolomini."

60

"Kleines, Abziehendes, Zerstreuendes darf sich nicht nur ein-
mischen, es soU es sogar, aber es darf in der Rang- und Stufenleiter
der Dinge dadurch nichts verandert, es diirfen die Ideale nicht auf-
gegeben werden. . . . nach langer Herrschaft des Burlesken . . . steigt
eben jetzt wieder die Flut, und die Sehnsucht wachst, aus der elenden
Flachheit herauszukommen. Wie jeder in unsem Tagen ein Verlangen
in sich tragt, im Juli und August einen Trunk Bergluft zu tun, so
ist auch ein Verlangen da, in Wintertagen einen frischen Trunk
SchUIer zu tun."

In a report on Gottschall's "Pitt and Fox" (1878), he de-
clares his unit of measurement changed by the demands of
experience; but the context shows that this change does not
affect his taste,' that from the point of view of art this play-
is still to him only tolerable. It was his method, however —
a method in accordance with his requirements for criticism
and with his beUef that the public were influential in deter-
mining the standard of the stage — to study the reason for
the success of plays which made no appeal to him. He
writes of "Uriel Acosta" and "Narziss," which were to him
the bites noires of German dramatic literature:^

"... nichtsdestoweniger sohn' ich mich, ohne meine Bedenken
aufzugeben, mit beiden Stiicken aus, je haufiger ich sie sehe. Ich
finde mehr und mehr den Grund, warum sie wirken, wirken mussen,
und tout comprendre, c'est tout pardonner. Objectiv haben sie gar
keine Berechtigung."

In the light of these considerations, it is not surprising that
Fontane does not bar the farce from the Royal Stage, but is
satisfied with hedging it about with conditions. Similarly,
although he recognizes Moser's emptiness,' he gives him the
honor of founding a new German type, the amusement play.*

1 W, 2, VIII, 166 f.

2 W, 2, VIII, 170.

» V. Z. Jan. 3, 1877, B 3.

* V. Z. Dec. I, 1883. — Reference to p. 14-15, n. i shows that
Moser's hold on the Royal Stage was strong during Fontane's activity
as reporter. Fontane mentions him (V. Z. Mar. i, 1882, B i) with
Bauernfeld, Birch-Pfeiffer, and Benedix as having become the "eiserner
Bestand, ein Lustspiel-Grundkapital unserer Bilhne." His criticism re-

61

The demand of the time accounts also for the fact that
Fontane's general practical suggestions to writers — the only
ones to be considered in this chapter — are almost entirely
to writers of comedy and farce. The new national type,
for which he saw immediate need, was a type to combat
the influence and popularity of the French society play. He
felt keenly the lack of the German stage in light but not
trivial comedy with a distinctly national flavor in its tone
and trend of thought (Gesinnung), and with a refreshing
element of genuine humor. He recognized in Lessing, Goethe,
Schiller, Kleist, Grillparzer, and Otto Ludwig a tragedy
that was national in spirit and that met in many respects
the sternest artistic requirements; but German comedy was
deficient. Even "Minna von Barnhelm" seemed to him in
spite of its charm, too much a mirror of a certain period '
to make a strong appeal to the audience of his day. "Der
zerbrochene Krug" did not contain the element of sound,
wholesome humor indispensable to his idea of successful
stage comedy; despite his appreciation of the art represented
in its construction, he found a repellent factor in Judge
Adam and the comic element dependent upon his connection
with the fate of the lovers, and he accordingly recommended
this play for reading rather than for presentation.*

His voice is heard, therefore, in the sterile period of the
70's and 8o's now in a note of commendation so to speak,
now in a call to arms. His encouragement takes various
forms. He recognizes the value of wit and happy ideas in
plays of the day (1876- no playwrights are named) as a wel-
come substitute for the prosaic, the insipid, and the senti-
mental in the Birch-Pfeiffer plays.' He calls attention (1880)
to the difficulties confronting the modern prose writer of
comedy and farce; a successful scene in either is, he says,

veals also, however, that the success of these playwrights was due in
part to the fact that they offered roles in which Frau Frieb and Herr
Doring, both public favorites, excelled.

1 w, 2, vm, 33 (1870).

* V. Z. Oct. 29, 1886, Abendausgabe.

8 V. Z. Feb. 24, B 3.

62

a greater service and a harder task than the production of
a mediocre tragedy in five-foot iambics, for which some
Roman emperor provides, ready for use, as it seems, the
celebrated main requisites of guilt and atonement.^ He notes
the significant change (1885) of fusion of life into the char-
acters. In 1876 he had written:'' "Die Anfechtbarkeit in
Stoff und Gestalten bleibt dieselbe." He now writes:'

"Auch in unsern modernen Lustspielen stimmt nicht alias, und
wir mtissen uns Verzerrungen und Willkurlichkeiten in Hiille und
Fulle gef alien lassen; im ganzen aber sind as doch Menschen, deran
Bekanntschaft wir machen, Menschen in menschenmoglichen Situa-
tionan und vor allem Menschen, die sich nicht eigens vornehman, um
vieles diimmer, trivialar und albarner zu sprachen, als im wirklichen
Leban gesprochan wird."

This same measuring norm is applied even more frequently
in criticisms not limited to general statements. It is evident,
for example, in Fontane's change of attitude toward both von
Moser and Lubliner. He notes in von Moser (1871) talent and
great charm of spirit (Liebenswiirdigkeit). On this ground
he places him in what he terms at this time a new school of
comedy, represented chiefly by Benedix, von Putlitz, Girndt,
and Wilbrandt. A month later he appreciates in his work
clearness — in spite of kaleidoscopic changes in scene — a
good sense of construction, comedy of situation, and witty
dialog. But (1878) he assumes that " Madchenschwiire,"
announced as adapted from the Polish, is by von Moser,
because it reveals all of his virtuosity and at the same time
all of his shortcomings.*

"Nichts ist nau, alias ist verzerrt; von Lebenswahrheit keina
Spur. . . . Eban so wenig von folgerichtigar Entwickalung. Alias
WUlkiir; nie Verlegenhait was zu tun, weil dlle Mittel gelten. Die
Scene, der Momant harrschan souveran."

His attitude toward Lubliner is for a decade adverse in
the extreme. He calls his "Modelle des Sheridan" (1875)

' W, 2, VIII, 215. ^ Cf. above, p. 61 n. 3.

' W, 2, VIII, 158.

< V. Z. Dec. I, 1871, B 2; Jan. 3, 1872, B 2; Nov. i, 1878, B 4.

63

a salad of big words.' Later (1876) a series of criticisms
begins, in which Fontane shows that he has no respect for
Lubliner's attitude toward art, since he is willing to sacrifice
for the sake of mere effect everything that makes for dra-
matic unity and reality. He terms him a specialist in the
brilliant stringing together of scenes. Material is a matter
of indifference to him and he works with puppets.* He
charges him (1878) with playing in "Gabriele" entirely to
the public; (1881-1883) with having in "Gold und Eisen" and
"Aus einer Grossstadt" no conception of a play as a whole.'
But (1879) after the premiere of "Die Frau ohne Geist," he
wrote that Lubliner had created real people in the principal
characters of this play, surrounded as they were by traces
of his old weaknesses, — arbitrariness, sentimentality, and
unnaturalness.* He maintains this stand (1885), mentioning
it as one of a group of recent plays indicating the grasp
upon life that marks the progress of the period over the 40's
and so's.*

Although this is naturally not Fontane's only norm, it is
worthy of note that this norm has some part — and that not
insignificant — in "his commendation of more widely recog-
nized playwrights, some of whose works find a place in the
stage repertoire today. He gives both Laube and Benedix
high rank (1881) among play-makers of the period 1835-1865
for knowledge of life and the theater, for freedom from the
bombastic phrase, and from that imitation of Shakspere's
imagery which Philistines call poetic. Laube, whom he had
charged with failure (187 1) in the conception of Gellert's
character, he praises for cleverness, concentration, judgment,
and justice in the portrayal of Duke Carl Eugene and the
Duchess of Hohenheim in "Die Karlsschiiler," ' and Queen

• W, 2, vm, 273.

^ V. Z. Feb. II, B 3. (report on Hermann Kette's "Carolina
Brocchi").

' W, 2, VIII, 277 ff., 282 f.

• V. Z. Mar. 22, B i.
» W, 2, VIII, 159.

• W, 2, VIII, 132-134 f.; V. Z. Feb. 22, 1881.

64

Elizabeth in "Graf Essex" he finds superior to Schiller's
conception in that it is truer to life and to history.'

The series of predominantly sympathetic reports on Lin-
dau's plays (1872-1888) show commendation in general for
piquancy, witty repartee, and new situations. But they
show also the application of norms related to the constant
one, the lifelike. He considers the premises in "Maria und
Magdalena" questionable (1872), but granting these, he sees
in the subsequent structure the distinct stamp of truth.^
"Diana" (1873) f^'ils from lack of natural development.* In
"Verschamte Arbeit" (1880), a play which he approves for
lifelike situations ^ and for the combination of comic content
and healthy social import,' he finds the working out of the
denouement improbable.' Lindau fails, in his opinion (1888),
in making "Tante Therese" an entirely sympathetic and
convincing character, but shows in this play a sense of unity
lacking in his contemporaries in the same line of work.'

The patriotic note enters strongly into the criticism of
Wilbrandt and without connection with the portrayal of
historic character, since it is Wilbrandt's comedy only which
meets Fontane's approval.* In connection with "Die Maler"

' Fontane writes of Frl. Stolberg's presentation of Elizabeth (,V. Z.
May IS, 1873, B 2): "Sie gab die Konigin, die aus eifersiichtiger
Frauen-Regung zwar die letzten Entscheidungen hernimmt, aber doch
immer Konigin bleibt. Nach dieser Seite bin ist die Elisabeth in 'Essex'
echter, eindringlicher , dramatischer als die Schiller'sche, in der wir nur die
kleingeartete, neidisch Eifersiichtige sehen."

' V. Z. Dec. 3, B 1.

' W, 2, VIII, 236.

* V. Z. May 5, 1881, B i.

» Cf. W, 2, VIII, 21s (Nov. 1880).

« V. Z. Oct. 26, B 2.

' V. Z. Jan. 27. — Other sympathetic reports on Lindau are found:
F. Z. May 23, 1874, B 2; W, 2, VIII, 238 f.; V. Z. Feb. 10, 1878, B 3.

' The only Wilbrandt play based on German history that he criticizes,
"Der Graf von Hammerstein," he approaches from the histrionic stand-
point as presenting in the main character a role that cannot maintain
itself without pathos (F. Z. Aug. 25, 1874, B 2). He writes of "Kriem-
hild" (Z> — Jan. 6, 1882): "... alles vortrefilich, brilliant componiert,
geistvoU im Dialog, reich an guten und wirkungsvollen Scenen, aber
doch todt und beinah langweilig, namentlich der 2. Akt; der 3. Akt

65

(1882) he writes that although the succession of artist anec-
dotes is somewhat monotonous, a comedy by Wilbrandt is
always a pleasure — whether it be old or new, in one act or
three — on account of its refreshing, delicate humor. The
report on " Jugendliebe " (1871) is in a sense a patriotic call
to German playwrights. Fontane defines here, too, the
term " Liebenswiirdigkeit " used in his treatment of modern
French comedy and applied to Putlitz, Girndt, and Benedix.
After a resume of content he writes: ^

" Das ist nun alias, auf den ersten Blick, so trivial, wie moglich
und jeder, dem man den Inhalt nicht vorspielt, sondern bios erzahlt,
hat ein voiles Recht auszurufen: 'Hundertmal dagewesen; lahmge-
legte moderne Erfindungskraf t ! ' Und doch ware nichts falscher als
eine seiche Verurteilung. Erfindung hin, Erfindung her, jedenfalls
begegnen wir hier einem Etwas, das das Gegenteil von aUer Lahmheit
ist. Alles ist elastisch. Goethe sagt einmal, was frisch ist, ist auch
neu, und diesem Ausspruche nach, den ich mir ganz zu eigen mache,
haben wir hier nichts Altes, Abgestandenes, sondern etwas bUtz-
blank Neues. Mit dieser Frische im innigsten Ziisammenhang steht,
Oder vieUeicht nur ein anderes Wort fUr sie ist, die Liebenswiirdig-
keit dieser Wilbrandtschen Arbeiten. Und dies ist unendlich viel.
Im Leben wie in der Kunst ist diese Seite des Daseins viel sparlicher
vertreten, als eine optimistiche Anschauung auf den ersten Blick
vermuten mochte. Liebenswiirdig sain umschliesst viel andare Gaben:
Gesundheit des Fiihlens und Denkens, geistige Beweglichkeit, Giite,
nichts schwer nehmen, lachende Augen. All das spiegelt sich in den
Lustspielen Adolf WUbrandts, in keinem mehr als in dieser ' Jugend-
liebe'. . . . Das ganze aufgebaut auf deutschem Gefiihlsleben und
deutschem Humor, und in dieser Beziehung spezifisch national.
Wir soUten es wirklich mal mit uns selbst versuchen. An den Kraften
dazu fehlt es nicht. Wir nennen nur vier Namen, die uns gerade
zur Hand sind: Benedix, Putlitz, 0. Girndt, Wilbrandt. SoUte es
uns nicht beschieden sain, uns zu uns selbst zuriickzufindan? "

It was Fontane's conviction that the genuine art of a na-
tion not only should bear but must bear a national impress.

(au fond vielleicht noch schlimmer) macht wenigstens so viel ausserlichen
Larm, dass man zu keiner Langeweile kommen kann."

' W, 2, VIII, 229 f. Part of this citation is found only V. Z. Apr. 2,
B 4.

66

This is the intangible something that makes its very essence
and that at the same time renders successful imitation im-
possible. He says in "Die Londoner Theater" that the
bastard in "King John" is so thoroughly English that only
an Englishman can portray the role perfectly.'

"Nur in England gedeiht diese Mischung von Mut, Unverschamt-
heit und breitestem Behagen, ein Mut, der alia Kennzeichen der
Renotamage tragt, aber doch keine Renommage ist, sondern ein-
steht fur die Situation, die er geschaffen."

In regard to the flaws in Scribe's "Bataille de dames" and
the inability of German actors to reproduce the full charm
of this play, he writes:^

"Allein diese Mangel sind franzosische Mangel, iiber die eine
franzosische Auffuhrung hinweghilft. Sie mindern sich unter der
Raschheit des Spiels, unter der Eleganz der Erscheinung, unter der
Lebenswahrheit aller Formen. . . . Jedes Volk hat nationale oder
geseUschaftliche Typen ausgebildet, deren voUkommene Darstellung
nur ihm gelingt. Nicht bloss auf der BUhne; iiberhaupt in der
Kunst."

The strongest of Fontane's patriotic appeals to German
play-makers is in his criticism of Benedix. For him the
prevailing virtue of Benedix — an amusing and sympathetic
treatment of human foibles as they occur commonly in the
middle-class townsfolk of Germany ^- retains distinct value
in spite of the accompanying lack of individualization of
character. He points to Benedix, therefore, (1874) as to a
pathfinder, the intrinsic national worth of whose work is
overlooked.'

"Er hat nicht nur wie kein anderer, den deutschen Ton getroffen,
er hat uns auch eben dadurch, dass er diesen Ton und mit ihm
zugleich unser Herz traf, den Beweis gefuhrt, dass ein vom Fran-
zosischen losgelostes, ehebruchsloses Lustspiel sehr wohl moglich ist.
Und so hat er denn geradezu eine nationale Bedeutung fur uns, die

1 W, 2, VIII, sio.

" W, 2, VIII, III f.

' He wrote this after seeing "Gegenuber." V. Z. Jan. 25, B 4.

67

iiber seine eigenen Tage hinaus fortwirken muss, mdem es moglich
sein wird, allezeit mit dem Bemerken auf ihn hinzuweisen: das war
der Wag. All das wusste er — jeder weiss am Ende, was er werth
ist — und eine leise Verstimmung musste ihn iiberkommen, wenn er
auf den Lebensgang Scribe's und des alteren Dumas hinsah. Mancher
wird hier lachelnd antworten: er war eben weder der eine noch der
andere. Allerdings nicht, aber er war Benedix, und hat als solcher
das deutsche Leben eben so characteristisch wiedergegeben, wie jene
das franzosische. War will behaupten, dass Ludwig Richter hintar
Gustav Dore zuriickstehe? Abar wir stecken noch viel zu tief in der
Anschauung: wail es andars ist, darum ist as schlechtar. . . ."

He recognizes a trace of realism (1875) in the task which
Benedix and von Putlitz set for themselves, and accordingly
recommends them rather than Scribe, as models for the
Germans asserting, moreover, that unrestrained portrayal of
the ordinary daily life about us is much more difl&cult than
the dramatization of memoirs of the Louis and the English
Georges.^ This recognition of the realistic tendency recurs
(1878) in the criticism of "Der Storenfried," a report worthy of
notice for three additional reasons: it shows Fontane by no
means unconscious of Benedix' weaknesses; it mentions as
weaknesses qualities which Fontane despised; it attests in
this and in its remarks on French comedy the justice of
Fontane's critical work:^

1 W, 2, VIII, 161.

* W, 2, VIII, 138. — Fontane had written (1874) in support of the
privilege of hearing the French players in Berlin {V Z. Jan. 3, B 2):
"Von einigen Seiten her ist das Auftreten einer franzSsischen Schau-
spielergesellschaft in Berlin gemissbilligt . . . worden. . . . Wollten wir
warten, bis die Franzosen ihre innerliche Stellung zu uns anderten, uns
als ebenburtig oder wohl gar als uberlegen ansahen, so wurden wir lange
warten miissen. Sie werden sich nicht andern, dafur sind sie eben Fran-
zosen, . . . eine liebenswurdige, eminent interessante, mit alien mog-
lichen Vorzugen, aber auch mit alien moglichen Schwachen ausgeriistete
Nation. Zu diesen letztern gehort, weltbekanntermassen, dass sie sehr
eitel sind und sich, nach wie vor, fiir die ersten halten. Lassen wir
ihnen das; wir sind in der glucklichem Lage es zu konnen. Es zu konnen,
weil wir Ruhe und Besonnenheit genug haben, wirkliche Vorzuge gelten
zu lassen, und eingebildete oder gleichgultige, zu denen doch zuletzt alle
diese 'Comedies' und ihre Vorstellungen gehoren, zu belacheln."

"... das Stiick selbst. Wie wohltuend! was ihm von Alltaglich-
keit und Sentimentalitat anhaftet, verschwindet neben der Fiille
seiner Vorziige. Zwei, drei Winter lang sehe ich nun franzosische
Komodien und freue mich, von wenigen Ausnahmen abgesehen, ihrer
Kunst, will sagen: ihres Aufbaus, ihrer geschickten Schiirzungen und
Losungen, ihrer wundervoUen Detailbehandlung, ihres pointierten
Dialogs. Aber unter aUen diesen Stucken ist keines, in dem so viel
gesundes Leben steckte wie in diesem ' Storenfried.' Alle haben sie
etwas mehr oder weniger Gekiinsteltes, Gezwungenes, wahrend mir
der Wert eines Kunstwerks umgekehrt in seiner Ungezwungenheit
zu liegen scheint."

Fontanfe's dislike for the French influence in German
comedy and his plea for the strengthening of the national
influence were clearly not based upon hatred or lack of ap-
preciation of the French. Eloquently as the " Wanderungen "
and the ballads bear witness to his loyalty to his own country,
to his fondness for its makers and its traditions, this loyalty is
accompanied by distinct pride in his French descent. In his
foreign travels he shows extreme sensitiveness to indications
of German inferiority, especially if he must admit them
just.i His spirit was in some respects typically German;

■ 'He wrote to his wife from Milan (£ — Aug. lo, 1875): "Ueber-
haupt welche Stadt! O Berlin, wie weit ab bist du von einer wirklichen
Hauptstadt des deutschen Reiches! Du bist durch politische Verhalt-
nisse uber Nacht dazu geworden, aber nicht durch Dick selbst. Wirst
es, nach dieser Seite hin, auch noch lange nicht warden. Vielleicht
fehlen die Mittel, gewiss die Gesinnung. 'Denn aus Gemeinem ist
der Mensch gemacht' sagt Schiller; er soil dabei speciell an den Berliner
Spiessburger, der inzwischen zum 'Bourgeois' sich abwarts entwickelt
hat, gedacht haben. Ueberhaupt will es mir nicht glucken, es im Aus-
lande zu irgend einer patriotischen Erhebung zu bringen. Nicht nur,
dass man Schritt um Schritt empfindet, wie sehr uns diese alten und
reichen Kulturlande voraus sind, nein, man taxirt uns auch in diesem
Sinne. Man will von uns nichts wissen. Weder das 'ewige Gesiege',
noch die 5 Milliarden haben unsere Situation gebessert. Es hiess zwar
unmittelbar nach dem Kriege; 'wir seien nun ein fiir allemal etablirt,
der so lange vermisste Respekt sei da.' Aber ich merke nichts davon.
AUes dreht sich nach wie vor um England und Frankreich; man ver-
steht kein Deutsch oder man will es nicht verstehen; englische und
franzosische Zeitungen uberall; englische und franzosische Biicher im
Schaufenster jedes Buchladens, aber kein einziges deutsches Buch. Nicht

French amusements did not appeal to him/ and there are
repeated evidences that he considered the French disposition
and attitude toward life inferior to the German. Yet his
connection with the French colony of Berlin was a revered
family tradition, and the consciousness of the French blood
in his veins gave him a sense not only of pride but of superir
ority to most men of pure Teutonic ancestry. There is a
trace of this in the consciousness of his excellence as causeur,
which he attributed to his French descent. He writes from
the Italian Lakes (1875):^

"Wie ungermanisch bin ich dOch. Alia Augenblicke (aber ganz
im Ernst) empfind' ich meine romanische Abstammung. Und ich
bin stolz darauf."

He rejoices in a reference from Brahm (1888) to the effect
that Berliners cannot understand Gallic humor, adding that he
is both proud and happy that the cradle of his ancestors stood
in Languedoc' He values, accordingly, the cleverness, the
grace, the charm, a large part of the method of modern French
comedy. He deplores the lack of this distinctive French
quality in the German comedy of manners. But he prefers
the spirit (Gesinnung), the Liebenswiirdigkeit, that he finds in
the work of some German playwrights; the conclusions his diary
shows from the visit of the French players (1878) were:

"Es wird mir immer klarer, dass wir die gesamte franzosische
Production (auf literar. Gebiet) iiberschatzen. Die Mache, das
eigentliche Konnen ist beneidenswert; aber das ausserliche Konnen
ist nicht das Hochste. Das Hochste kommt von oben, es ist ein
Geschenk der Gotter, und man hat es, oder hat es nicht. Die Fran-
zosen, in der ungeheuren Mehrzahl ihrer von aller Welt bewunderten
Productionen, haben es ganz entschieden nicht; in all diesen Stiicken
und Romanen ist nichts Bleibendes; es fehlt der grosse Inhalt."

einmal die 'Wanderungen.' Im Grunde genommen ist es recht so, denn
das, was wirkliche Superioritat schafft, fehlt uns, trotz Schulen und Kaser-
nen nach wie vor. Freilich haben Athen und Sparta einst politisch
rivalisirt; aber Sparta ist langst nur noch Name und Begriff, wahrend
die beglucktere Rivalin eine WirkUchkeit ist bis diesen Tag."

' Cf. W, 2, VI, 68 f. (1856).

' i — Aug. 9 — To his wife. » W, ^, VII, 189.

70

Since it was Scribe who was particularly in vogue on the
Royal Stage and among the writers honored by it, it is
Scribe whom he most often analyzes. He pronounces against
Scribe's "Les doigts de fee" the verdict (1871) of inconsist-
ency, lack of reason, sacrifice of art to effect, and charges
Scribe with attempting to gain popularity by feeling the
pulse of the masses. He finds the portrayal of character in
"Le verre d'eau" inadequate (1874). He says (1876) that
the author's ingenuity (Genialitat) cannot make up for im-
probability and meager motivation in "Bataille de dames,"
as an example of the latter fault mentioning the return
of Flavigneul at the end — immediately after his supposed
rescue — for no other reason than that the betrothal was yet
to be consummated. He charges Scribe with making extra-
neous additions (Einlagen) to his material in all his comedies
in order to keep up the lure of effect throughout five acts,
nor does he exclude here "Les contes de la reine de Navarre,"
although he considers it superior to all the other plays men-
tioned in that it combines effectiveness with Liehenswurdig-
keit, a quality either absent or inconspicuous elsewhere.

Yet he consistently finds French method eminently success-
ful in the production of grace and brilliance, and holds it up
as a model in this respect, at times almost as a goad to Ger-
man playwrights. He praises Scribe's skill in manipulation
of details, his effective use of situation, the charm of his
dialog (1874). He accuses Scribe's German followers (1875)
of copying only the errors and the superfluities, of overlooking
the immeasurable charm which separates them from the wit,
the grace, and genius of the master.^

Fontane attacks individual German writers in some cases
also without the balm of requital used throughout his criti-
cism of Benedix and Putlitz. Wichert's only claim to success
rests upon "Ein Schritt vom Wege," which he approves
(1872) as a racy variation of an old theme for cleverness and
piquancy in dialog. He finds "Die Reahsten" unrealistic

' The references to Scribe cited above are: W, 2, VIII, 112 fif. (1871);
V. Z. Jan. 20, 1874, B 2; Nov. 7, 1876, B 3; Dec. 19, 1876, B 3;
-W, 2, VIII, 161 (187s).

71

(1874) and says in connection with "Der Freund des Fiir-
sten" (1879) that the conditions of real life are long since
banished from our stage. Wildenbruch he hounds (1882-
1887) for disregard of truth, for violence and arbitrariness
in the handling of plot and character. (1886) He pronounces
the weakness of Philippi's "Daniela" characteristic of nine-
tenths of modern plays in that it emphasizes false sentiments
and emotions and conjures up conflicts accompanied by
pathos and passion which a balanced human understanding
cannot accept.'

It is as a whole, then, a simple unified message that Fon-
tane has for the play-makers of his day. There are but
few motifs, numerous as are the variations based upon them:
to be independent and national, ready to learn from foreign
types and to adapt them, but never to imitate; to be
dissatisfied with offering mere entertainment, to disregard
popularity and gain, to shun the strife for novelty as an
attraction; to cultivate artistic earnestness, to recognize the
importance of sacrificing striking scenes to the unity and
completeness of the whole; to serve truth and not effect, to
realize the demand of the age for life in the drama.

He expresses clearly two ideals for playwrights; one not far
from the beginning, the other very near the close of his long
activity as theater-critic. It is significant that both contain
the note that only life will fill the need of the stage. The
first has to do with one of the most unreal of Iffland's char-
acters, the Gambler. Fontane does not say that the role is
impossible, but that it depends for its appeal entirely upon
the conviction of the actor in regard to it.^

"Es lasst sich erkennen, dass das Stuck von einem Schauspieler
geschrieben wurde. Dichterisch genommen, liegt darin ein Mangel;
ein Stuck soil so geschrieben sein, dass die Gestalten als seiche leben
konnen und zwar unter alien Vmstiinden, . . . unabhangig von der
grosseren oder geringeren Kraft ihrer Darsteller."

' Cf.: (Wichert) V. Z. Nov. 1, 1872, B 2; W, 2, VIII, 211 £E. (1874-
79); (Wadenbruch) W, 2, VIII, 249-265; (Philippi) W, 2, VIII, 293;.
2 V. Z. Feb. 8, 1874, B 4.

72

The second is a part of that whole-souled tribute of praisie
that he paid to Wildenbruch eventually (1888) for "Die
Quitzows": *

"Das ist ein Stiick, wie's sein soil, ein Stuck ausserhalb der
Schablone, vielmehr umgekehrt von Anfang bis Ende in seinen eige-
nen Stiefeln stehend. Von Schuhen lasst sich hier nicht sprechen.
Es ist ein Ding fiir sich. Alias andere, was ich von Wildenbruch
kenne, wird iiber kurz oder lang weggefegt sein, dies aber wird
bleiben, denn es ist in seinem Kerne veil Wahrheit und Leben, zu-
gleich auf seine Tendenz hin angesehn voU erhebender Schonheit.
Ein deutsches Stiick, das als solches weit iiber die Territorien zwischen
Havel and Spree hinaus seinen Siegeszug machen und alle particu-
laristische Gefiihle . . . siegreich iiberwinden wird. Denn neben
vielem andern ist es auch eminent ein Spielstiick.."

The suggestions from which directors might profit show
again constantly the application pf the realistic norm and
reveal more than any other part of Fontane's dramatic
criticism the unity of purpose that characterizes it.

The idea of truth is not coincident here with the idea of
life, as it is not coincident in reality, but it is so closely
related to it that complete separation is impossible. The
sense that later made Fontane demand realism is active even
in the articles from the so's on the London stage. A dif-
ference in terms at times gives the impression of a different
attitude. He is in the earlier period a degree more firmly
bound by reverence for history, perhaps, than later, and
he expresses approval and disapproval oftener by the words
'accuracy,' 'inaccuracy,' and 'truth' than by reference to
the presence or absence of the lifelike.

There is in this section, as in that devoted particularly to
writers, the double appeal: to national pride, by pointing
to marks of superiority in the presentation of Shakspere in
London at the time of his residence there; and to personal
responsibility, which should reveal itself first of all in the
choice of plays. The idea appears again in this connection
that one function of the stage is to provide amusement;

' The greater part of this quotation is found: W, 2, VIII, 265 f.; the
last part is from V. Z. Nov. lo. No. 533.

73

but the hold of the amusement play was already so strong
that there was no necessity for making an appeal for it to
the directors. Any word in its favor has on the contrary a
condition attached: (1871) that it should not displace the
ideal; (1881) that the element which provides entertainment
should involve no use of false means, such as arbitrary ad-
justment in structure and motivation.^

The obligation of a prominent royal stage to give encour-
agement to contemporary literary production is conceded,''
but as in the case of the amusement play there was no occa-
sion for enlisting the sympathy of the director. The new
and the purely amusing were unfortunately too often coin-
cident. Suggestions as to repertoire occur usually, therefore,
only in appreciation of a striking success or of a mere attempt
to renew a drama of literary value or one of interest in
historical development. He writes (1874), for example, that
the Royal Stage reaches its normal level with the presenta-
tion of "Kabale und Liebe" and "Twelfth Night," ' since they
represent the union of literary worth and real histrionic suc-
cess. Similarly, it is Goethe's "Palaeophron und Neoterpe"
that gives artistic satisfaction as a Sylvester play (1878)
rather than most of the new productions that it was custom-
ary to present on New Year's Eve. Fontane writes of it:*

"Neuer als das Neueste ist das Aelteste. ... In der That be-
sitzt es alle Zauber dessen, der es schuf: Empfindung, Lebens-
weisheit, Lieblichkeit und Klarheit des Ausdrucks, achte Freiheit
und achte Loyalitat . . . ganz eigenartig, ganz originell gegriffen.
. . . Der letzte Tag im Jahr, wo sich Schwindendes und Kommendes
die Hand reichen, ist so recht eigentlich der Schauplatz fur 'Palae-
ophron und Neoterpe.' WoUen diese doch nichts andres sein, als
Verkorperungen des Alten und Neuen."

He prophesies that Massinger's "Duke of Milan" will not
hold a place on the Royal Stage. He says that Massinger
speaks to a changed taste and on this account does not meet
the demands of the time; but he expresses gratitude for the

1 W, 2, VIII, 71, 120 f. ' V. Z. May 14, B 2.

» V. Z. Nov. 6, 1879, B I. * V. Z. Jan. 3, B 2.

74

interesting attempt to balance the ebb in contemporary pro-
duction by such a revival.* He enjoys a critic's feast, as a
rule, when the program of the day offers anything from
Shakspere, Lessing, Goethe, Kleist, or Grillparzer.'' He
makes no attempt, however, independent of repertoire, to
lift a dramatist upon his shield. He may have felt that his
position as reporter offered no opportunity for this, but such
an attitude seems hardly in keeping with the fact that he is
fearless in attacking weakness in the plays presented. That
he did not use whatever influence he had in stronger support
of such dramatists as Hebbel and Grillparzer, who had not
come into their own on the Royal Stage,* is noticeable.
He says naively on the occasion of the first performance of
"Herodes und Mariamne," which to him was beautiful but
abnormal, not humanly convincing in its dramatic conflict,
that it is not only the privilege (Recht) but the duty of the
Royal Stage to present this play to the public, if for no other
reason than to increase their appreciation of their older
standard dramas.*

Fontane's position is frequently that the directors them-
selves do not appreciate either the needs of the stage or the
material at hand to meet these needs, and in this connection
the note of challenge is often heard. His plea in the essay
on the London theaters for extending the Shakspere reper-
toire of the German stage rests not only upon his love of
Shakspere but upon his desire to supply the lack of the
German drama in plays combining sound humor with poetic
power. "Twelfth Night," in which this union is found, is,
he says, not widely known on the German stage. His dis-
cussion of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is practically a
plea that it be given in Germany. He commends the English
for producing and taking pleasure in "Two Gentlemen of

' V. Z. Nov. 25, 1879, B 2.

' He shows less enthusiasm for Schiller because of the inability of the
actors to interpret romantic characters and to appreciate the romantic
element.

' Cf. above, p. 14-15, n. 1.

* W, 2, VIII, 155-

75

Verona" while Germany engages in strife as to its authen-
ticity. He reminds his countrymen that Speed and Launce
were in the period of the Kembles and Keans regarded as
painsworthy roles, that the combination of humor in these
roles and of poetry in that of Julia gives the play precedence
over "The Tempest" in adaptability to the modern stage.'

But the diflS-culties involved in staging "The Tempest"
did not bar it, in Fontane's opinion, from presentation in
Germany. Before he knew of Dingelstedt's attempt to give
this play in Munich, he urged that its problems were not
insurmountable;" that the love-scenes between Ferdinand
and Miranda were a gay counterpart to those of Romeo and
Juliet; that the role of Caliban contained a sort of humor
in the rough characteristic of the age of Shakspere and Lu-
ther, that this monster was a wholesome conception, of
which Germany showed no appreciation and which certainly
no German poet could produce.

The suggestions concerning the reconstruction of plays for
staging, based also largely upon observations made in Lon-
don, are a further attempt to arouse German directors to
interest and to activity. The report on "Coriolanus" is in
the main a vindication of the fact that the twenty-eight
original scenes had been reduced to thirteen in the Sadler's
Wells Theater in London without violence to the drama.'
In the Hamlet of this stage, on the other hand, he objects
to the omission of the scene (Act IH) in which Hamlet con-
templates the murder of the king at prayer, on the ground
that it involves a loss in dramatic terror and takes an im-
portant touch from the character portrayal of the prince.^

1 W, 2, VIII, 489, SSS-SS1 f-

2 W, 2, VIII, S47 ff. — Fontane makes a subsequent addition here to
the effect that seeing the Dingelstedt play has dispelled most of his
original doubts and strengthened his recommendation. This addition
was published first in "Aus England" (i860). Fontane probably saw
a performance of Dingelstedt's version in Munich, March, 1859, when
he had an audience with King Maximilian II of Bavaria. (Cf. above,
p. 41.)

3 W, 2, VIII, 559 ff.
i W, ^, VIII, 535 ff.

76

Yet he considers this preferable to the false emphasis giveii
in Berlin to Hamlet's rescue and sudden return from the
mission to England, which sacrifices clearness and correct
proportion to momentary effect.

The same principles of stage adaptation are obviously at
work in Fontane's comparison (1873) of the Oechelhauser and
the Dingelstedt version of "Henry VI." The first of
these attempts to condense the fifty-two scenes of Parts II
and III into one play of seventeen scenes. The second,
which Fontane prefers, discards Part I, keeping II and HI
as separate plays. He agrees with Oechelhauser that real
dramatic unity is lacking in the original and practically im-
possible if the entire material be included. His fondness
for history is apparent in the appreciation he expresses for
the "consistent series of interesting historical events as a
means of developing interesting characters." His sense of
dramatic effect, however, leads him to condemn the whole
in spite of his admiration for such valuable details, as the
colossal figure of Queen Margaret, the lifelike folk scenes,
the contrast between Margaret and the weak king; for
Oechelhauser's extreme condensation results in his opinion
in the confusion of the spectator through an unnatural mass-
ing of events that are impressive only when independent of
each other; ^ he even suggests that the fall of the Duke of
Gloucester (developed in Shakspere in the first three acts

' This adaptation by Wilhelm Oechelhauser was not obtainable in the
Royal Library of Berlin. Oechelhauser's edition of Shakspere's drama-
("W. Shakespeares dramatische Werke," iibersetzt von August Wil-
helm von Schlegel und Ludwig Tieck. — Im Auf trag der deutschen
Shakespeare-Gesellschaft herausgegeben und mit Einleitungen versehen
von Wilhelm Oechelhauser. — Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, Leip-
zig, Berlin, Wien) contains only the unabbreviated translation of the
three parts of "Henry VI." Oechelhauser's method in the condensed
version for the stage can be only inferred from Fontane's criticism; the
general outlines are at least indicated clearly from Act III on. — For
Fontane's criticism of this version of "Henry VI" cf. V. Z. May 30,
B 2.

The Dingelstedt version, to which Fontane merely refers, comprises
the first two of the three plays included in "Die weisse Rose" (2. Halfte
des Historien-Cyclus von Shakespeare, fur die deutsche Biihne frei bear-

77

of Part II) is material for one drama; that the humiUation
and subsequent triumph of the House of York (in Shakspere,
Acts III and IV, Part II, closing with the victory of St.
Albans) would fill the space of a second; that the strife of
the sons of York among themselves and the declaration of
a political program — so to speak — by Richard of York
(the content of Part III in Shakspere) offer material for a
third play or for the prolog to such a play at least.

Fontane's approval — for esthetic reasons — (1875) of the
liberties which the Genee version takes with the text of "Die
Hermannsschlacht " may be regarded as typical of his general
attitude toward the question of adaptation for the stage.
He shows in his criticism of this drama an admiration for
Kleist comparable to that for Shakspere, yet he writes of
Genee's changes in the conditions attending the death of
Varus and Ventidius:^

"Varus, statt zu einem blossen Objekt fiir das Langmesser seiner
Feinde herabgedriickt zu warden, gibt sich selbst den Tod. Ven-
tidius wird unverandert in den Barengarten " gesperrt, aber gliick-
licherweise hinter der Scene, so dass wir uns mit einem Bericht des
Grasslichen, das sich vollzog, begniigen mussen. Fachleute, die so
leicht in Gefahr kommen das CharaktervoUe uber das Schonheits-
voUe, die geniale Curiositat fiber das Aesthetisch-zulassige zu setzen,
werden diese Aenderungen vielleicht missbilligen und erklaren ihren
KJeist lieber Echt 'mit Haut und Haar,' als in dieser mehr sauberen
Zurechtmachung geniessen zu woUen."

Finally, in spite of his reverence for Shakspere, he does
not join the ranks of those who look with disfavor on the
liberties which Dingelstedt takes with the original in his

beitet. Franz Dingelstedt's Sammtliche Werke, Band 12, Berlin, 1877).
Dingelstedt's Part I is an adaptation of the content of Shakspere's
Part II; his Part II, an adaptation of Shakspere's Part III.

' For the quotation cf. V. Z. Jan. 21, B 2; a large part of this
report is given also: W, 2, VIII, 92 f. — According to Kleist's concep-
tion, Thusnelda herself conducts Ventidius to the garden and taunts him
as the bear attacks him (Heinrich von Kleist, "Samtliche Werke,"
hrsg. V. Arthur Eloesser, Leipzig, Tempel-Verlag, 1909-1910; Act V,
Sc. 17, 18); Varus escapes the hand of Hermann to become the victim
of Fust, prince of the Cimbrians (Act V, Sc. 22).

78

stage version of "Winter's Tale"; on the contrary, upon the
absence of any unpleasant sensation he bases the judgment
(1886) that the peculiar demands of the dramatized romance
(Marchen) justify such changes.^

"Es ist, was iibrigens seinem Marchen-charakter entspricht, ein
Ausstattungsstiick, vielleicht immer gewesen, jedenfalls geworden,
und so heisst es denn dem Dichter und seiner Dichtung nicht zu
nahe treten, wenn wir den Erfolg des gestrigen Abends in zweiter
Reihe wenigstens den mannigfachen Kraften und Hilfen zuschreiben,
die sich, neben den darstellenden Ktinstlern, in den Dienst des Stucks
stellen: Musik, Tanz, Dekoration, Inszenirung. Auch Bearbeitung
ware hier zu nennen. Dingelstedt ist zwar mit einer wahren Riesen-
scheere vorgegangen, hat den Vorwurf einer gewissen Impietat hin-
nehmen miissen, auch soil in der That nicht geleugnet werden, dass
einzelne Scenen auf blosse Ballethohe herabgedriickt worden sind,
aber die grosse Wirkung gerade dieser lebenden Bilder scheint ihm und
seinem Verfahren doch Recht zu geben. Es giebt so vieles in der
Kunst, und zumal im Marchen, das jeder breiteren Ausfuhrung, ja
dem Wort uberhaupt widerstreitet und in der Andeutung am kraf-
tigsten zur Geltung kommt."

On the general subject of stage-effect and its production
Fontane has practically but one absolute tenet: that if stage
properties are used at all, the result must satisfy reason as
well as the senses. This he does not formulate anywhere as

' V. Z. No. 456, Sept. 30, Abendausgabe. — Fontane had written of
this drama in the essay on the London theaters (W, 2, VIII, 524 f.):
"Dies Stuck, wie es im Prinzess-Theater gegeben wird, befriedigt
nicht. Es ist nicht leicht, sich uber das 'Warum' klar zu werden. Ich
glaube, es liegt allerdings an der Auffiihrung, aber es liegt auch am
Stuck. Dinge, die bei der Lekture nicht storen, konnen bei der Dar-
stellung uniiberwindliche Schwierigkeiten bieten. Das Wickelkind , . .
tritt zu sehr in die Erscheinung, um anders als komisch zu wirken. . . .
Die ersten drei Akte haben nur eine Oase, das ist die grosse Gerichts-
scene, wo der Ausspruch des delphischen Orakels die Unschuld Hermi-
onens verkiindet." Fontane did not here, as in the case of "Antony
and Cleopatra," advise that this be introduced upon the home stage. —
The Dingelstedt version (Ein Wintermarchen — Schauspiel in 4 Aufzugen
von Shakspere, fur die deutsche Buhne neu ilbersetzt und bearbeitet
von Franz Dingelstedt — Berlin, 1859) condenses the first three acts
greatly.

79

a tenet, but it may easily be deduced. He follows the
acknowledgment of scenic improvement in "Henry IV"
(Part II) with the statement (1873) that a cardinal mistake
of all stage appointments, as of the whole modern drama
(Schauspiel), is that it is calculated to appeal to sense rather
than to the understanding.' He says in the report on "Henry
VIII" ("Londoner Theater") that he has no objection to
Shakspere in a barn, where the spectator has only the words
of the poet and his own imagination, but that too great care
cannot be used if there is an attempt at reality (handgreif-
liche Wahrheit).^

There is the indication here that Fontane was neutral on
the question of return to the simplicity of the Elizabethan
stage. He writes, however, of Kean's presentation of "Mid-
summer Night's Dream" (L. T.):'

"Die Wiedereinfiihrung der alten, originalen Shakespeare-Buhne
indes, worauf wir bei AuffUhrung dieses Stiickes vielleicht stolzer
sind, als notig ware, fehlt hier. Die allermodernsten Dekorations-
und Maschinenkunste haben half en miissen und haben, glaube ich,
ihre Aufgabe besser als der griine Kasten mit seiner Treppe rechts
und links erfullt."

The space he devotes to the details of staging and his in-
terest in the innovations of the Meiningen players prove
further that he was not a believer in primitive stage conditions.
It was clearly his belief, however, that the genre in hand
must determine the solution of specific stage problems. That
the esthetic appeal of an entire performance may be sacri-
ficed by jarring details is evident from the following typical
suggestions: (1878) that decoration and costume may be
dangerous additions if not made an integral part of a beau-
tiful poetic whole; * that costuming and background may be

» V. Z. Mar. 27, B 2 (additional to W, 2, VIII, 11 ff.).

' W, 2, VIII, 514. — References to the "Londoner Theater" will be
designated hereafter L. T. and represent chronologically 1857-1859.

> W, 2, VIII, 520.

' W, 2, VIII, 60 f.; this is one of the criticisms involving the compari-
son of a play ("Die Rauber") as given at the Royal Theater of Berlin
and by the visiting Meiningen players, to the detriment of the former.

80

decisive elements, especially in poetic drama, for success or
failure of a weak scene, a symbolic figure, or a character that
is romantic in conception, where the appeal to esthetic sense
must be so complete as to prevent the entrance of inquiry
to dispel illusion. The man of the cliffs in "Der Traum
ein Leben" is in Fontane's opinion (1878) a poetic concep-
tion, but the figure may approach dangerously near the
ludicrous in presentation.^ On the other hand, it is possible
to mar the effect of burlesque by too great realism in staging.''

Even the early Shakspere reports show -clearly the distinc-
tions Fontane would make for staging on the basis of the
inherent esthetic demand of the drama in question. His-
tory, tragedy, and comedy require on the whole different
treatment; but within the groups, also, individual variation
is necessary, and the basis for decision must be the mainte-
nance of proportion in order to give externalities the real
advantage of ornament by preventing them from intruding
upon poetic power. Within the history group, for example,
"Richard II" and "King John" present to the manager
a problem less difficult than that of "Henry VIII."' The
lyric continuity of the first two plays gives the necessary
artistic support for the superinduced burden of material
pomp. In the third, less evenly constructed, poetry alter-
nates with spectacle : what passes before the eye here must
at times discharge alone the function in which poetry should
normally never have less than an equal share.

The histories demand in general, from their very nature,
more faithful reflection of fact in stage-detail than the other
groups of plays. They have less dramatic value and attain
their full worth therefore only through accurate revival of
what has once been reality. The manager who would stage
the chronicles must do more, therefore, than offer to his
public a picture which does not violate cultural conditions.*

The report on "Henry VIH" as presented by Kean at
the Princess Theater in London, with its challenge to German
managers, shows perhaps more clearly than any other single

> V. Z. Dec. 14, B 3. aw, 2, VIII, 529 f. (L. T.).

2 V. Z. Oct. 17, 1887, B. * Cf. W, 2, VIII, 7 (1872), SIS (L. T.).

81

instance Fontane's idea of the scope of a director's post-
creative power and influence. He accompanies this report
with an extensive treatment of the program provided for the
performance; and practically defies even the court stages of
Germany to make a similar statement that no picture, no
authority has been left unconsulted in the efiort to make a
drama a reliable mirror of the period and the characters of
which it treats.^ The later realist speaks here distinctly in
praise of truth in historic detail. Referring first to Germany
and then to England he says:

"Man hat gewisse Vorschriften, nach denen man verfahrt; man
kennt die Rocke und Mantel der Reformationszeit, die Tracht
Philipps II. und die Kostume des Dreizigjahrigen Krieges, aber man
gibt sich wenig Muhe, den Rock and Mantel der einzelnen Person-
lichkeit ausfindig zu machen. In dieser Wahrhaftigkeit waltet aber
ein ganz besonderer Zauber, vielleicht um deshalb, weil das Gefiihl
instinktmassig die interesselose Schablone von der reizvoUen Beson-
derheit zu unterscheiden weiss."

But the commendation which he gives to Kean's method is
not to be explained purely on the basis of the charm that he
found in the portrayal of things as they were, whether in
life — in its broad sense — or in history. He points out the
fact that Kean has by insight, study, and scientific thorough-
ness justified the presentation of a play structurally weak,
lacking in spontaneity and in sustained, differentiated char-
acters, — a play so clearly stamped, too, as occasional, that
it cannot be compared with the best of the Shakspere histo-
ries. What is really dramatic in the material has, in Fon-
tane's opinion, remained a Wolsey sketch. This ends with
the third act and all that follows is mere appendage. Kean
pursued the only course possible to give value to the last
two acts by making them a panorama in which historic
accuracy and irresistible poetic power combine for educa-
tional and artistic results.

A later report on "Richard IH" (1887) shows some-
what less clearly the spirit of challenge, with much more

' W, 2, VIII, 510 ff. (L. T.); quotation is from p. 515.

82

definite emphasis on the realistic in the Kean presentation.
Fontane says of the German performance which he has just
seen: '

" Unlondonhaf t waren die Decorationen in der Heuchlerscene mit
dam Lordmayor und den Aldermen! Aber all das sind Nebensachen;
es ist mit dem ausserlichen Apparat uberhaupt nicht zu zwingen,
wenn nicht die Hauptsache hinzukommt . . . worauf ich nicht ver-
zichten kann; das sind Menschen, Personlichkeiten, die wenigstens
zur SteUung lebender Bilder ausreichen und nicht als seiche schon
mich aus aller Illusion reissen."

Over against this Fontane sets again as a model "Henry
Eighth" as seen in London:

" Lange bevor es in Deutschland eine die Aeusserlichkeit betonende
Schide gab, gab es in London ganz nach dem spatern Meininger
Prinzip arrangierte Shakespeare-Auffuhrungen, oder Shakespeare-
Revivals, wie sie sich nannten, an deren Spitze der als Kunstler
nicht hervorragende,'' sonst aber grundgescheidte Charles Kean stand.
. . . AUes was sich da vor mir bewegte — mir schwebt ganz speziell
noch eine Darstellimg von Shakespeares Heinrich VIII. vor, Kean als
Kardinal Wolsey — war wie dem Leben entnommen, und der Herzog
von Buckingham war ein Herzog von Buckingham und der Herzog
von Norfolk war ein Herzog von Norfolk. . . . Und wenn ich nun
daneben der beiden Bischofe gedenke, die vorgestern den heuch-
lerischen Richard flankirten und vieler andrer, die '0 horrible, most
horrible' die Vorstellung von Prinzen und Herren erwecken soUten!"

The realistic is usually subservient, however, to another
principle: that of proportion in the parts for the sake of
harmonious completeness in the whole. With no surrender
of inherent value it becomes, then, nothing more than a
necessary factor. This is clear in the London period in the
general treatment of the adjustment of stage externals to
poetic power in the Shaksperean plays. The idea of the
realistic as a minor consideration occurs later in connection
with two performances of historic drama separated from each

' V. Z. Oct. 4, No. 461; the criticism of Grube's Richard III —
from this report — is given: W, 2, VIII, 395 f.

' This refers to his histrionic art; cf. W, 2, VIII, $0^.

83

other by a period of sixteen years. The first falls perhaps
more strictly under suggestions to individual actors, but it is
certainly not without its message for the director. Fontane
writes after the highest commendation, in other respects, of
Frl. Lehnbach's Clarchen (1872):!

"Die Art, wie Clarchen ... das Volk an- und aufruft, durfte
vielleicht zu beanstanden sein. AUer unmotivirter Larm auf der
Buhne ist uns verhasst, aber es gibt dock auch Situationen, wo ge-
Idrmt werden muss und wo die Decenz des Spiels zu einem Fehler
werden kann. Die Intentionen der Kiinstlerin erkennen wir sehr
wohl. Das Goethe'sche Clarchen ist keine Jeanne d'Arc, die kriegs-
begeistert an die Spitze bewafineter Schaaren tritt; sie ist ein
schlichtes Kind, das, in Hornahe spanischer Wachen, zu eingeschuch'
terten Burgern spricht. Alles gut. Aber das Richtige im Leben ist
bekanntlich nicht immer das Richtige in der Kunst. Die Griechen,
wenn sie ein Bildwerk in bedeutender Hohe aufstellten, bildeten die
Statue absichtlich falsch, damit sie, von unten aus gesehen, richtig
erscheine. So wurde auch in dieser Scene das ausserlich Unwahr-
scheitdichere das innerlich Wahrere sein. Dieser Appell an das Volk
erheischt mehr Tonfulle, als Frl. Lehnbach ihm gibt."

The second instance deals by coincidence also with the prob-
lem of proportion in stage tumult. Fontane says (1888)
that through too accurate realistic portrayal the mob-scenes
in "Julius Caesar" lost their proper relation to the central
idea; as a consequence the speeches of Brutus and Antony
had no sustained force against the noise of the populace.^

"Die zu Starke Wirkung auf unsere Sinne verschliesst uns den
Weg zur Hauptsache, den zur poetischen Erhebung."

In the tragedy of imagination and in tragi-comedy the
director is not confronted by the same demand for accuracy
in historic detail. The restriction put upon the illusory re-
sult remains as before; it must command the service of both
truth and naturalness in order that disturbing doubt may
not enter the spectator's mind. Truth includes here both
faithfulness in interpretation of the author's conception and
in the suggestion of cultural and topographical background
1 V. Z. Mar. 10, 84- ' W, 2, VIII, 18.

84

— in so far as necessary to give the natural atmosphere and
a consistent background for the plot. The idea of intimate
relation between truth and convincing stage-effect occurs in
Fontane's objection to Oechelhauser's directions for the open-
ing scene in "Macbeth." '

"Das Ganze soil wie ein Accord im Winde sein, ein Haidespuk'
eine Vision, ein Kommen und Gehen. Indemselben Augenblick, in
dam man sich der Erscheinung bewusst wird, schwindet sie auch
wieder. So die unbedingt gut zu heissende Intention des Bearbeiters.
Aber dies alles wird nicht durch nachtliche Finsterniss und raumliche
Entfernung erreicht, die, wahrend sie die Wirkung steigern sollen, sie
nur verschlingen. Unsere Sinne mussen vielmehr einen wllen und
bestimmien, wenn auch plotzlichen und rasch voriibergehenden Ein-
druck empfangen; wir mussen diese Hexen deutlich sehen und deut-
lich horen. Gespenster die bios in Hohlen und Lochern wohnen, die
sich schamen an's Tageslicht zu treten, sind keine mehr. . . . Im
Speziellen aber ist dies Erscheinen auf drei Felszacken ganz und gar
vom Nebel. Dariiber, dass Shakespeare erst eine 'offene Stelle' und
weiterhin 'eine Haide' vorschreibt, sowie daruber, dass das Land im
vielmeiligen Umkreis von Fores und Inverness flach wie eine Tenne
daliegt, iiber diese beiden nicht unwichtigen Punkte gehen wir hinweg
und haben lediglich die Frage nach der grosseren oder geringeren
Buhnermirksamkeit im Auge. Da sind wir denn entschieden fiir
eine Haide bei grauem Tag {nicht Nacht und Nebel); der Buhnen-
raum kurz, aber durch eine perspektivische Dekoration vertieft, im
Vordergrund ein erratischer Block, wie sie auf diesen Haiden ausge-
streut sich vorfinden; und um diesen Block her die Drei beim
Rendezvous, in manchem Stiick jenen 'Drei Furien' verwandt und
nachzubilden, die Bocklin's geniale Hand auf einem gleichnamigen
Bilde hervorzuzaubern im Stande war."

Fontane objects further to the Oechelhauser setting for
Duncan's reception of the news of Macbeth's victory. The
stage direction of Shakspere (Act I, Sc. 2) is "Camp near
Forres." Oechelhauser, arguing that an indoor scene was
here more fruitful of illusion than an open landscape, changes
this to the interior of Forres Castle. Fontane agrees with
the general principle of working for the fullest effect of illu-
sion, but would not apply it here, since the result is less
• V. Z. Nov. 18, 1875, B 3.

85

natural and involves an unnecessary return to a background
used frequently before.^

But in the demand for approximate truth in details of
background, the natural, although a significant norm for
judgment here, is less prominent than the norm of historic
accuracy. Fontane writes that "Macbeth" as staged by Mr.
Phelps in London was a revelation not of mere magnificence
but of truth, or at least of what present knowledge counts
as truth. He commends the use of the Norman style of
architecture, not only for inherent fitness — since its serious-
ness and heaviness agree with the general tenor of the trag-
edy — but also on the basis of possible fact, — since its first
use in England, after 1066, falls approximately in the time
of Macbeth.^ Appended to this report are some paragraphs
on the scenery he saw used in Germany for "Macbeth"
within a month after he wrote his account:

"Darf ich fragen, was sich die Intendantur oder Regie dabei
gedacht hat, als sie fiir das Zeitalter Macbeths den Tudorstil adop-
tierte und samtliche Schlosser, Fassaden und Hallen nach dam be-
riihmten Vorbilde der Kapelle Heinrichs VII. baute? Wenn man sich
solche Freiheiten erlauben und in der 'Metropole der Intelligenz'
aller Bau- und Kulturgeschichte in dieser Weise Hohn sprechen will,
warum dann nicht lieber gleich ein Rokoko-Schloss? Ja, ich wiirde
einen solchen Monstrebau mit seinen Schnorkeln und Verschlingungen
vorziehen. Bei richtiger Beleuchtung hat der Rokokostil etwas
Spukhaftes; es glotzt einen aus den Ecken an, wie wenn Zwerge
und Kobolde darin sassen und allerhand Teufelszeug trieben. Ich
konnte mir eine Lady Macbeth in solcher Umgebung schon denken,
wie denn die Rokoko-Schlosser in der Tat gelegentlich eine Geschichte
haben, die an Intrigue und Graus und Mord hinter Nichts zuriick-
bleibt, was uns vom Than von Fife berichtet wird. — Die Berliner
Regie kann gegen meine Anklage freUich eine doppelte Verteidigung
erheben; sie kann entweder sagen, Macbeth lebte in vorhistorischer
Zeit, und wir wissen nichts iiber den schottischen Schlossbau jener
Periode; oder sie darf mit den Fingern knipsen und mich bedeuten,
dass das alles Nebensache sei, . . . Ich kann beide Antworten nicht
gelten lassen. Macbeth ist kein Sagenkonig. Er regierte um die
Mitte des 11. Jahrhunderts. Wir wissen aUerdings nicht genau, wie

1 Ibid. ' W, 2, VIII, S7I f-; cf. also: 563, S7o-

86

die schottischen Schlosser in der Zeit ausgesehen haben, aber wir
wissen ganz bestimmt, dass sie nicht im TudorstU gebaut waren.
Im Nordwesten Europas herrschten damals die Normannen, und der
normannische Baustil kam nach England, wenige Jahrzehnte nach
dem Tode Macbeths. Der Normannenstil ist ein Zeitgenoss Mac-
beths, und darin liegt die Berechtigung, ihn fur die schottischen Schlosser
jener Zeit zu akzeptieren."

But even Fontane's devotion to truth does not make the
demand for accuracy absolute. Here again it is evident
that accuracy is for him but the handmaid of art, that the
only absolute ends to be served in dramaturgy are unity,
proportion, dramatic effect. "Winter's Tale" impresses
him (L. T.) as showing excessive stress upon what should
serve unobtrusively as mere setting.' He suggests improve-
ment (1875) in an already praiseworthy banquet scene in
"Macbeth" as follows:''

"... ware alles minder prachtig, nordisch-giauei in der Farbe,
namentlich schottisch-armlicher in der Architektur gewesen, so
wiirde die Wirkung dieser Scene noch grosser gewesen sein. . . .
Auch in Bezug hierauf sind wir weit entfernt, den vielbekandelten
historiscken Aechtheitspunkt zur Hauptsache machen zu wollen; kann
man diese Aechtheit haben — und IcolmskiU, die Insel, auf der die
schottischen Konige (speziell auch Macbeth) begraben wurden, bietet
mehr oder minder die Gelegenheit dazu — so mag man sie geben;
das Entscheidende bleibt aber immer die Frage: ist das Aechtere auch
das Bessere, das heisst, das dramatisch Wirkungsvollere? Es giebt
nichts Grausigeres als das Turmzimmer in Holy Rood, in dem Rizzio
zu den Fussen Maria Stuarts ermordet wurde, and zwar nichts
Grausigeres deshalb, weil das Zimmerchen nur fiinf Schritt im Quadrat
hat. . . . Und wie der Raum als solcher, so ist auch die Farbe, die
ihn schmiickt oder fiillt, von Wichtigkeit. . . . Zu viel tritt in Wider-
spruch zu der Dunkelwirkung des Ganzen, zu wenig zeigt die Ab-
sicht und verstimmt. Sollen wir kurz angeben, was uns als Ideal
fiir diese Gastmahlsscene vorschwebt, so ist es eine weite, gedriickte
Halle, Rundbogen, kurze Saulen, alles grau und braun, Feldstein-
farben, gehoben hier und dort durch TeppichbUder, inmitten dieser
dunkelgetonten Architektur aber viel Gold und Rot: die Kronen, die
Spangen, die Kronungsmantel."

1 W, 2, VIII, SOI, 526 f. 2 V. Z. Nov. 19, B I.

87

Again, of the setting for "Hamlet" he writes (1877):'

"Schwere Rundbogen auf kurzen Saulen passt zu der Zeit wie zu
dam Inhalt des Stucks. Wo hiervon abgegangen wurde, wie zum
Anfang des dritten Akts, wo Hamlet und Ophelia in der Gallerie
zusammentreffen, ist es nicht zum Schaden geschehen; eine ge-
driickte Architektur wtirde hier storen."

There are also numerous detailed concrete practical sug-
gestions in Fontane's criticism showing again the underlying
esthetic principles of proportion, truth, and unity in the pro-
duction of illusion. The use of wood instead of canvas for
scenery in London (L. T.) gives a stability which increases
the impression of reality. Fontane remarks in this connec-
tion that when the flowing night-robes of Lady Macbeth set
all the columns in motion, no one thinks that this might be
considered symbolic of the weakness and approaching fall of
the house of Macbeth. The English understand the use of
space to increase the effect of terror better than the Germans.
In the Sadler's Wells performance of "Macbeth" (L. T.) the
suspense attending the scene of Duncan's murder is increased
greatly by the arrangement of the sleeping-apartments so
that no unnecessary distance separates the audience from the
deed they are following in imagination. There is a similar
gain in the banquet scene through economy of stage-space.
For Part I of "Henry IV" he recommends (L. T.) the
Sadler's Wells division of the interior of the Wild Boar tavern
in East Cheap (Act II), and the use of deep perspective and
scenery wings to present the three parts of the battle-field
(Act V). In "Hamlet" (Berlin, 1877) the stage for "The
Mousetrap" is too far from the audience. The play has con-
sequently the effect of a tableau and loses its power.*

There is a group of definite suggestions concerning the
advantageous use of light that seem almost commonplace to
us today. The poetic charm of the elf -dance in "Midsummer
Night's Dream" (L. T.) is largely due to the shimmer of
moonlight and to gradual decrease in intensity of light and

1 V. Z. Feb. 16, B 3.

2 Cf. W, 2, VIII, 573 f-. 567, SSif-; V. Z. Feb. 16, 1877, B 3.

88

the accompanying change from distinct to indistinct shad-
ows. The single dim light upon the stage as Lady Macbeth
(L. T.) listens in the murder scene is an important factor in
producing horror.' The moonlight on the ocean and the
pause of the ghost in the deep shadows of the pillars render
the appearance of the ghost in "Hamlet" effective, but the
use of a pale, sulphurous light for its final disappearance
seems needlessly melodramatic:^

"Dies heisst aber geistreich sein an der unrechten SteUe, und
fuhrt dam Shakespeare Hilfen zu, die er nicht brauchen kann."

Although the animation of the statue in "Winter's Tale"
(1886) is by no means perfectly done in Berlin, Fontane
recalls that Kean had produced perfect illusion by drapery
effects and art in illumination, apparently the changing of a
blue light to a warmer shade as the figure showed signs of life.'
There are few references to musical details, but these in-
dicate at least spasmodic disregard for unity of effect on the
part of the director in Germany. Fontane commends (L. T.)
the Scotch martial music in the Sadler's Wells "Macbeth"
as a distinct addition.^ In a criticism of "Twelfth Night"
(1874), which he pronounces in general one of three successes
of the winter on the Royal Stage of Berlin, he writes: ^

"Warum muss — wenn unser unmusikalisches Ohr uns nicht trugt
— immer dieselbe Floten- und Harfenmelodie, beinah spieldosenartig,
hinter der Scene gespielt warden? Wenn man 'Aschenbrodel' drei
Tage vorher unter diesan Elangen hat ainschlafen und erwachen
sehn, so uberrascht es einigermassen, dieselbe 'siisse Weise' auch am
illyrischen Hofe des Harzogs Orsino wiedarzufindan."

He suggests (1877) that it would be wise to have the har-
vesters in Gensichen's "Euphrosyne" sing something other
than "Freudvoll und leidvoll." «

1 Fontane writes similarly of the effective use of halt-light for this
same scene in Berlin in 1875 (K. Z. Nov. 18, B 3).

2 V. Z. Feb. 16, 1877, B 3.

' V. Z. Sept. 30, Abendausgabe.

* W, 2, VIII, S64.

6 V. Z. Jan. II, B 4. « F. Z. Oct. 27, B 3.

89

From numerous references to the wisdom necessary in the
representation of natural phenomena and of the supernatural,
it is evident that Fontane would not attempt to bar the su-
pernatural from drama and the stage. He recognizes the fact,
however, that one approaches here dangerously near the ludi-
crous and that only a fine sense for esthetic differences can
attain the desired result. He writes of the naturalness of the
roll of the thunder and the pelting of the rain in "Macbeth":'

"Wir hatten den Donner direkt iiber unsern Kopfen. Im zweiten
Akt, wahrend der Ermordung Duncans, warden die Schrecken des
Moments durch diese klein erscheinende Ausserlichkeit nicht wenig
gesteigert."

In a criticism of the same drama as given on the Royal
Stage (1875) he writes:^

"... ein wenig zu viel. Was in der Musik der Paukenschlag ist,
ist in Lear und Macbeth der Donnerschlag. Ein schlechter hebt die
Wirkung von drei guten wieder auf. Dies und das — weil unver-
meidlich — darf verloren gehen; aber jene SteUen der Dichtung, die
machtiger sind als aller Aufruhr der Elemente, diese diirfen nicht dem
Larm, der bios ausserlichen Einwirkung auf die Nerven geopfert
werden."

He commends the noiseless appearance (L. T.) of the ghost
of Banquo from a side niche as preferable to the common
device, attended by noise not suggestive of spirits, of having
him rise before the chair designed for him at the banquet.'
He opposes Oechelhauser's opinion (1877) that the ghosts in
"Richard HI" should be mere visions, quoting in this
connection from Director A. Marcks of Hanover, with whom
he agrees:*

"Ich gebe zu, dass die Reden der Geister bei schlechter oder
mangelhafter Recitation auf einen Teil des Publikums langweilig
oder gar lacherlich wirken kbnnen, nie aber kann dies der Fall sein,
bei wundervoller Darstellung und einigem darauf verwandten Fleiss;
ja die Wirkung muss um so grosser sein, je grosser die anverwandten
Mittel sind. Und zu diesen Mitteln gehort vor allem der Ton. . . .

' W, 2, VIII, 563. ' W, 2, VIII, S7S-

2 V. Z. Nov. 18, B 3. * V. Z. Nov. 27, B 3.

90

Ich bin fern von aller Coulissenreisserei, aber diese Reden, und seien
es auch nur wenige, scheinen mir nothwendig zii sein. Richard muss
seine Seele daran wetzen fur den Monolog aller Monologe."

The necessity for a good ensemble in order to attain a
worthy reproduction of a dramatic conception proves, finally,
common ground on which the message to directors and that
to actors meet. The whole group of suggestions concerning
the wise adaptation of players to parts has value for both
actor and manager. The Royal Stage was, in Fontane's
opinion, weak in this respect; on the other hand, he ascribes
Laube's fame and success as director largely to the insight
and individuality attributed to him in. the assignment of
roles.^

For both director and actor careful study of three things
is necessary: the original dramatic conception; the historical
and cultural background which fact and the author's adapta-
tion of fact ptoduce for the role; and the physical, intellec-
tual, and emotional qualities of the actor who is to play it.
In the role of King John, for example, Kean's very short-
comings of figure and voice were calculated to portray a
small, fearful, whimsical, inconsiderate nature; yet the part
of Richard II, which Emil Devrient gave to perfection, Fon-
tane pronounced impossible for Kean, since Kean's appear-
ance and temperament were at variance with both historical
character and poetic conception.^

Insight into national limitations of temperament enters so
largely into the question of assignment of roles that suc-
cess or failure is often dependent upon it. Fontane writes
(1874) of Dumas' "Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle" that the
charm of the play is specifically French and that given with-
out French temperament it is champagne without the sparkle.
Related to this idea is his doubt (1871) as to whether any
actress without Catholic training and traditions behind her
could give the distinctive touch to the role of Maria Stuart
that Adelaide Ristori gave it. For Lear (1881) he argued a

• Cf. W, 2, VIII, 424 (1873).
^ W, 2, VIII, S08 f., 53° ff-

91

universal stamp. On account of the leveling influence of
years, the old man drawing near to childhood again in life's
circle is everywhere the same. Hamlet, on the contrary, is
distinctly a northern conception; and Romance actors, in
spite of an unusual degree of realism in portraying anything
that can be observed and copied, lack ability to conceive and
reproduce the inner conflict.^

Some roles are practically impossible for an unromantic
temperament; for the Sultan in "Nathan der Weise" the
element of romance is important in order to avoid the false
extremes of the prosaic and the sentimental; for Kathchen of
Heilbronn and the Maid of Orleans this element is vital and
must amount to a poetic belief in the possibility of the ex-
perience involved.^

Other roles cannot succeed without a natural demoniac
element; the Countess Orsina, Adelheid von Runeck, Queen
Margaret in "Henry VI" are not convincing if "blond" in
temperament; even Wallenstein and Hamlet demand a cer-
tain demoniac depth.'

There is an interesting group of criticisms based on voiccr
quality and the connection between voice and soul, which
contain much of value for both director and actor. Fontane
writes in praise of Kahle's Lear (1871):

"... die game Scala der AJTekte und Seelenzustdnde ging der
Ktinstler mit gleicher Meisterschaft durch: konigliche Wiirde, cities
Selbstgefiihl, Zorn, Schmerz, Wehmut, aufflammende Raserei, kindi-
sches Bangen, zusammenbrechende Schwache. Alle Tone standen ihm
zu Gebot. Seine Stimme, veil Kraft, Wohlklang, Biegung, vor allem
voU jenes seelengehorenen Metalls, ohne das die Tragodie die letzte
Staffel nicht erreichen kann, weiss bei ihm auszugleichen, was seiner
kaum mittelgrossen ausseren Erscheinung fehlt; — jetzt rollen die
Worte wie Donner, dann klagen sie wieder traumerisch, wie Herbst-
wind, der iiber abgefallene Blatter weht."

1 W, 2, VIII, 125 f., 403, 41S, 409 f.

' V. Z.: Aug. 20, 1872, B 2; May 13, 1873, B 2; Mar. 26, 1789, B i;
May II, 1880, B 2.

» W, 2, VIII 36ff. — 7. Z.: May 30, 1873, B 2; Nov. 14, 1871,
B 2; Apr. 8, 1889, Abendausgabe.

92

In connection with praise of FrI. Lehnbach's Clarchen (1872),
he deplores the lack in North Germany of a sympathetic
voice-quality:

"Die Stimme. Wie sich uns dieser rheinisch-siiddeutscher Elang
wieder wohlthuend um das Herz legte! Wir empfinden dann immer
mit einem gewissen Schmerz, dass wir auf dieser unserer markischen
Sandscholle wohl politische, aber nicht nationale Deutsche sind. Wir
sind etwas anderes, modern-Eigenartiges, vielleicht (fiir den, der as
horen will) etwas geistig hoher Potenzirtes, aber den eigentlich deut-
schen Ton haben wir nicht. . . . Der Stimme entsprach hier die Ge-
stalt. Jeder Moment ein in sich abgeschlossenes plastisches BUd.
Alle Bewegungen einfach, ungesucht, und doch eben so fein wie reich
niiancirt."

He writes (1877) that the voice for Astarte in "Manfred" is
a difficult problem, the solution of which depends rather
upon nature than upon art; (1882) that Frl. Kessler has
attained a triumph in her Lady Milford by overcoming the
prosaic tone which had made her successful previously only
in modern salon-roles."^

A further requisite for ensemble work — and one for which
Fontane again commends Laube — is the training of actors
for their parts. He writes (1871) that the directors should
protest against the false interpretation of roles or of impor-
tant speeches ; (1872) that the Royal Stage does not under-
stand the art of training.^

A royal stage should set for itself the further aim of sup-
porting an actor for comparatively few parts. There are
various pleas for the luxury of histrionic specialization with
emphasis upon the injustice done to the impersonator in the
assignment of a role not suited to his talent. Of the re-
sources of the Royal Stage in Berlin to meet this need Fon-
tane writes: '

' V. Z.: Feb. 26, 1871, B 4; Mar. 10, 1872, B 4; Mar. 30, 1877,
B 3; Mar. 12, 1882, B i.

" V. Z. Nov. 14, 1871, B 2; W, 2, VIII, 41. — As late as 1887 the
failure of the Royal Stage in this line is noted. (F. Z. Feb. 11, No.
70, B).

5 V. Z. Nov. 14, 1871, B 2.

93

"... diese sind umureichend, ganz besonders auch in Bezug auf
Zahl und Umfang. Der Personal-Bestand ist einfach nicht gross
genug; so werden die Krafte nicht nur ungebUhrlich angestrengt,
sondern auch an offenbar falscher Stelle verwendet. . . . Mann muss
hervorragende Schauspieler gar nicht in die Lage bringen, Dinge
spielen zu soUen, zu denen sie nicht passen. Soil dabei etwa von
'Geldriicksichten' gesprochen werden, so beruhrt uns dies geradezu
komisch. Diese diirfen in der neuen Kaiserstadt, einem solchen
Institut gegenuber, gar nicht existiren. Es muss sich finden."

The director should demand, finally, that each role be
given its proper proportion, and the artistic interest of the
actor should in turn show itself superior to personal ambi-
tion in this respect. Fontane commends the English stage
(L. T.) for the fact that no part is made aggressive by un-
due emphasis. He acknowledges that the method may some-
times prove a hindrance to the full development of histrionic
ability, but its result is, on the other hand, often salutary
for the individual actor in preventing a false line of develop-
ment. The English stage shows, therefore, normal human
beings and avoids affectation, the falseness (Unwahrheit) which
result in Germany from the actor's desire for prominence.'

"Herr Forster hat in ihnen sein Regietalent wiederum glanzend
bethatigt. Die Belebung der Scene, wie sie im 'Deutschen Theater' con-
sequent angestrebt wird, dieses stete Herausarbeiten von Gruppen und
Bildern, welche alle zu alien in Beziehung setzen und in ihrer charak-
teristischen Pracht sich der Phantasie machtig einpragen, ist fur uns
in Berlin etwas ganz Neues. Wir sind viel zu sehr gewohnt zu fragen,
wie war Liedtke und die Frieb, Bornay und Fr. Niemann-Rabe."

In the message which is addressed more specifically to actors
alone, although it contains also much of value to directors,
the prevailing note is again personal responsibility, individual
loyalty in the service of art. The incompleteness of results
shows that actors do not properly estimate the importance

' W, :i, VIII, 585 f. — Fontane's praise of the ensemble effects in
"Die Karlsschiiler" as given in the Deutsches Theater indicates the per-
sistence of individual ambition on the Berlin stage as a whole as late
as 1883. He writes with especial reference to ensemble scenes (F. Z.
Dec. 4, B 1):

94

of study in order to render faithfully the conception of the
author entirely free from the bonds of their own personality.
Art demands that beauty serve truth, and only that degree
of beauty is natural and true, which is the expression of the
author's thought and of the actor's inner experience in giving
life to this thought. Adelaide Ristori is praised (1871) for
the artistic husbandry shown in the use of her gifts, in the
proportioning of her powers to the demand of the moment,
in the use of personality as a mere means to an end in the
service of the dramatist. Such results are the fruits of care-
ful study only.^ Fontane mentions the fact that Mrs. Sid-
dons is said to have played her roles by instinct; but
although he calls Doring a genius, he says of Boring's boast
that his figures rose before his mind in an instant, complete
and lifelike, that these complete figures, although always
interesting, were sometimes false.^

Again there is the idea that the historic role presents par-
ticular difficulty in order to give the author's conception in
the light of fact and make the result artistically harmonious
and historically true. The ideal here is rarely attained,
since it involves that highest degree of art that gives the im-
pression of perfect spontaneity.'

One condition is possible, however, which absolves the
actor in case of failure to make a character live: absurdity
of detail in a great conception especially may be overcome,
but no histrionic art can redeem what is fundamentally false.
Fontane places in this category the role of Uriel Acosta. He
writes (1873): *

"Maine Empfindung verwirft Uriel Acosta und ist umgekehrt
nicht nur durch alles Shakespearische hingerissen, sondern sogar

1 W, 2, VIII, 402 £E. — V. Z. Dec. 5, B 2.

» W, 2, VIII: s66 (L. T.), 23 (1884).

» This height Fontane saw attained in Kahle's interpretation of
Richard III. He writes that it was free from any trace of study:
"Alles frisch und frei, stark und gewaltig, wie ein Strudel die Seele
des Horers fassend und sie in die damonischen Tiefen reissend." {V. Z.
June 13, 1873, B 2.)

* W, 2, X, 308.

95

auch durch die 'Rauber.' Detailblodsinn schadet nichts, wena nur
das Ganze richtig gefuhlt und gedacht ist."

Brachvogel's Narziss belongs also in the list of rejected
characters. Mme. de Pompadour appeals to Fontane as a
great historic role, but he says (1879) that the play as a
whole transgresses in ideas and situations as does "Uriel
Acosta" in character. Of the fact that Brachvogel's origi-
nality is frequently compared to that of Schiller in "Die
Rauber," he writes (i88i):i

"Aber welche Welt von Unterschied! Genialitat, die tollt, ist
herzerfrischend. Genialitat, die quasselt, ist bloss unangenehm.
Und woven quasselt sie hier mit Vorliebe? Von 'Logik' und 'Pra-
misse ' Welches Labsal daneben ist das einfache Hexeneinmaleins:
' Aus eins mach' zehn, Und zwei lass gehn, Und drei mach' gleich.
So bist du reich usw.' Und trotzdem dreissig Jahre lang dieselbe
Bewunderung."

Again, in what he terms a thankless part, Fontane does
not hold the actor responsible for a strong positive result.
His obligation toward the organic whole is, however, undi-
minished, as shown in the brief criticism of Goneril and
Regan (i87i):2

"... freilich keim dankbaren Rollen, aber sie sind viel zu hedeutend,
als doss man bei ihrer Besetzung leichthin zu Werke gehen diirfte. Sind
sie unatisreichend besetzt, so wirken diese beiden Rollen einfach degou-
tant und dadurch storend oder gefahrbringend fur das Ganze."

The witch in "Der Traum ein Leben" falls into the category
of thankless roles because indistinctly portrayed; ^ Leander
("Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen") can be accepted, espec-
ially in Act IV, only out of respect to a great poet and the
abundant poetic power that precedes this act; * in Heyse's
"Die Weisheit Salomos" the Queen of Sheba gives little

1 W, 2, VIII, 170 S. — V. Z. Dec. II, B 2.

s V. Z. Feb. 26, B 4 (additional to W, 2, VIII, 29 f.).

» V. Z. Dec. 14, 1878, B 3.

* V. Z. Oct. 14, 1818, B J.. — A former criticism (1874) sums up the
general weakness of this role as follows: "Im ersten Akt ist er ein
Schweigender, im funften ein Toter." (W, 2, VIII, 108.)

96

opportunity to an actor, since a supposedly impressive figure
is made dramatically inferior here in the service of a simple
human truth.^

But more frequently the tenor of Fontane's message is the
unique responsibility of the actor as a collaborator, so to
speak, of the dramatist. If a play or a character is not
falsely conceived, it rests with the actor in many cases to
make a doubtful situation or an indistinct figure convincing.
Clever action motivating the change of rapiers in the duel
of Hamlet and Laertes (L. T.) divests the scene of the im-
probability often charged against it. The role of Emilia
("Othello"), usually considered a minor part, is in England
given a place inferior to none in Acts IV and V (L. T.) ; the
English interpretation renders it the distinct counterpart
(Gegenstuck) of Desdemona, the supplement to her loyalty,
thus giving fullest strength and unity to the entire concep-
tion.2 He writes (1874) of Iffland's "Der Spieler" :»

"Das Stuck . . . ist . . . sehr auf das Spiel gesteUt. ... 1st dies
yoUendet, so zahlt as zu dem Wahrsten und Wirkungsvollsten was
man sehen kann, ist es dagegen unvollkommen, so findet nicht nur
eine entsprechende Abschwachung der Wirkung statt, sondern auch
die Wahrheit, die Begreiflichkeit dessen, was sich vor unseren Augen
voUzieht, geht zu nicht geringem Tail verloran. . . . vom biihnen-
praktischen Standpunkt aus jadoch ist gegan solcha Stiicka wenig
zu sagen, so lange Schauspialar da sind, die, ihre Ganialitat in dia
HauptroUe hineintragend, das Skizzenhafte auszufuhren, dem Kaim
Wachstum und Gastaltung zu geben verstehen."

The full possibilities of such a character as Tiefenbacher are
realized only when every word and glance has meaning such
as Kahle gives it (1878).* Fontane even justifies Christian

* Fontane does not give this as his reason for the simple statement
that the Queen of Sheba is a thankless role. This reason may, however,
be inferred from his whole discussion of the drama, — a vindication on
poetic grounds of Heyse's independence of historic fact in portraying the
love of Solomon for the gardener's daughter, Sulamith (cf. V. Z. Feb. 21.
1888, B i).

2 W, 2, VIII, 541, 482 f.
» V. Z. Feb. 8, B 4.

* W, 2, VIII, 69.

97

Ulrich in modifying Otto Ludwig's conception of the Erh-
forster, attributing a real service to him in departing in his
interpretation (1882) not only from histrionic tradition but
from absolute accuracy: '

"Er betonte, so lange wie moglich, die zwar urkraftige, zugleich
aber gutgeartete, beinahe joviale Natur, und liess ein leis humoris-
tisch gefarbtes Element auch da noch vorwalten, wo andere Darsteller
schon den Hitzkopf und Cholericus in die Front Stellen. Der
Vorzug einer solchen moderirten Auffassung liegt nicht in einem
grosseren Maass von Richtigkeit, sondern in einem grosseren Maasse
von Erquicklichkeit."

Krause performs a creative service for lUo (1884, "Wallen-
stein's Tod") through the addition of distinct local coloring
of the Brandenburg type to accuracy in following textual
suggestions.' Ludwig's stress upon the seaman, soldier, and
tippler rather than upon the poet type in interpreting Wilden-
bruch's Marlowe (1884) adds force to the dramatic idea of
a human soul in the fatal grip of evil.'

Similarly, the artistic appeal of an entire play may be
greatly decreased or even destroyed by a false line of in-
terpretation. Fontane argues (1871) for the madness of
insanity in Lear as preferable to the Lear of pathological
type, who calls forth only pity; the Shaksperean concep-
tion demands that the method chosen be the one suggestive
of power in spite of madness; not the lifeless eye, but the
gloomy depth from which light flashes gives the "fantastic
touch" necessary in order to "idealize a reality in itself de-
void of beauty." The emphasis in the character of Carlos

1 V. Z. Mar. 8, B i.

" V. Z. Nov. 18, B JL. One paragraph of this report is given: W, 2
VIII, 76.

» That Fontane's dislike for poet heroes did not determine this point
of view seems clear from the general tone of this criticism, that the more
unusual conception of Marlowe's appearance is in harmony with the
dramatic theme, through which especially this drama is for Fontane
superior to "Harold" and "Die Karolinger." Fontane criticizes this
drama as severely as any other by Wildenbruch for lack of motivation,
especially in the treatment of Walsingham. (W. 2, VIII, 260 ft.; and
V. Z. Dec. 14, B I.)

98

in "Clavigo" must be not upon human feeling but upon
cool calculation, since the entire drama loses in convincing
power if Carlos is not made the incarnation of an inexorable
principle. The interpretation of Questenberg as a courtier
under forty with a trace of party envy gives Wallenstein
(1878) too soon a certain justification for following his am-
bition, since it makes jealousy and not imperial authority
the determining force at the Viennese court. So important
is the bearing of this character upon dramatic effect and
soundness that Fontane attaches no value in this case to the
possibility of historic fact as a basis for Kahle's interpreta-
tion. He recommends without reserve the older and less
ambitious Questenberg. Through exaggerated declamation,
Matkowsky increases the inesthetic element (1887) in Don
Cesar's narrative ("Die Braut von Messina") of the obse-
quies of his father and his own first glimpse of Beatrice.'

The suggestions to actors have indicated already that
character analysis is a prominent factor in Fontane's reports.
This is, to be sure, no uncommon element in theater criti-
cism. The lines into which Fontane directs such analysis
are, however, somewhat distinctive and entirely characteris-
tic in that they group themselves largely about recurrent
principles: the importance of the natural and its connection
with truth and artistic unity; the incompatibility of the
natural and the rhetorical; the unreality of extreme pathos
and sentimentality; the superiority of genuine personality
to conscious cultivation of the poetic.^

Yet Fontane makes it clear here as elsewhere throughout
his work that the natural and the realistic are not a law in
themselves, but that they serve the higher esthetic principles
of fitness and proportion. He questions, for instance, the
excess of reserve in Berndal's interpretation of Questenberg
and of Wrangel (187 1) as inartistic although perhaps realistic:'

» Cf. W, 2, VIII: 29 (i87i),4i i- (1872), 72 ff. (1878), 398 f. (1887).

' V. Z. Feb. 26, 1884, B I. — He writes here that the role of Viola
requires personality, — roguishness and wit, gaiety and freshness, that
poetic tenderness alone is not sufficient for it.

3 V. Z., Nov. 14, B 2 (additional to W, 2, VIII, 70 ff.).

99

"Als Historiker und Charakteristiker hat er sehr wahrscheinlich
Recht, aber nach jenem Kunstgesetz, das unter Umslanden ein sich
Freimachen vom Naturlichen, eine massvolle Ueberschreitung der
Wirklichkeit fordert, ... hat er vielleicht nicht immer Recht. Er
bringt sich dadurch auch urn erlaubte E£fekte."

He writes (1877) that Ludwig's restless pacing during the
speech preceding the battle in "Henry V" adds military
color to the scene but decreases the appeal inherent in the
beauty of the language; and Fontane formulates here a
tenet to which he holds throughout his work as critic: ^

"Aber die Kunst hat nicht bios die Wirklichkeit zu befragen;
es muss da eine Vermittlung, ein neutraler Boden gefunden werden,
auf dem sich fester und ruhiger stehen lasst."

In spite of his conviction that modern histrionic art is su-
perior to that of the Weimar school, he admits (1879) that
the latter is better able to cope with such a role as Tell,
that the Schiller roles can come into their own only through
the rescue of idealism from realism.^ He writes similarly
(1882), in comparing Conrad's von Kalb with Dehnicke's
conception of the character, that Conrad's is the more real-
istic, has more of the genuine court-marshal in it; that
Dehnicke's is, however, more in accordance with Schiller's
portrayal and tends, therefore, to more complete harmony
in the whole.'

That Fontane was capable of these fine distinctions be-
tween the realistic per se and the realistic merely as an
approach to artistic completeness seems all the more remark-
able in view of the importance he attached to the smallest

1 W, 2, VIII, 366.

" V. Z., Nov. 13, B 2. — Fontane wrote (1875) that the North-Ger-
man exaggeration of external signs of emotion destroyed the tragic power
of the interpretation, th?it the South-German school of acting, repre-
sented by Weimar and Munich, excelled the North-German in plastic
effects (V. Z. Nov. 19, B i); he complained (1878) that there was no
romanticism in the heart of the average actor (W, 2, VIII, 84), and again
(1884) that Schiller was not as a rule adequately interpreted (W, 2,
VIII, 80).

> V. Z. Mar. 12, B i.

100

lifelike details; it is, in fact, only through consideration of
these minute points that one can appreciate fully the promi-
nence of the realistic vein in his esthetic nature. Along with
innumerable suggestions having to do with various points
not heretofore mentioned, such as tempo, emphasis, pronun-
ciation, the effective use of silence, of repetition, of variation,
there are a goodly number showing the keenest observation
of externalities, the most intimate knowledge of the relation
between human impulse and action; one sees here, as it were,
those faculties in process of growth of which there is fullest
evidence in the completed narratives of Fontane's latest
literary development. There is, for instance, this suggestion
(1872) from a report on "Kabale und Liebe":^

"Wenn Ferdinand sich ertappt und sain Liebesverhaltniss halb
und halb verraten sieht, so muss er zusammenschrecken, aber nicht
den Kopf einziehen. Er darf zucken, aber nicht sich ducken. Das
tut kein Major. Ferner wenn Luise (Akt III) das Tuch auf den
Stuhl werfen will und es fallt daneben, muss sie es auflangen. Luise
ist eines armen Stadtmusikanten Tochter und armer Leute Kinder
schonen, auch inmitten leidenschaftlicher Erregung, ihre Sachen.
Das ist ihnen eben zweite Natur geworden."

He explains as follows his objection (1878) to the fact that
Ludwig, as Mortimer in "Maria Stuart," had taken Leices-
ter's hand from above: ^

"Mortimer tritt auf Leicester zu, und erfasst, mitten im Ge-
sprach, die Hand des Grafen von ober her. Das ist, glaube ich,
unstatthaft. Es ist, als ob ein junger Herr von Rohr oder Schlip-
penbach die Hand des Fursten Bismarck von oben her ergreifen
wollte."

Sincere interest in art, in the artistic function of the stage,
and in the improvement of the German stage to fulfil this
function, reveal themselves in this mass of varied details.
The public must demand truth. The dramatist must disre-
gard self and know life, not only through observation of the
palpable, but through intuitive insight into the souls and

' V. Z. Aug. 28, B 2. "7. Z. Mar. 27, B 3.

101

thoughts of men. The director and the actor must make the
consideration of gain subservient to the requirements of a high
artistic ideal. Both must approach their task with rever-
ence for art, with untiring diligence, with practical insight,
and an esthetic sense capable of appreciating fine distinc-
tions and of securing an accurate balance in the union of
beauty and truth. Beauty cannot exist without harmony,
and truth involves both the reality of life and the vision of
the poet-seer.

Finally, these demands upon all the factors which unite
in the creation of a vital stage for vital art cannot yield to
the excuse that stubborn conditions are an insurmountable
barrier. From 1873 there is a word in this connection with
special reference to actors:'

"Wir woUen gern einraumen, dass, je langer wir unsere Theater-
zustande beobachten, es uns, Schritt haltend mit unserer wachsenden
Kenntniss, immer zweifelhafter wird, ob man zur Zeit diese Dinge
uberhaupt besser darzustdlen im Stande ist. Das soUte nun eigentlich
alia Kritik entwaflfnen, aber andererseits Meibt es dock auch ewig
wahr, dass man die Erscheinungen in der Kunst nicht am Alltdg-
lichen, oder an dem zufiilUg vorhandenen Bestande, sondern am Ideale
messen solle. An einem Ideale, das man nicht bios in der Brust
tragi, sondern das einem doch auch, Gott sei Dank, manch liebes
Mai verkorpert entgegengetreten ist, wenn man noch Lenim und Sey-
delmann gekannt, und die Crelinger, die Rahel und die Ristori ge-
sehen hat!"

From 1883, with reference to both actors and directors:^

"Es fehlt hier am Ernst, Fleiss, Tiefe. Sagen zu wollen, es liesse
sich nicht machen und ginge nicht anders, ist ein Satz, den ich
nicht gelten lassen kann. Sind die Stucke so schlecht, dass sie
seiche Vertiefung oder solchen Aufwand an Kraft und Zeit nicht
lohnen, so gebe man sie nicht. Bringt man sie dagegen uberhaupt,
so muss man sie durch eindringendsten Fleiss auch zu halten oder,
wo dies nicht notig, ihnen ein frischeres und langeres Leben zu
geben suchen. Gewiss ist dies schwer, aber man geriert sich nicht
umsonst als Hauptstadt und erstes Theater. Noblesse oblige. Was
ich an Forderungen gestellt habe, kann geleistet warden."

1 V. Z. May 30, B 2 (report on "Henry VI").

2 W, 2, VIII, 427 f.

102

The following from 1884 is typical of Fontane's general atti-
tude and may therefore be applied to all concerned: '

"Man darf aber in der Kunst nie ganz sicher sein. Auch der
grosste Meister muss immer ein Zweifler an sich selbst und ein
Suchender bleiben."

1 V. Z. Sept. 23, B I.

CHAPTER IV
Fontane's Dramatic Theory

"Was beim Volke aushalten soil, muss wahr sein, muss Natur und
Kern haben, wie das Volk selbst. Nur die Kunst dauert bei ihm, nicht
die Kunstelei. . . . Die Kunst soil wahr sein, aber nicht ohne IdealitEt."
("Aus England," i860: 184; 133.)

The attempt to discover the dramatic theory of a man
who professed entire freedom from fixed principles is obvi-
ously not without a paradoxical element. But independence
of schools and the ability to set aside tradition, if the case in
hand seems to justify its own laws, are very different from
the repudiation of everything that might constitute an indi-
vidual norm. The latter must be present, if work would
have any unity or ballast; what Fontane himself termed the
essence of able criticism, the explanation of sensations, de-
pends upon such a norm; the very sensations which entail
acceptance or rejection express themselves spontaneously in
terms of its fundamentals.

Although here, again, a mosaic of infinitesimal parts is
required to give even an approximate conception of Fontane's
critical work in its entirety, certain basic ideas, noted before,
are always prominent. These are life and art, the two com-
prehensive sources of his interest in the drama. His whole
treatment of the drama resolves itself, to be sure, in the last
analysis into a discussion of material and method, a point of
departure by no means unusual in criticism; the individuality
of Fontane's critical work lies in the fidelity with which he
submits all material to the test: "Is it or should it be life-
like?" and all method to the questions: "In how far does it
meet the need of the material? To what extent is it gen-
uine art?"

104

Fontane is, however, in no sense an extremist as regards
either theories or schools. He was never lured by his enthu-
siasm for realism to renounce every other type of art. Prac-
tically the only tenet that he states as absolute occurs as
early as 1871 in the demand for unity of style or conception
within the original limits chosen by the author.' This prin-
ciple, involving primarily the adaptation of method to ma-
terial, prevails as a basic element in his criticism. It is
restated with emphasis on detail (1874) in the requirement
that every character, every situation, be subservient to a
definite law determined by the genre in hand.^ It appears
as late as 1894 in the praise of Sudermann's "Fritzchen" as
evidence of Fontane's enduring conviction that mere limita-
tion in extent does not render material unworthy of treat-
ment; notwithstanding the low valuation that Fontane puts
upon Sudermann's work as a whole, he commends in this
one-act play the union of happy material and complete dra-
matic art.'

In the violation of this law of inner unity lay for Fontane
the chief weakness of many of the more prominent nine-
teenth-century contributions to the literature of the stage
from both German and French writers previous to the natu-
ralistic group. Such violation manifested itself not infre-
quently in a tendency to treat situation for situation's sake
in plays purporting to be comedies of character, for which
adequate material seemed in prospect at the outset, but in

» W, 2, VIII, 32.
' w, 2, viir, 212.

' W, 2, XI, 403 f. (letter of Oct. 13 to Paul Schlenther). Fontane's
published reports contain no criticism of Sudermann. An unpublished
letter to Mete (Berlin, Oct. 8, 1894) shows human sympathy for him
as the butt of much adverse criticism, but it shows also the conviction
that the specific attack referred to, the occasion of which is not stated,
was justifiable: "Sudermann, fiir den ich nicht viel ubrig habe, tut mir
leid; es ist furchtbar, so zerrissen zu werden. Aber ich vermag an
solche Zerreisserei auch keinen Tadel zu kniipfen. Wie sollen kluge
Leute, die die ganze Hohlheit und Geschraubtheit erkennen, wie sollen
die solch Stuck besprechen? Ernsthaft? Das geht nicht; so was ganz
Verfehltes, an dem mit einem Male die bios heraufgepu£fte Unbedeutend-
heit klar wird, kann nicht feierlich und mit Wurde behandelt werden."

105

which, through the sacrifice of the major interest to one of
minor value, the genre was in the process of development
not kept pure. Paul Lindau he charges (1878) with having
expanded the given material for " Johannistrieb " unnatu-
rally for the sake of making the play fill an entire evening.
The story would in Fontane's opinion have made an admi-
rable two-act play, preferably in verse; as used, the inherent
poetic value of the material is lost in part through the choice
of the prose form, in part through the more detrimental intro-
duction of superfluous stock additions, such as parallel pairs
and episodes, designed to make the play entertaining.^ He finds
(1878) in the plays of Sardou a marked family resemblance;
background and setting change, but the central plot-situa-
tion and the character types never vary. Such readjustment
of situation may be termed craftsmanship, but not art.'' In
a report on "Bataille de dames" he writes further (1878)
that the French emphasize the comic, the farcical, more than
is in keeping with German taste and German esthetic prin-
ciples; that what gives charm to their work for the instant
fails to leave behind ' it an impression that satisfies.

To the question, touched upon indirectly here, of the dif-
ference between comedy and farce, Fontane gives no little
space. The play intended for mere amusement was popular
on the Royal Stage, and it was frequently neither good

' V. Z. Feb. 10, B 3. — Lindau made a four-act play of this material.

^ V. Z. Jan. 29, B 4; report on Sardou's "Nos bons villageois," in
which Fontane summarizes the dramatic method of Sardou as follows:
". . . das eigentliche Bild ist immer dasselbe. Ein junger Thunicht-
gut, der mich durch seine hervorragende Don Juan-Nichtberechtigung
jedesmal mehr oder weniger uberrascht, beliebelt eine sch6ne junge Frau,
gerath in Ungelegenheiten, sieht sich, seitens des Ehemanns, vor einen
klapprigen Pistolenkasten gestellt, und empfangt schliesslich, als Re-
compense fur die ausgestandenen Aengste, die Hand der jungeren, viel
hiibscheren und viel blonderen Schwester. Ein unerhorter Treffer. Im
Mittel-Akt, den man auch ebenso gut den Mitternachts-Akt nennen
kSnnte, werden regelmassig Thuren abgeriegelt und Lampen ausgedreht,
mitunter reisst eine Klingelschnur, mitunter auch nicht, und 'Incubus,
Incubus, der Sprung vom Balkone macht den Schluss.'"

» v. Z. Feb. 12, B 3.

106

comedy nor good burlesque. One of Fontane's persistent
aims as stage critic seems to have been to show the failure
of his contemporaries among German playwrights to draw
a convincing distinction between these genres.

The ideas which he sets forth may be summarized as
follows:* the farce plays with life; comedy should simply
reveal life in the play spirit; the plunge into burlesque must
be a daring acrobatic feat, unattended by deliberation, in
order that criticism may be disarmed by laughter; comic
situation, with almost unlimited freedom as to means and
range, provides the only atmosphere in which farce thrives;
genuine characters, real people, are therefore a detriment to
farce in that they diminish the contagion of jest and prevent
the spectator from yielding unreservedly to the ludicrously
impossible. Comedy, on the other hand, demands not only
individuals from real life, but characters that are worth while,
since, as in life, what is purely trivial is only tedious; com-
edy, romantic drama, or tragedy, may degenerate into farce
through the failure to mirror life, but it will not be good
farce; " nor can material that is in its general nature dis-
tinctly farcical be welded into comedy. For this reason
Auerbach makes a flagrant error in the choice of method in
"Das erlosende Wort." The material requires, in Fontane's
opinion (1878), an abandon capable of winning the spectator
instantly through the impression of incongruity and separa-
tion from real life; what Auerbach produces is a hybrid, not
comic enough for farce, not true enough for comedy.'

1 Cf. V. Z.: Nov. 21, 1871, B 3; Oct. 17, 1887, No. 484, B.

' Fontane writes that Birch-Pfeifier's "Auf dem Oberhof" becomes
farcical through failure to handle worthily what is lofty (W, 2, VIII,
117 f. — from 1872); that in Wildenbruch's "Die Karolinger" improba-
bility of situation in Act III produces a grotesquely comical effect (W, 2,
VIII, 263; — from 1887).

' Fontane's principle is as follows: "... bei Dingen dieser Art
kommt es nur auf die Unterhaltlichkeit an. Auerbach hat etwas an und
fiir sich Nichtiges durch Feinheit, durch sorglichen Dialog, durch liebe-
volle Detailbehandlung, auf eine hohere Stufe heben wollen, aber gerade
dadurch hat er sich an seiner Sache geschadigt. Er zwingt uns ... in
eine ernstereBetrachtunghinein,und diese ernstere Betrachtunghaltes doch
wieder nicht aus" {V. Z. Mar. 29, additional to W, 2, VIII, 146 ff.).

107

In one instance Fontane is lured by the appeal of artistic
method to waver even in his conviction that comedy must
mirror actual life. The belief in the privilege of the true artist
to create his form is revealed in the consideration of a new ideal
for comedy, built on the Molifere type and answerable to its
own distinct laws. Fontane asserts that Moliere's comedy,
which has come to be regarded as classic, would by no means
be so considered if Moliere were a contemporary; that
Moliere's work lacks, in spite of its eternal freshness, the
qualities that we admire in Lessing, Kleist, and Sheridan.
The context shows ' that reference here is particularly to
lifelike delineation of character; no figure in "Le Malade
imaginaire" is without its farcical ingredient for Fontane;
the play gives, he says, a presentation of life such as one
sees in comic opera; traces of the Italian folk- theater in
each subsequent scene lead him to await constantly the
appearance of Harlequin and Columbine. Nevertheless, so
great is his admiration for Moliere's art, that although he
had but one week before declared ludicrous situations the
essence of farce, he is now inclined to waive the demand
that comedy avoid the farcical element to stand always fun-
damentally upon life and truth. He writes:

"Es scheint doch noch ein Hoheres, mindestens ein Anderes,
Gleichberechtigtes zu geben, das, ahnlich wie in der grossen Tragodie,
die blosse Wirklichkeit, die sozusagen biirgerliche Lebenswahrheit
der Charaktere aufgeben darf, um auch im Komischen einem Ideale
nachzustreben, einem Ideale, das seine eigenen Gesetze hat."

To determine Fontane's ultimate attitude toward Moliere,
however, it is necessary to consider also a later criticism,

' Cf. W, 2, VIII, 30 ff. — Fontane does not enumerate here the
admirable qualities of the dramatists mentioned. The points that he
praises in Lessing's comedy elsewhere are classic language and truthful
character portrayal (W, 2, VIII, 33, report on "Minna von Barnhelm,"
1870); he commends characterization and economy in Kleist's "Der zer-
brochene Krug," but adds that "Minna von Barnhelm" has the same
good points and greater Liebenswiirdigkeit {V. Z. Oct. 29, 1886, Abend-
ausgabe). This is his only report on "Der zerbrochene Krug" (cf. above,
p. 61) and the only report on "Minna von Barnhelm" that does not
treat presentation alone. There is no report on Sheridan.

108

that of "Tartufife" (1885), which gives convincing evidence
that the idea of a possible advantageous separation of com-
edy from life had only temporary hold upon him. Agreeing
with Eduard Engel, from whom he quotes, he sees in Moliere
on account of basic truth the most reliable source for under-
standing the sentiment of the seventeenth-century citizen-
class of Paris, the Gallic spirit of the seventeenth century
in contradistinction to the Roman spirit that dominated the
court of Versailles and its literature. Yet Fontane's per-
sonal verdict in the same report is that in spite of the inef-
fable individual charm due to Moliere's noble purpose, to
his penetrating clearness, his good sense, spirit, wit, and grace,
his work lies outside the pale of real character-comedy, be-
cause his people inspire belief only in the thought they serve
to develop, not in themselves as human beings.'

"Er ist sentenzios wie Larochefoucauld, erreicht aber grossere
Wirkungen, weil seine Sentenzen nicht bios in der Luft herum-
fliegen, sondern bestimmte personliche Trager haben imd aus ganz
bestimmten Situationen heraus erwachsen. Aber so hoch dieser
Werth des Sentenziosen und zugleicfa kiinstlerisch Tendenziosen
veranschlagt warden mag, beide Vorzuge reichen nicht aus, ein Stiick
fiir uns wirksam zu machen, zu dessen Menschen und Situationen
wir kein voiles Vertrauen mehr haben. Kein voiles Vertrauen, weil
kein voUes Verstandniss. . . . Ein solcher Tartuffe . . . ware heu-
tigen Tages absolut ungefahrlich, weil er sich in jeder Sphare der
Gesellschaft, vielleicht die der armen adligen Fraulein ausgenommen,
vergeblich nach einem Opfer umsehen wurde. Die letzten unter den
Leimgangern aber wiirden unzweifelhaft unsere modernen Orgons,
unsere heutigen reichen Privatleute sein. . . . Noch bis diesen Tag
sah ich nichts lieber als Harlekinaden, aber ich will dann auch Harle-
kin und Colombine direkt vor mir haben und meinen Freund Pierrot
auf dem Zettel sehen. Davon sind wir hier aber weit ab. AUe
Moliere'schen Komodien werden naturalistisch angesehen und recht
eigentlich als Charakter-Stlicke gespielt; sie sind es aber nicht mehr,
wenn sie's auch vordem waren. Es sind jetzt Sittenbilder aus einer
anderen Zeit."

Had the possibility of a new independent ideal for comedy,
considered in 1871, amounted to a permanent conviction
1 V. Z. Feb. IS, i88s, B i.

109

with Fontane, the suggestion would probably have been
repeated in the later report. Fontane chose at times to
compare the criticism in hand with an earlier expression of
opinion on the same play, and on the basis of such com-
parison to confirm or renounce the original point of view.
There are obvious reasons for following such a method here,
had he wished to emphasize again the recommendation of
a new law for comedy of the Moliere type. The belief in
the privilege of the real artist to be answerable in large
measure to independent laws is in itself in keeping with
Fontane's conviction that art as the variable fruit of vary-
ing conditions is not conformable to permanent limitations.
It is in accordance, too, with his tendency to welcome novelty
as an indication of fresh spontaneity in art rather than to
reject it on the mere ground of departure from tradition.
Instead, however, of repeating in the report on "Tartufife"
the theory of a possible new ideal for comedy, he emphasizes
again not only the excellence of Moliere's art but also the
unnatural element in characters and situations. This is not
chance, but significantly in keeping with Fontane's increasing
demand for life in the drama. He still recognizes the master-
hand of Moliere, but he recommends the play, because of
its lack in reality, for reading rather than for the stage.

Fontane recognized even in his London period the infe-
riority of that type of comedy that depends for its appeal
upon situation. He pronounced "Comedy of Errors" the
weakest of all the performances he saw in the Sadler's Wells
Theater, a verdict the grounds of which we are left at this
time to surmise. The general excellence which he notes in the
performances of this theater points, however, to the proba-
bility that the lack that he felt in this case was at least in
part inherent in the play, and a later criticism tends only to
substantiate this conclusion. He writes of it (1879) that
the spectator's interest lags from the second act on, that
Acts II and III have moments of comic effect, but that the
comic element is on the whole falsely calculated, since the
audience does not, according to expectation realize with

110

unfailing promptness the mistaken address.' The use of
disguise as a factor in the production of comic situation
Fontane treats but slightly. He does not mention it in his
Shakspere criticism; on "As you Like it" there is no report;
in "Merchant of Venice" it is the study of Shylock that
interests him above all else;" in "Twelfth Night"' it is the
interpretation of Malvolio; the most specific word that he
has to say in regard to Viola has to do with the necessity of
letting the roguish element come into its own beside the
element of sentiment.*

Although the treatment of situation for situation's sake is,
then, for Fontane, except in farce, a violation of the vital
principle of harmony between method and material, he lays,
nevertheless, the greatest weight upon adequate attention
in comedy to situations that make in themselves an integral
part of the dramatic plan. With the use of skilful motiva-
tion the situation is, indeed, to the scene what the scene is
to the play. "Nichts klingt aus" is a frequent note in Fon-
tane criticism. Upon this shortcoming in Wilbrandt's "Die
Maler" he bases the assertion (1872) that the author has
misused for the purpose of comedy attractive material
adapted to narrative and therefore incapable of enlisting the
sympathies of the spectator when compressed within the
narrow limits demanded by the stage.* The fact that he
substantiates this statement ten years later,^ comparing the
play with its series of "atelier anecdotes" to a "dinner
menu of ten courses from the same basic ingredients," removes
all doubt that his reason in the beginning for pronouncing
this material for narrative was that it provided only situa-
tions interesting in themselves with no regard for the prin-
ciples of cause and effect and climax, essential to organic

' V. Z. Jan. 3, B 2; cf. for the earlier statement W, 2, VIII, 557.

2 Cf.: W, 2, VIII, s f. (1872); V. Z. Feb. 22, 1881, B i; 7. Z. 1885,
Mar. 20, B i.

' Cf.: W, 2, VIII, 21 ff. (1884), 323 f. (1888); F. Z. Feb. 26, 1884,
B i; V. Z. Apr. 15, 1887, No. 173.

* V. Z. Oct. 23, B 2.

» W, 2, VIII, 230 f.

Ill

unity in drama. The so-called "moderns" as a group, in-
deed, impress him with an extreme lack of appreciation of
harmonious, natural movement. They seem to him to
reckon wilfully upon the temporary interest of the uncritical
public in the unexpected, since they use both situations and
scenes apparently for temporary effect. He writes in his
criticism of Gensichen's "Die Marchentante" (1881) that no
one has courage any more to let things develop fully on the
stage; the "war-cry" has come to be "avoid being tedious
at all costs" and often with very doubtful result, since the
Spasmodic treatment resorted to is productive of an unrest
in the spectator that is worse than ordinary ennui.^

This same play by Gensichen affords, furthermore, an
instance, typical — although unusual in kind — of the whole
class of playwrights lured by the desire to obtain what Fon-
tane calls Scribe effects. Gensichen attempts here to develop
by tableau "in Sleeping Beauty style" the transference of
the hero's love from one cousin to the other. Fontane does
not charge Scribe with making a mere picture or momentary
vision serve at any point for dialog and action. He does
not mention Scribe in this criticism; but the character of
Gensichen's attempt, the absolute disregard of motivation,
if necessary in order to reach the desired end, the protection
that he may have thought to procure from the title for such
technical license, and the emotional appeal of his play neces-
sarily recall Fontane's charge against "Les doigts de fee":
that the material, treated consistently in fairy-tale fashion,
would have been charming, but that title alone cannot con-
vince the spectator that the whole was conceived primarily
as a genuine fairy-play rather than as one of actual human
experience, that as a reflection of life and the conditions of
the time it is not acceptable.'' Fontane's impression from
the plays is the same: that the suggestion of the supernatural
in the title is resorted to as a subterfuge; in the case of
Gensichen, to cover escape from a technical difficulty; in
that of Scribe, to conceal the fact that the social problem
involved was beyond his ability.

1 W, 2, VIII, 287 f. * W, 2, VIII, 112 £f. (1871).

112

In the work of serious dramatists who do not as a rule
regard motivation arbitrarily, Fontane terms the failure to
develop situations at times an error in tempo. In developing
the conflict in Hero's soul, for instance, Grillparzer does not,
in Fontane's opinion (1881), show the same fine dramatic
instinct as in the initial conception of that conflict. The
awakening of Hero's love is given complete treatment in the
development, at the expense of the priestess, although it is
Hero the priestess that demands a larger part in the conflict
in order to make the character at all points psychologically
true,^ and thus attain the end practically promised in the
introduction of the idea of priesthood, in itself fruitful of
dramatic situation, into a material originally strictly lyric.^

Fontane's most interesting reference to false tempo in the
working out of a plot occurs (1889) in his analysis of the
weakness of Ibsen's "The Lady from the Sea." His point of
view is this: ' Ibsen has conceived Ellida not merely as a
sensitive woman obsessed by an illusion but as a noble and
courageous character, capable both of reason and of appre-
ciating what is true; her sudden "leap" into appreciation
of her husband at the magic word "freedom" is therefore
abnormal, although technically a "leap in the right direc-
tion" and consequently not in this respect in the same cate-
gory with the "hin und her" tendency of many "moderns";
the rescue of Ellida from the idea of the Northman should
have been developed logically to the end by dialog as it is
begun in Act IV in the masterly scene in which Dr. Wangel
attempts to lead her by reason to a normal mental state;
but Ibsen's mania for exploiting the idea of the genuinely
moral marriage based upon individual freedom dulls in this
case the dramatist's usually keen sense for natural psycho-
logical treatment, and renders the conversation referred to
merely a brilliant episode in the completed drama; the weak-
ness is not due, as in many contemporary German play-

'■ V. Z. Oct. 14, B I (criticism of "Des Meeres und dec Liebe Wel-
len"; cf. also below, p. 131).

2 W, 2, Vm, 106 f. (1874).

3 W, 2, VIII, 19s ff.

113

Wrights, to a general lack of motivation, but to sudden and
undue prominence in Act IV of a problem which should
remain only a part of the mere background if EUida is to
grow naturally into full self-realization; as a result the drama
assumes unnecessarily too much the character of a mere
problem-play.

Mistaken tempo bears, then, through the lack of motiva-
tion from which it results, evident relation to that capricious
or arbitrary use of situation which is always to Fontane an
artistic sacrifice not to be counterbalanced by any advan-
tage. Such a flaw entails nowhere, however, more detrimental
results than in the crucial moment of the denouement. Al-
ways an indication of the embarrassment due to exigency,
it is here capable of blurring completely the artistic appeal
of an otherwise successful play. The psychological truth and
delicacy secured by Gutzkow through the use of the un-
written sheet as the gravitating center of the plot in "Ein
weisses Blatt" is sacrificed in the last scene through the
sudden and melodramatic shifting of brides ^ (1872). After
declaring the second act of Lindau's "Verschamte Arbeit"
superior (1880) to most acts produced in German drama in
a year, placing the annual output in round numbers at a
thousand plays, he charges Lindau with seeking a hasty ref-
uge from difficulties at the end in order to adjust all elements
satisfactorily.'' Similarly, in the last act of "Hans Lange"

' Fontane writes concerning this conclusion (V. Z. Apr. 7, B 4; sup-
plementary to W, 2, VIII, 143): "Das ist ein Schluss den kaum das
Lustspiel erlaubt; das Schauspiel gewiss nicht. Ein bis dahin das ganze
Stuck sehr angenehm beherrschender Zug der Feinheit, geht dadurch im
letzten Momente wieder verloren. Und dennoch ware dem ohne sonder-
Uche Muhe abzuhelfen gewesen. Einfach dadurch, dass der Dichter den
ganzen Hochzeitsapparat gestrichen, und das, was sich hier als ein sich
unmittelbar VoUziehendes gibt, als ein Werdendes in die Zukunft gestellt
hatte."

2 The theme of this play, as in Scribe's "Les doigts de Ue" (W, 2,
VIII, 112 fif.), is that self-maintenance through honest work is not de-
grading to any rank. Fontane's praise of Act II in Lindau's play (V. Z.
Oct. 26, 1880, B 2) is based especially upon the scene in which by simple
conversation between Martha Geissler and Zacharias Gerhardt Martha's
nobility, unselfishness, and fineness of feeling are naturally and beauti-

114

Heyse transforms the real people he has created into pup-
pets, that they may serve the arbitrary idea of reconcilia-
tion i (1882). Wilbrandt's "Jugendliebe" (1886), too, full
of indisputable charm up to the solution, lacks at that point
the invention necessary to make it an artistic unit.*

Adequate treatment of situation does not, however, in-
volve necessarily length or space. Fontane says that the
brevity of the last scene of "Jugendliebe" is advantageous;
Wilbrandt's error lies in the fact that it is brevity of the
wrong kind. The dramatic economy with which Act III
closes in Erckmann-Chatrian's "Die Rantzau" Fontane
terms (1883) a flash of genius:' It is the scene in which
the stubborn pride of Johann Rantzau yields to solicitude
for his daughter, and he goes as a suppliant for reconcilia-
tion to the house of the brother he has wronged. In Fon-
tane's opinion the usual dramatist would have woven a
conversation about the meeting of the two brothers, but it
is a truer dramatic instinct which, in the moment of tension
when the two stand at the door face to face at last after long
years of estrangement, lets the silence suffice, followed by
the simple words: "Komm herein." Fontane had written
(1881) that situations make a play,* and it is to such skilful
use of situation as this, about which his entire praise of
"Die Rantzau" centers, that this unelaborated but unequiv-
ocal statement must refer.

fully revealed in contrast to the ambition and false pride of Gerhardt's
daughter Isabella. In the last scene, criticized by Fontane, an involved
situation is set to rights with kaleidoscopic swiftness at a place no more
probable than the minister's ball, through the minister's recognition of
the embroidered purse presented to him by Isabella as the work of
Martha Geissler, a discovery followed by his open suit to Martha, who
had loved him in secret, after her humiliation by another suitor because
she had worked for pay, and the simultaneous chagrin of Isabella, whose
own ambitious hopes are thus thwarted.

" V. Z. Oct. 18, B I.

' V. Z. Oct. 29, No. 506, Abendausgabe.

' V. Z. Feb. 9, B I.

* V. Z. May 5, B i. — The statement occurs in praise of the general
use of situation in Lindau's "Verschamte Arbeit" (cf. above, p. 64).

115

But this principle of economy, so desirable in the treatment
of dramatic situation, cannot be applied to humor. The
breadth of humor in the scenes of Pistol, Silence, and Shal-
low ("Henry IV"), those of Fluellen and Macmorris, of
Nym, Bardolph, and Pistol ("Henry V") is one of the grounds
on which Fontane bases his assertion (1873) that "Henry V"
and Part II of "Henry IV" are not inferior to Part I of
"Henry IV," as stage plays.^ Falstaff himself he recognizes
as inferior in Part II, "Henry IV," to the Falstaff of Part
I, but he is inclined to place less value than most critics
upon the Falstaff role in sustaining humor in these dramas,
more value upon the better minor figures that make for a
humorous appeal. With the exception of a few capital scenes

■ This opinion is based directly upon consecutive performances of these
histories in the spring of 1873 (cf- W, 2, VIII, 10-17). One factor in
Fontane's conclusion is, no doubt, the following: that Boring's FalstafiE
(Part I, "Henry IV") appeals to him as brought to perfection; that the
same actor's Falstaff (Part II) is inferior to that of Part I, and that
Oberlander's Shallow is to Fontane the "crown" of this second evening
(V. Z. Mar. 27, B 2, additional to W, ^, VIII, 11 ff.). He writes, how-
ever, of Part II: "Es fuhrt deshalb irre, wenn der Witz beider Stiicke
lediglich an dieser einen Gestalt gemessen werden soil; man muss vielmehr
den humoristischen Gesamtgehalt gegeneinander abwagen, und so ge-
wogen bleibt es immerhin fraglich, ob nicht die Schale vielleicht zu
gunsten des zweiten Teiles sinkt. Pistol und die Friedensrichter Stille
und Schaal sind drei Gestalten, die dem Teil II ein sehr Erhebliches an
Witz und Humor zulegen. An mehr denn einer SteUe ziemlich ersichtlich
auf Kosten Falstaffs."

The other ground for superiority in Part II lies in the historic figures;
in Fontane's opinion Percy is almost balanced by Archbishop Scroop,
and any possible deficit in the latter is more than outweighed by the
great death-scene of the King in Act IV. He does not argue a corre-
sponding excellence for "Henry V." The play is to him "ein ewiges
Stuck Menschentum," due to the excellence of the Shaksperean concep-
tion of Henry V; but he agrees with Oechelhauser that the successful
presentation of this drama is largely dependent upon conditions; he
quotes from Oechelhauser as follows (V. Z. Apr. 22, B 2, additional to
W, 2, VIII, 13 ff.): "Die dramatische Composition dieses Stucks ist
vielfach und mit recht angegriffen worden. Die Handlung hat keine
spannenden Verwickelungen; der Hohepunkt erscheint nicht als ein
dramatischer, sondern als ein historischer Moment, nach dessen Ueber-
schreitung die Handlung unmittelbar zum Schluss eilt."

116

which he does not enumerate he considers the part of Fal-
staff eminently a role to be read; it offers to his mind a
surplus of wit (Geist), some of which belongs distinctly to
another century, and much of which is past before it can
be fully comprehended by the spectator. Fontane's purpose
here is, however, rather to do neglected justice to secondary
roles than to underestimate the wit of Sir John, which he
characterizes (in Part I) as fresh, effervescent, inexhaustible.
He is arguing for appreciation of the humorous whole (den
humoristischen Gesamtgehalt), revealing as he does it, a sug-
gestion of dissatisfaction at having failed to follow to its limits
each rapidly succeeding eddy of Sir John's exuberant spirit.

This judgment of Falstaff's humor, repeated in a later
criticism of "Henry V" (1877),^ cannot but recall Fontane the
causeur, the man who was wont to stand for an hour or more

* The two ideas, of undue brevity and of separation from our own
time, occur in both criticisms side by side. Fontane wrote in 1873 (W,
2, VIII, 17): "Ein ungeheurer Ueberschuss von Geist ist vorhanden,
den man lesend bewundert, der aber, gespielt und gesprochen, nur sehr
teilweise zur Wirkung kommt. Dass die verschiedenen Jahrhunderte
ausserdem ziemlich verschieden dariiber empfinden, was eigentUch witzig
und komisch sei, mochten wir nur noch angedeutet haben." In 1877
(V. Z. May 10, B i; criticism of Henry IV, Part II) he wrote again of
the superiority in some respects of the country-judges Silence and Shal-
low. It is to be noted again, however, that Oberlander took the part
of Shallow, that Fontane pronounced the part excellent, adding that
it was perhaps Oberlander's best role, that Falstaff, on the other hand,
was a guest role by a Mr. MilUer, of whom Fontane wrote simply that
he was more original than in Part I (cf. above, p. 22). Yet it is also to
be remembered that Fontane's judgment of a drama per se never de-
pended largely upon the nature of the performance he had seen. Accus-
tomed to presentations that fell short of his ideal, he was wont to base
his criticism of the drama in question primarily upon his own conception
of it. The point that he emphasized against Falstaff in this latter report
was the element of antiquity in his humor. "Er liest sich besser, als er
sich sieht; er ist fur uns zu einer Buchfigur geworden. Inmitten aller
Bewunderung werden wir seiner, wenn er leibhaftig vor uns tritt, doch
nicht recht froh; er heimelt uns nicht an, es ist etwas Fremdes zwischen
ihm und uns, und dies Fremde wurzelt in dem Gefuhl des Altmodischen,
des Antiquirten. . . . Vieles trifft gleichgiltig oder gar storend unser
Ohr, und erst im Momente des Verklingens besinnen wir uns, dass es
ungeheuer witzig war. . . . Was von der Shakespeare Sprache so oft

117

with his hand on the door-knob after a cup of tea at the
house of a congenial literary friend, the narrator who as-
sembles at summer-resorts and in drawing-rooms a greater
number of brilliant conversationalists than one is likely to
find together in similar places in real life. Considered thus,
it throws light, too, upon the distinction that Fontane draws
frequently between dramatic and narrative material. As he
discards for dramatic purposes material which does not lend
itself to the production of tension, so he makes no place in
drama for dialog so finely pointed that the spectator's inter-
est in the sum total must yield temporarily at least to the
effort to lose none of the repartee. In narrative, on the
contrary, it is dialog, not plot, that seems to give ultimate
value to Fontane. In his own work he dispenses frequently
with a central line of tension, gives little place to continued
narrative or analysis by the author, and lets his characters
talk, revealing themselves, their milieu, and the emotional
ch'anges that serve to carry on the slowly woven web of
plot. It is not unlikely that the latent predilection for un-
usual art in individualistic dialog and brilliant repartee that
manifested itself much later in Fontane's stories of BerUn
life was a factor in forming his opinion (1873-1877) of Fal-
staff's humor and its adaptation to reading rather than to
the stage. A similar idea occurs (1875) in the statement
that subtlety cannot be substituted for humor in comedy,
and his attendant praise of the French Causeries for the fact
that their comic element gains clearness and support through
close relation to situation.* He writes also (1877) of Ernst
Eckstein's "Ein Pessimist," ^ which the author calls a comedy,
that it is rather a preliminary sketch, that it lacks the free-
dom and the breadth necessary for humor. "Ohne Breite kann
aber der Humor nicht bestehen. Nur der Witz ist kurz."

gesagt worden ist, dass sie neben dem Hochsten und Grossten, neben
einem die Zeiten Ueberdauernden, auch etwas in der Zeit Befangenes
und Hinfalliges habe, gilt nicht minder auch von seinem Humor." He
wrote elsewhere in the criticism: "In Schaal und Stille ist nichts
veraltet."

1 W, 2, VIII, 286.

2 V. Z. Jan. 27, B i.

118

In the criticism of tragedy the discussion of situation
yields naturally to the consideration of tragic guilt and the
consistent portrayal of the protagonist. Moreover, various
as are the indications that this branch of drama must deal,
too, with human beings, with that which is possible in human
experience, the basic demand' is not in tragedy as in comedy
that it conform to reality; tragedy must elevate; it cannot
be divorced from the ideal; it must build upon the funda-
ments of justice, atonement, and harmony.^

Fontane's treatment of tragedy shows, too, that his asser-
tion on occasions that method is more important than mate-
rial can by no means be taken at its full face-value. Method
is, to be sure, prominent here. His adverse criticism* of
Halm's "Der Fechter von Ravenna" (1879), for example, is
based on the mediocre character of the initial material, and
the trend of the discussion is that a real poet such as Kleist
can give substance to what in itself is nothing, as Shakspere
animated the spiritless fundamentals of Lear, Hamlet, and
Macbeth. Yet, as compared with comedy, the limitations
placed in tragedy upon the dramatist's choice of material are
much more definite and detailed.

The first of these specific demands is a character that
arouses sympathy, and if the tragic hero is perfectly con-
ceived, the sympathetic response that he calls forth is purely
for the human soul in conflict. The introduction of cross
purposes, the attempt to arouse sympathy at the same time
for a cause, blurs the image and decreases the tragic appeal.
The mediocre success of Kruse's "WuUenwever" Fontane
attributes^ (1872) to a lack of organic unity between the
double interest aroused by the hero as a man and as a re-
former. He writes that there are no state conditions sacred

' The discussion of dramatic requisites for tragedy is not restricted
entirely to tragic genres. Some of the suggestions, meant apparently for
general application, reach into the precinct of the spectacular play, just
as many of the principles relating to comedy were not limited to comedy.

2 W, 2, VIII, p. 206.

' W, 2, VIII, 130 ff. — Kleist treats the same basic material in "Die
Hermannsschlacht."

* V. Z. Oct. 16, B 2.

119

in themselves; that WuUenwever had every right to over-
throw the patriciate, to expel the papal adherents, and to es-
tablish a Danish peasant-kingdom, if he had been a man to
compel conditions; but that, lacking this ability, he fails to
inspire us with positive sympathy. Fontane's objection'
to "Herodes und Mariamne" (1874) is based on the ground
that Hebbel works at variant purposes in the central figures;
they become bearers of his own extreme modern ideas in
regard to tyrannic, egoistic love and its unselfish counterpart,
yet they show an intensity and enormity of passion in keeping
only with the period in history to which they belong. The
hero of Spielhagen's "Liebe fur Liebe" (1875) is regarded
by Fontane as a questionable figure for the center of dra-
matic conflict,^ one of the hybrid conceptions (Mischcha-
raktere) against which he directs repeated thrusts. "Das
Drama aber ist der Schauplatz fiir ein Entweder-Oder."
For this reason Wallenstein is in Fontane's opinion (1878)
poorly adapted to drama; one does not know whether to
sympathize with this hero or to despise him.'

The second specific demand for drama, that the conflict
be inherent in the opposing characters, Fontane finds admi-
rably illustrated in Otto Ludwig's "Der Erbforster" (1879),
and to such a degree that the spectator has from the begin-
ning the foreboding of inevitable evil.* Tragic simpUcity
and directness result in part here from the given material;
the limitations of interest and ideas, he points out, are nec-
essarily those of domestic tragedy and stand in close rela-
tionship to the fate which seems inevitably bound up in the
characters themselves. The fact that he notes in "Das
Friedensfest" also (1890), although he considers this a "study
of life" rather than a drama, and in Helene of "Vor Sonnen-
aufgang" (1889), that oneness of character and conflict ^
which he found lacking in WuUenwever, Herodes, Mariamne,

> W, 2, VIII, 152 flf.

2 W, 2, VIII, 208 S.

' W, 2, VIII, 73; (report on "Die Piccolomini".)

4 W, 2, VIII, 148 S.

6 W, 2, VIII, 308-313-

120

and Wallenstein, indicates the belief that material in which
the conflict arises unavoidably from the milieu is particu-
larly adapted to the production of such tragic unity.

With perfect consistency Fontane holds the same principle
in connection with tragic guilt; it cannot be arbitrary; it
must have its source in character. Koberstein's failure ^ to
develop retribution in "Konig Erich XIV" from its real
dramatic cause results in what Fontane terms (1871) "keine
Tragodie, sondern nur eine Criminalgeschichte aus der Ober-
schicht der Gesellschaft." The play might have been a real
tragedy, in his opinion, had Koberstein given full dramatic
value to the great scene at the end of Act II, in which Erich,
to test the loyalty of Magnus, demands that he sign the
death-sentence of John, Duke of Finland. Instead, however,
of placing the tragic climax here, he has Magnus swoon in
the act of signing, and the scene becomes a mere bubble.
Erich, after another whole act, murders Magnus, proved
traitor, in self-defense, and falls a victim finally to the en-
suing rebellion. Under the manipulation of the dramatist,
the historic tyrant is thus really deprived of guilt. There is
a similar criticism (1879) of Massinger's method of treating
guilt in "The Duke of Milan." 2 "Er schweift ab, er ver-
wirrt sich und verliert das Ziel." The last three acts do not
fulfil the promise of the first two, because the dramatist
operates in the last half of the play with two motifs. The
Duke should perish through his egoistic love for Marcella.
Instead, what is technically here a secondary guilt is intro-
duced in the traditional motif of the deserted mistress, and
the catastrophe is developed by means of this guilt, which is
not only further in the past but dramatically the more ob-
scure. Again, Wildenbruch's "Harold" shows (1882) that
extreme disregard for consistent, true motivation that Fon-
tane criticized so severely in the contemporary writers of
German comedy. He says of "Harold":'

"Es fehlt an wirklichen in den Charakteren gegebenen Konflikten,
und was Konflikt sein soil, ist nur eine durch Kontradiktionen eines

1 V. Z. Oct. 25, B 2. '^ V. Z. Nov. 25, B 2. ^ w, :,, VIII, 260.

121

kindischen alten Konigs herbeigefuhrte Konfusion. Es fehlt all das,
aus dem heraus sich grosse Geschicke zu vollziehen haben. Es ist
weder eine tragische Schuld da, noch das Walten eines iiber Zufall
und Laune hinauswachsenden Schicksals. ..."

It seems to Fontane not sufficient, however, that the dra-
matic conflict have vital relation to the character involved,
unless the human problem in question is strong enough to
dominate other inherent weakness in the material. Wilden-
bruch's "Der Fiirst von Verona" suffers less from the con-
fusion of forces leading to Selvaggia's death than from the
fact that the main conflict is too far removed from contem-
porary interest ^ (1887). It is the recurrent demand for
realism that will appeal to the modern spectator that mani-
fests itself here, that demand to which interest in historical
background was wont to yield in Fontane. The criticism is
not out of touch with his estimate of Falstaff's humor as
antiquated, and it recalls distinctly the report on "Minna
von Barnhelm" (1870) in which he expresses the opinion
that in spite of great life and freshness this play fails in uni-
versal appeal because too clearly stamped with the charac-
teristics of the era it portrays.^ '

Fontane's discussion of the problem-play gives evidence,
however, that he developed in the course of his criticism the
conviction that restrictions often placed somewhat arbitra-
rily by himself and others on the choice of material should
be made conditional upon method. A letter to Mr. Fritsch
(1894) indicates ' that he had been inclined earlier to take a
radical stand against the exploitation of problems in drama,

1 W, 2, VIII, 264 ff.

2 W, 2, VIII, 32 fE.

' W, 2, XI, 315 f. —This letter was called forth by a discussion of
"Philotas" in an evening company. Mr. Fritsch (later Fontane's son-
in-law) had expressed the opinion that "Philotas" was not valued ac-
cording to its deserts. Fontane, after re-reading the play, took issue with
this opinion. With reference to his own position on general mooted
questions in literature, he wrote: "Sie kennen mich zu gut, als dass Sie
nicht wissen soUten, dass der ganze streitsuchende Krimskrams von Klas-
sizitat und Romantik, von Idealismus und Realismus, beinahe mochte

122

but that he is convinced that it is method that acquits or
condemns. He condemns "Philotas" here for its academic
character and its consequent lack of convincing power. Yet
every worthy material seems to involve in his opinion a cer-
tain degree of problem treatment. He wrote (1880) that
real art could not exist without the expression of a beautiful
human thought.'

His treatment of the problem in drama and the relation
of material to method in its use centers definitely, in the
discussion of three special genres: the drama presenting a
moral truth in the manner of the fairy-tale; the drama built
upon a social problem; the drama treating a patriotic theme
with a background of history.

The dramatized fairy-tale provides fruitful soil for the
cultivation of a moral, if poetic atmosphere is not lacking.
But the method that fails to recognize the poetry inherent
in material that is genuine legend or of legendary type sacri-
fices the force of the truth to be expressed. In his report*
on Wichert's "Der Freund des Fiirsten" (1879) Fontane
misses "the elves, those gracious, arrogant little creatures
that disarm criticism." On the other hand, Raimund's "Der
Verschwender" shows him (1874) in spite of the inadequacy
of its fairies and the abundance of its platitudes, that it was
conceived in a poetic soul;' "this shadelike beggar, conjured
up, as it were, from out of the future," and reappearing be-
fore the fugitive like his shadow or like fate itself at moments

ich auch sagen, von Tendenz und Nichttendenz — denn einige der aller-
grossten Sachen sind doch Tendenzdichtungen — weit hinter mir liegt.
Alles ist gut, wenn es gut ist."

' W, 2, VIII, 242 f. — The criticism is based upon Paul Lindau's
"Grafin Lea." Fontane takes the position that the play is of a higher
order, and that it is unreasonable to condemn it on the ground that Lin-
dau's treatment of the Jewish question has less depth and less elevation
than that of Lessing in "Nathan" since it was not Lindau's primary
purpose to treat a problem.

" W, 2, VIII, 213.

' Both reports on "Der Verschwender" referred to are found W, 2,
VIII, 102-105.

123

increasingly dramatic, grips the human heart as powerfully,
to Fontane's mind, in spite of the "fantastic-sentimental"
background, as does the figure of Banquo in the realm of the
awful, the "fantastically exalted." He expresses satisfaction
(1886) in the possession of Raimund, for whom "this poor
world is full of marvel" as the outward expression of a higher
power. He attributes (1878) the strong appeal of Calderon's
"Life a Dream" to the poetic treatment of the moral with
vital force in the drama, in comparison with which the lesson
of "Der Traum ein Leben" seems to him a mere appendage.*
Yet he writes of the latter (1884) ^ — and without forgetting
its relation to the Spanish play — that it has strong ethical
and educational power, that the "better part" so often
preached in empty phrases is here felt. "Es gibt weniges,
was so ruhrt und erheitert, so hinnimmt und entzuckt wie
gute Marchen."

The justification of the problem by method is nowhere
clearer, however, than in Fontane's treatment of the social
problem-play, which centers in his discussion of the best
products of the German naturalistic period. Here general
excellence of method attains in his opinion unusual artistic
success in spite of some errors of detail, and in spite of ma-
terial, the adaptation of which to artistic purposes may
sometimes be questioned.

It must be noted at the outset, however, that Fontane
himself never uses the term social problem-play. That he
classified the naturalistic dramas as problem-plays is evi-
dent, nevertheless, from the fact that he places Hauptmann's
"Weber" in this category.' Paul Schlenther had expressed
the opinion in print that the importance of "Die Weber"

' V. Z. Dec. 14, B 3.

" W, 2, VIII, 109 f. — That Fontane must have had in mind here the
relation of Grillparzer's play to its Spanish predecessor is to be con-
cluded from the fact that this is one of the reports in which he refers to
what he had written on the same subject at an earlier date (Dec. 12,
1878).

' Cf. W, 2, XI, 325-327 (including footnote).

124

like that of "Nathan der Weise" depended not upon its
"Tendenz," but upon its art, its literary greatness. Fontane
shows in a letter to Brahm (Sept. 27, 1894) his approval of
Schlenther's position, although he admits that the Haupt-
mann play may be open to blame; a letter of the following
day to Schlenther himself indicates no little pleasure in the
fact, likely, Fontane says, to be regarded by some as "high
treason," that Schlenther had placed the Hauptmann play
in juxtaposition with that of Lessing.

It is noticeable, further, that Fontane shows no opposition
here, as elsewhere,' to the purpose-element as such. What-
ever disapproval he expresses of the work of the German
naturalists is on the basis of some esthetic shortcoming in
material. For this reason alone he withholds from "Vor
Sonnenaufgang" unrestricted praise. One must surmise in
part as to Fontane's failure to take exception to the empha-
sis placed upon the problem-element here. That its promi-
nence did not escape him is evident from his reference to
Alfred Loth as a rider of hobbies and to the drama as a
"Schnapstragodie." '^ That he does not regard this element
as ultimately detrimental to the convincing power of the
drama, as in the case of "Ghosts," is the probable explanation
for lack of censure. He feels that one's realistic sense cannot
doubt either the conditions portrayed in "Vor Sonnenauf-
gang" or the existence side by side of all forces making for
and against these conditions.' He does not make any defi-

' In some miscellaneous cases he considers the problem-factor in itself
a distinct drawback to artistic results. In "Herodes und Mariamne"
there is a lack of human truth (1874) because the nature of the problem
introduced is not in keeping with the historic setting. There is lack of
organic unity between the problem and the characters who develop it.
In "Uriel Acosta" a similar lack of inner unity renders the hero uncon-
vincing and weakens the stamp of historic truth (1879). Fitger's "Von
Gottes Gnaden" is without a vestige of real human truth (1890) because
too evidently constructed around the purpose of questioning divine right
of class and of defending the human right of woman. (Cf. W, 2, VIII,
152 f., 145, 246 f.)

^ Fontane uses also the older term "Kombdie" (Schnapskomodie).
Cf. report on "Die Familie Selicke," Apr. 7, 1890 (W, 2, VIII, 313).

3 W, 2, VIII, 300 f., 308 f. (Oct. 20, 1889); cf. also W, 2, VII, 232.

125

nite statement to this effect, but he writes of "Vor Sonnen-
aufgang" as follows:

"Eine sonderbare, eine gruselige Geschichte. Uberall im Lande
haben wir jetzt Gegenden, wo Bauern und mitunter blose Katner
uber Nacht reich geworden sind, und in eine seiche Gegend fiihrt
uns das Stiick."

Even more important in this connection is his characteriza-
tion of Helene:

"Heftig, herbe, leidenschaftlich und zugleich doch weich und
schmiegsam und von einer edlen Sehnsucht nach Wahrheit, Frieden,
und Liebe verzehrt; dazu Bauernkind und Saufertochter mit herm-
hutischer Erziehung, welche letztere nicht bless ebenauf liegen blieb,
sendem ihr ins Herz drang."

One must conclude from the tenor of his reports on
" Ghosts ""^ that he could not take a similar stand in regard
to it; the burden of evidence there is for the verdict that
coincident conditions in this drama, although not impossible,
are made contiguous for the sake of enforcing the thesis in
question.

Fontane's initial position (1887) in regard to "Ghosts" is
that the theses are false. The impression that the first pub-
Ushed criticism makes upon the reader is, however, that he
cannot fully explain why the drama fails to satisfy his esthetic
sense. In a letter to Schlenther of the same date, without
rejecting the theses themselves, he notes the "pretentious

' Fontane's criticisms of "Ghosts'' are found W, 2, VIII, 180-189,
under dates of Jan. 8, 1887 and Sept. 30, 1889. The first date is erroneous.
The performance was advertised Sunday, Jan. 9, V. Z. noon-edition,
B 3, as a matinge for that date in the Residenz theater. Fontane's
1887 criticism is not printed in V. Z. of this or the following date.
The Monday edition, Jan. 10, contains a report on the performance in
the Residenz theater, signed P. S. (Paul Schlenther), reporter for the
Residenz theater. The letter to Schlenther referred to bears the date
Jan. 9, 1887. It expresses thanks for Schlenther's kindness in making it
possible for Fontane to enjoy the performance, also the desire "etwas
uber dies merkwurdige Stuck zu sagen," and refers to the possibiUty of
appearing in the "Vossin" some thirty-six or forty-eight hours after
Schlenther himself (W, 2, XI, 121 f.).

126

morality" of "Ghosts," the "extreme pessimism of an eccentric
philosophy that is only apparently correct." These words
throw light upon a passage which receives no great emphasis
in the published criticism:

"Wenn es sicherlich nicht wohlgetan ware, den Blick gegen unsere
Gebrechen und Schwachheit verschliessen zu wollen, so verbietet
es sich doch mehr noch, all das, was uns von Schuld und Sunde
durchs Leben hin begleitet, unter ein vergrossendes Zerrglas zu
tun."

Fontane never relinquishes this position. He writes to
Mete ^ (Sept. 14, 1889) that Ibsen pursues even his secondary
motifs with a mania which makes them assume for him even-
tually the importance of major themes, and that in develop-
ing them he falls into "phrases,^ not of word, but of feeling."
He cites with evident pleasure both to Mete and to Stephany
(Sept. 30, 1889) the opinion of Emil Rittershaus, that Ibsen
the apothecary reveals himself in all his works, even expressing
his own approval to Stephany as follows: "tJberall der kleine,
kluge, verriickte Apotheker, der sich weltabgeschieden, in eine
furchtbare Frage einbohrt."

He writes of Hauptmann, on the other hand, in the letter
to Mete already cited — and the opinion is called forth by
reading "Vor Sonnenauf gang " — that he is a "de-phrased"
(entphraster) Ibsen. Since Fontane pays to Ibsen's language
elsewhere the highest possible tribute, the epithet "de-phrased"
has reference here also to feeling, to what Fontane considers an
abnormal view of life. In the criticism of the play, written for
publication (a month later), he finds it impossible to suggest
adequately the tone of the play, the key in which it is written
(der Ton in dem das Ganze gehalten ist). Its tone gives the

1 These letters are found: W, 2, VII, 232 f.; W, 2, XI, 216 ff. The
letter to Stephany is the same date as the first performance of "Ghosts"
on the Free Stage in Berlin. In Fontane's criticism of this date (W, 2,
VIII, 185 ff.) he ascribes to the drama great power of conviction, but it
is conviction due to "artistic sincerity," the dramatist's own ardent belief
in his theses, rather than to truth inherent in the theses themselves.

' Fontane's hatred of the phrase as such is treated under language;
cf. below, pp. 134 f.

127

directness of the ballad and carries with it the ballad-thrill.
This is the tone of truth, of which he regards only the gen-
uine poet capable, "the power of which renders inconsequent
minor weaknesses, even occasional absurdities."

"Bleibt diese Wirkung aus, tibt der Ton nicht seine heiligende,
seine rettende Macht, verklart er nicht das Hassliche, so hat der
Dichter verspielt, entweder well seine Griinde doch nicht rein genug
waren und ihm die Luge oder zum mindesten die Phrase im Herzen
sass, oder weil ihn die Kraft im Stich hess und ihn sein Werk in
einem unglucklichen Momente beginnen liess."

More than eight years later Fontane writes again to Stephany
that "Ibsen may be the stronger personality, the greater na-
ture, superior as an epoch-making genius," but that Haupt-
mann is the greater poet "because more human, natural, and
true." 1

Yet Fontane's esthetic sense is offended by the tendency of
the German naturalistic playwrights to draw exclusively from
the ugly for the mass of details with which they round out a
dramatic plan. He writes, for instance, even of "Vor Son-
nenaufgang," that the very details which had impressed him
in the reading as constituting what was distinctive and new
in the play appealed to him less forcefully in presentation
than the points it shows in common with accepted dramatic
traditions. He is therefore convinced (Oct. 1889) that real-
ism, even in its most artistic form, must yield to well-defined
stage-laws when it steps from the book out upon the boards.''
Details of real life, ornamental to the novel, homely though
they may be, appear prosaic on the stage when portrayed in
modified form, and repulsive when shown in the glaring light
of actuality. Similarly (1890) in spite of unmitigated praise

» W, 2, XI, 459 f. (letter of Mar. 22, 1898).

2 W, 2, VIII, 305 f. — Fontane does not discriminate by use of differ-
ent terms between realism in the broad sense and its extreme phase known
as naturalism. This is no doubt due partly to the fact that he gives little
heed to technical terms in general. It was due also in part to the fact
that he did not have an historical perspective for the phenomenon. The
spirit of his criticism shows that he distinguished promptly and clearly
between work of realistic and work of naturalistic character.

128

for "Die Familie Selicke" as an epoch-making play in realistic
accuracy, he expresses very definite scruples against the choice
of material. As an exceptional case he gives this drama hearty
welcome, but not as a norm.'

The treatment of the problem is naturally less prominent in
the discussion of the historical drama than the question of
poetic license in the use of historical fact and the method
of adapting facts of historical importance artistically to the
dramatic form. Fontane writes that the Tendenz may be pres-
ent if it does not become obtrusive,^ but sympathy for a cause
may not blur the character conception or decrease the human
appeal.' Nothing is to him more Ufeless (nichts Unerquick-
Ucheres) in the hands of a poet unequal to his task than patri-
otic poetry (vaterlandische Dichtimg), nothing more refreshing if
the poet's power is adequate.*

His ideas in regard to the adaptation, of historical ma-
terial in drama have already been indicated along broad
lines: that bald historic fact is not sufficient; that the purpose
of this type is not to portray cultural conditions; that its
value lies in the dramatic conflict and the ethical truth and
poetic power with which this conflict is treated.^

Certain great models appeal to him as ideals for the genre:
"Henry V" for poetical power (1873); "Prinz Friedrich von
Homburg" for clearness and consistency, the impression of
artistic necessity in the development of plot (1876); "Die
Piccolomini" * for Shaksperean clearness and variety in char-
acterization and for French beauty of form (1878); Laube's
"Graf Essex"' for technical and structural excellence, espe-

' W, 2, VIII, 314 f. — Fontane writes: "Einmal geht das, einmal lass
ich mir das gefallen, sogar unter warmster und bewundernder Anerkennung
gef alien. . . . Um Himmelswillen keine 'Kontinuation' ! Ein Punkt,
der nicht genug betont werden kann."

2 V. Z. Oct. 31, 1876, B. 3.

' Cf. above, p. 118 (criticism of " WuUenwever ").

* W, 2, VIII, 131 (1879).

■■ Cf. above, p. 42.

« For reference to the last three plays cf. W, 2, VIII, 15, 96, 72.

' V. Z. Dec. 9, B 2; May 15, 1873, B 2.

129

dally for the artistic use of fact in the dramatic climax (1879);
"Gotz von Berlichingen"^ for its harmonious combination of
beauty, cultural background, and "historic style," by which
Fontane seems to mean realistic and dramatic simplicity in
treating human experience and the march of great events
(1884).

But it is through Fontane's adverse criticisms that one gets,
on the whole, a definite idea of the requirements he would
make for adapting historical fact to drama. Although his
preference of Laube's Queen Elizabeth to Schiller's conception
would indicate a predilection for the method that retains the
character of history, this is not a prominent demand in his
criticism. He rejects Koberstein's "Konig Erich XIV" (1871),
for instance, not primarily because accuracy is sacrificed, but
because the conception is dramatically inconsistent.^ Again
(1883), it is the lack of imaginative ability, of originality,
which he sees in Michael Beer's "Struensee" that he defines
as deficient historic sense "was in einem historischen Stiick
nicht viel weniger bedeutet als 'es fehlt an Wahrheit iiber-
haupt.'"*

It is evident, indeed, that historic accuracy took rank with
Fontane below a number of other considerations. It is second-
ary to psychological truth (1872) as in Gottschall's portrayal
of Katharina Howard.* It may yield, as in stage setting, to
poetic appeal; the art in Kleist's conception of the Prince of
Homburg^ is eventually convincing (1876) in spite of the vio-
lation of historic truth; he defends ^ even more strongly (1888)
Heyse's disregard of fact in "Die Weisheit Salomos" on the
basis that Heyse uses King Solomon merely as a bearer of the
important poetic human truth taken as the theme.

» V. Z. Apr. 22, B I.

' Cf. above, p. 120.

' V. Z. Nov. 4, No. 517-

* V. Z. Mar. s, B 2.

' W, 2, VIII, 96.

' Fontane's words on this occasion go so far as to disregard, for the
sake of emphasis upon the ideal, the more general principle of realistic
portrayal. " Geschichte hin, Geschichte her. Ja, weitergehend, auch der
alltagliche Mensch kommt hier nicht in Frage; der wirkliche Arnold von

130

It is "Die Quitzows" that illustrates in Fontane's opinion
the supreme exercise of the faculty of dramatic instinct as to
initial choice of historic material, rejection or retention of de-
tails, and original additions from the author's imagination.*
The choice that Wildenbruch makes for his drama from the
whole mass of historic narrative evinces to Fontane the infalli-

Melchthal kann seine Betrachtung fiber den Werth des Auges unmoglich
im Schillerstil gehalten haben; was zur Erscheinung gebracht warden
soil, ist nicht die Wirklichkeit, sondern das Ideal.

'Alles wiederholt sich nur im Leben,
Ewig jung ist nur die Phantasie,
Was sich nie und nirgends hat gegeben,
Das allein veraltet nie.'

Dieses Schillerschen Worts war Heyse eingedenk und schuf ein Stilck,
das weder auf kuUurhistorische Korrektheit, nock auf Durchschniltswahr-
scheinlichkeit, sondern lediglich auf sein poetisches Vollmass, auf SchSn-
heit und Erhebung angesehen sein will. Es nahert sich dadurch, trotz
seines historischen KSnigs Salomo den MdrchenstUcken hohen und hschsten
Stils." Fontane makes this last generalization definite by mentioning
"Winter's Tale" and by reference to the work of Calderon and Grill-
parzer on the basis of "Life a Dream" {V. Z. Feb. 19, B i).

' W, 2, VIII, 265 ff. — No less distinguished a critic than Dr. Paul
Schlenther takes exception to Fontane's verdict concerning this one of
the Wildenbruch dramas. He writes (W, 2, VIII, Vorwort, IX): "Die
wenigsten werden Wildenbruchs 'Quitzows' mit ihm so viel hoher stellen
als Wildenbruch's 'Karolinger.'" Whatever may be one's personal esti-
mate of the completed drama in question, there can be no doubt as to
Fontane's ability to judge fairly the dramatic sense of the author in the
selection of material for the restricted limits of the dramatic form. Fon-
tane had himself worked through much of the Quitzow material as found
in historic narratives for Volume s of his " Wanderungen." Letters of
1887 mention interest in the Quitzow chapter of "Funf Schlosser" which
appeared late in Oct. 1888 (cf. Appendix). This material must have
been fresh in Fontane's mind when his criticism of Wildenbruch's drama,
called forth by the premiere in Nov. 1888, was written. Fontane's
predilection for everything connected with the history of Mark Branden-
burg may have given him extraordinarily keen interest in this one of
Wildenbruch's works. His personal knowledge of both ballad and
narrative sources, his own interest in the possibilities of the ballad as a
literary form, his fondness for the old German ballads, and his unreaUzed
desire to write drama himself must, on the other hand, have made him
extraordinarily critical also in this case.

131

bility of the Quellenfinder, whose magic rod discovers the spring
beneath a barren surface. His creation of the smith's ap-
prentice on the basis of a mere suggestion from a Pomeranian
ballad attests, furthermore, an equal degree of imaginative
power; Kohne Finke is to Fontane not only a living but a
life-giving figure in the drama, and at the same time the in-
carnation of the folk's longing, of their homely, whimsical
humor, and of their loyalty, — an Autolycus of the Mark,
with a slight impress of Jack Cade.

That the dramatic instinct and the poetic instinct are for
Fontane interrelated has already been clearly suggested at
several points; one has only to recall ^ the importance to him
of the poetic element in "Der Prinz von Homburg" and "Die
Weisheit Salomos" and his comparison of the tone of "Vor
Sonnenauf gang " with that of the ballad. It is clear from a
number of criticisms, also, that he considers the ability to use
the lyric element for dramatic ends not only advantageous but
often requisite to true dramatic art. He deplores (1873) the
partial omission and partial transformation of the chorus in
the Berlin presentation of "Oedipus Rex"; the substitution"
for it of the peasant's speech after the dread warning of
Teiresias seems to him incapable of the same power in sug-
gesting terror; "hier erwartet man das Einf alien einer klang-
getragenen lyrischen Strophe." He regards ' the chorus (1879)
in "Die Braut von Messina" as not only the most beautiful
part of the drama but the part that takes firmest hold upon
the spectator. Grillparzer's perception of the dramatic possi-
bility in the lyric original of the Hero and Leander story is to
him a mark of genius^ (1874); the lyric depth attained by
Grillparzer is greater in his opinion than even that of "Die
Braut von Messina; " although he holds that Grillparzer has

' Cf. below, p. 139.

2 V. Z. Sept. 23, B 2 (additional to W, 2, VIII, i ff.) — This presen-
tation followed the translation by Adolf Wilbrandt.

' V. Z. Jan. 9, B i.— He had written in 1873 that the chorus in
this drama exercised its old power (F. Z. May 11, B 4).

* W, 2, VIII, 106 ff.; cf. also above, p. 112.

132

not worked out the dramatic details of Hero's struggle with
complete esthetic success, he does not agree with the charge
that the lyric element is too prominent. A later criticism ^
of this drama (1881) dwells somewhat at length upon the idea,
suggested in connection with "Oedipus Rex," of dramatic
effect derived from lyric expression. Fontane writes of the
temple-guard's description (in Act IV) of the shadows on the
tower- wall:

"Was er da giebt ist nicht nur eine Beschreibung, aber diese
Beschreibung ist von einer solchen Macht und hoheren poetischen
Anschaulichkeit, dass das blosse Wort an die SteUe des Erlebnisses
tritt und wir dies nachtlich Geheimnisvolle, das in Spuk und Ahnung
GehiiUte wie gegenstandlich mit durchzumachen glauben. . . .
vielleicht ein Beweis dafur, dass aUe grosse poetische Wirkung im
Letzten immer auf ein dramatisches Element hinauslauft. Erlkonig
und die Lenore haben mich immer hingerissen wie Macbeth, und
es giebt Lieder, alte und neue, die voUkommen den Zauber und
die Wirkung einer dramatischen Liebesscene haben."

That dramatic instinct is evinced in form is no new idea.
Ever since Freytag promulgated his theory of technic the
details of external form have served largely as a point of de-
parture for dramatic criticism and analysis. The unusual
degree to which esthetic sense predominates in Fontane's
criticism over conscious application of any such fixed norm is
one of its most distinctive features. This is not to say that
the consideration of external form is unusual in his reports.
The fact that he does not fail to regard structural outline
shows in the distinction he makes between material adapted
primarily to narrative and that adapted to drama. Further-
more, as specific examples: Geibel's "Brunhild" gains in his
opinion (1872) in presentation because of good detailed mo-
tivation and general artistic dramatic plan, whereas the usual
fate of the modern tragedy is to lose in its appeal from the
stage;" in Lindner's "Brutus und Collatinus" the skilful
use of the Lucretia story ' as a mere step in the general plan,

> V. Z. Oct. 14, B 1.
2 V. Z. June 7, B 2.
» V. Z. Feb. 23, B 2.

133

in spite of dramatic possibilities in it equal to those of the
Brutus story itself, avoids confusion and an undue division
of sympathy (1879); the external flaw of "Herodes und
Mariamne" is (1874) that the exposition does not reach far
enough into the past; ' but Act I of "Die Rantzau" is (1883)
an "exposition comme il faut." ^ Fontane's conviction in
regard to external form is, however, that important as it is,
it is capable of being learned or is often practically dictated
by the inherent character of the given material. He lays far
greater weight, on the whole, upon less tangible factors
dependent primarily upon innate esthetic instinct, such as
tone, organic unity or internal form, and that sort of
dramatic expression by means of which the characters
assume life.

Without that indefinable content that Fontane calls worthy
tone or sentiment (Gesinnung) no play can have for him
complete artistic value. It was a phase of this requisite which
to him gave worth to the work of Benedix and Wilbrandt,
which was not generally recognized in the case of the former
because of attendant lack of style, which was never attained
by Scribe and his French followers in spite of their ability in
sparkling effects.^ Tone is that unconscious expression of the
spirit of the dramatist that gives character to his work in
spite of technical defects, "jenes Endgiiltige, das zum Guten
Oder Schlechten scheidet." ^ It is apparently the faculty
which makes the dramatist a seer; Ibsen lacked it at times,
although what Fontane terms 'artistic sincerity' redeemed the
Norwegian's work for him in spite of this deficiency; Haupt-
mann attained it in "Vor Sonnenaufgang " to a rare degree;
Wildenbruch's "Harold" has no value for Fontane because

' W, 2, VIII, 154.

' V. Z. Feb. 9, B I.

' Cf. above, p. 70.

* W, 2, VIII, 156. — That this quality alone cannot justify a play for
Fontane stands to reason. It is practically the only redeeming feature
in Kruse's "Marino Faliero,'' from a criticism of which the above cita-
tion is taken; but the drama, lacking clear, consistent conception of char-
acter and external unity also, fails naturaUy in spite of it (F. Z. Dec. 23,
1876, B 2. — additional to ist reference).

134

of complete failure in regard to it; Schiller attained it in
"Tell" in spite of a certain external unreality.*

In the greatest dramas this atmosphere, the material, and
the structural plan combine to produce that organic unity the
result of which is complete harmony in the constituent parts.
The dramatist cannot fail to perceive this inevitable relation
between content and form without sacrificing the power of
his work. Hauptmann shows in Fontane's opinion (1896) an
inconsistency of feeling, a lack of clear, esthetic perception in
Act V of "Die versunkene Glocke"; the entire act^ with the
exception of the scene at the well between the Nickelmann and
Rautendelein is superfluous and the final return of the bell-
maker to the sprite is an annoyance in the esthetic sense
(macht verdriesslich). The play, as developed, admits of
nothing more than a final tableau after Act IV, showing Rau-
tendelein in resignation at the well, with perhaps some words
of the Nickelmann to the satyr, and to her. The conclusion
which Hauptmann gives presupposes for Fontane an entirely
different structural plan for the entire work.

The element, however, in which esthetic and dramatic in-
stinct unite with real life-giving power is, above all others,
language. The external structural outline may be that de-
manded by the material chosen without effecting the highest
artistic result. Complete harmony between the two is real-
ized only in the perfect adaptation of expression to content.
The literary artist speaks through Fontane's entire treatment of
the esthetic in drama; it is especially through his discussion of
language that the human insight of the poet is revealed. Many

' Fontane writes of "Harold": "Es ist weder aus klaren noch aus
richtigen Anschauungen heraus geboren und tragt insoweit einen ganz
modernen Stempel, als es ausschliesslich dem Effekte, nicht aber der
Wahrheit dient." He says of "Tell," on the contrary, which he uses to
illuminate by contrast the shortcoming of "Harold": "Tell, ein Stiick,
das einer gewissen Unwirklichkeit seiner Gestalten bezichtigt wird, ich
will nicht sagen von alien aber doch von vielen. Und doch wie wahr ist
alles, gleichviel wie man sich zu der Frage von der Wirklichkeit oder
Unwirklichkeit aller darin auftretenden Personen auch stellen mag. (W,
2, VIII, 254 and additional in V. Z. Apr. 23, 1882, B i.)

2 W, i, XI, 411 f. (letter to Otto Brahm).

135

critics base a certain amount of more or less stereotyped com-
mendation or praise upon language. Fontane's treatment is
more than ordinarily tangible, and although of necessity piece-
meal, like all other branches of his so-called theory, it is sur-
prisingly extensive for the limitations of occasional criticism.

He waged a continuous warfare against unnatural and unin-
spired language in all its phases, but especially against the
pomp and empty imagery of what is frequently termed
melodious language (schone Sprache), "pomphaft aufge-
bauschte Satze, verziert mit Bildern, die entweder falsch
oder unverstandlich sind." ^ His conviction of falseness in
Gutzkow's dramatic work rests less on the warped, confused
characters which result from arbitrary delineation and incon-
sistency in detail^ than from the peccability of his language.
Even passages, beautiful in themselves, such as those (1879)
in "Uriel Acosta," having to do with the sudden restoration
of sight to the blind man and the blossoming of the withered
staff, are open to attack, and the speech is in general distorted
and misshapen (schief und krumm).' Even some of Shak-
spere's imagery is acceptable to Fontane only on account of
the counterbalancing power of other factors in Shakspere's
genius.* The usual imitation of Shaksperean figure results in
what is poetry only to the Philistine; its presence is a flaw
among the points of excellence of Lindner's "Brutus and
CoUatinus"; * its absence is an advantage for which Laube
and Benedix are commended by Fontane.'

But a genuine language of imagery, such as is rare among
Shaksperean followers, he finds in Grillparzer and Hebbel, a
use of image not as an external ornament, but inseparable

1 V. Z. Feb. 24, 1878, B 3.

^ Cf. above, p. 94.

' W, 2, VIII, I4S i-

* W, 2, VIII, 134 f. — From a report on Laube's "Die Karlsschuler,"
Feb. 19, 1881.

s V. Z. Feb. 23, 1879, B 2. — Fontane's adverse criticism of Lind-
ner's language is based on its unevenness. He commends it for the
excellence of brevity at decisive points, where a single word is often made
effective.

« Cf. p. 63.

136

from the thought it adorns, a simultaneous growth with the
mysterious secret power of nourishing and sustaining the
thought. Such use of image is in itself a distinct factor in
dramatic power, as noted in the case of "Des Meeres und der
Liebe Wellen," where the power of poetic language becomes
practically a substitute for more ordinary devices for pro-
ducing dramatic tension. He says in connection with "Die
Piccolomini" also that it is not necessary to provide for ac-
tion by means of poison or dagger, when the "word" itself
is made (as here) a source of power.'

Similar dramatic tension may be attained through realistic
simplicity in language. Fontane attributes the power of
"Die Hermannsschlacht" (1875) ultimately to the truth,
sincerity, and directness of Kleist's language.^ He ascribes
the superiority of "Die Quitzows" (1888) over Wildenbruch's
earlier dramas not only to the dramatist's clever use of his-
toric and legendary suggestion, but to the sound, pithy, vigor-
ous, individualized language of simplicity that triumphs here
in large part over Wildenbruch's general tendency to the forced
phrase.' In "The Lady from the Sea" (1889) the poetic
charm of Ibsen's simple language is the chief compensatory
means for making conviction banish whatever doubts arise in
the spectator's mind in the course of the first acts.*

1 W, i, VIII, 72 (Nov. II, 1871).

^ W, 2, VIII, 92 ff. — Fontane urges glowing patriotism as the emo-
tional motive-power of the drama, rather than the hatred of the enemy,
mentioned by Julian Schmidt as dramatic in spite of the esthetic weak-
ness connected with the conquest of the enemy by treachery. Fontane
seeks the cause for this hatred in the strong love of the Fatherland that
inspires the work, and the reason for the dramatic appeal of the latter
emotion in basic truth of conception and simplicity of expression.

' W, 2, Vm, 267 f.

* V. Z. Mar. 6, B i. — Such doubts connect themselves in Fontane's
opinion with Act II, which he says "muthet in seiner Hauptszene dem
Zuschauer nach der Seite des . . . physiologisch Mystischen hin, mehr
zu, als ihm vielleicht zugemutet werden darf." The scene referred to is
that in which EUida, after telling her husband of her betrothal to a ship-
captain before her marriage, confesses that she has been oppressed by
the sense of this lover's nearness, and by the likeness to him which she
saw in her child.

137

As the presence of convincing language counterbalances
weakness, so its absence renders practically futile factors in
themselves essentials for success in drama, such as correct
general conception of character and of external outline. This
idea of language as a determining element in drama is not
original with Fontane. He interprets its power, however, in
a new way, making it inseparable from the underlying tone,
together with which it gives the impression of sound and har-
monious art, since it is truth in language that constitutes
what Fontane terms (1873) the dramatist's "poetic tech-
nic";' in the work of Ibsen, language seems to him further
the very material through which the dramatist rears a stable
structure to outlines of artistic beauty.

Ibsen's service to the drama Fontane considers (1898) to
be above all else the creation of a new language.^ He does
not mean, however, that either the simplicity of Ibsen's
language or its realism in the abstract made it epoch-marking.
It was not absolutely new, moreover, in its intimate relation
to the thought. All these qualities had reached excellence
in both Shakspere and Goethe. Ibsen's service to language
seems to mean to Fontane something more than the ordinary
adaptation of word to situation, character, and thought; it is,
rather, the use of dialog as a structural unit through which
the whole grows gradually to completeness. In spite of Fon-
tane's high praise of the language employed by Wildenbruch
in "Die Quitzows," he incorporates into his criticism (1888)
of this drama the statement that Ibsen is a giant as compared
with Wildenbruch in the artistic molding of his material, in
consistency and accuracy; that perfection of form produces
in Ibsen an efiect similar to tension, rendering content, as

1 Fontane writes of Koberstein's "Urn Nancy": "Ein gut gegriffenes
und gut gebautes, in Charakteren und Motiven mindestens sehr hin-
nehmbares Stuck, das dennoch scheiterte. Das scheiterte, weU es ihm,
in Gegensatz zu einer ausreichend geubten Buhnentechnik, an jener
dichterischen Technik gebrach, die, mit Hilfe eines wohlgesponnenen, die
richtigen Zeiimaasse halienden Dialoges, zwischen den Gegensatzen zu
vermitteln . . . weiss" (W, 2, VIII, 226 f., and V. Z. Feb. 1, B 2).

' W, 2, XI, 465 (letter to F. Stephany, May 17).

138

in Platen's odes and hexameters, a matter of comparative
indifference.'

This perfection of form that makes content merely sub-
sidiary can mean only organic harmony. Unity has been
from time immemorial a crux of critics. It is clear from this
that perfect unity has for Fontane a meaning more subtle
than for his predecessors in dramatic criticism, that it involves
for him not only conformity to law, but to the sternest dic-
tates of the esthetic sense. It takes unity of action for granted
and sets up as its goal an artistic unity in the attainment of
which no word, no detail, fails of its purpose.

Although this form-ideal is for Fontane the perfect whole of
perfect constituents, he finds adequate completeness possible
without perfection in all of the various parts. Through the
use of what he terms retroactive power (riickwirkende Kraft)
a balance may be established between factors esthetically
unequal, which makes eventually for the approximate com-
pleteness of the whole. This seems a phase of proportion
similar to the compensatory power attributed to poetic lan-
guage, but not coincident with this. It is at the same time a
kind of dramatic or artistic speculation, a risk at one point
for a gain at another. Fontane does not consider this principle
well reckoned with (1874) in "Herodes und Mariamne," since
Mariamne's protestations of blissful love for Herod (Act V) are
made too late to counteract the absence of convincing expo-
sition.^ It works negatively, with destructive force (1872), in
the sudden and improbable shifting of brides at the end of
Gutzkow's "Ein weisses Blatt"; again (1883) in Wildenbruch's
"Die Karolinger" through arbitrary use of improbable inci-
dent.' It has positive or constructive force * in " Christoph
Marlowe" (1884) through the development of Marlowe from
Act III as the victim of an evil spirit; in "Die Weisheit
Salomos" (1888) through the simple triumph of love over all

' Cf. above, p. 130, n. i.
2 W, 2, VIII, isi ff.

' Cf.: V. Z., Apr. 7, 1872, B 4; W, 2, VIII, 252.
* Cf.: W, 2, VIII, 262; V. Z. Feb. 19, 1888, B i; V. Z. Jan. 271
1890, Abendausgabe (additional to W, 2, VIII, 207 f.); W, 2, VIII, 94 ff.

139

doubts as to historic truth or probability; in Tolstoi's "Power
of Darkness" (1890) through the dramatic and ethical power
of Act V. It is, however, Kleist's use of the principle in "Prinz
Friedrich von Homburg" (1876) that impresses him as most
skilful. He finds the principle recurrent here, and the con-
sistency, clearness, and unity which the whole plan gains
through it not only obliterate early dissonances due to dis-
regard of historic truth but make them appear essential to
the unique artistic organism.

This prominence given by Fontane to the principle of
retroactive power is one of various indications that his ver-
dicts rest upon the character of the result without stern dic-
tation of method, provided an artistic end is reached. The
strongest proof of this lies in his attitude toward the different
literary movements or so-called schools. He knew no such
sentiment as the eliminating prejudice connected with a name,
and to take a fixed position for all time on any question would
have been to him unthinkable.'

The classic method per se occupies comparatively little
space in his criticism, but high regard for the salient char-
acteristics of classic style is everywhere apparent. A spirit
of deep reverence pervades his report (1873) on "Oedipus
Rex," and his enumeration of its points of excellence shows
the realization of more ideals than he often found together:
impressive material and power in welding it into admirable
form; from line to line purity and majesty of expression, free
from all bombast and triviality; in the chorus lyric strophes
borne along by their own melody; finally, the overwhelming
power of inexorable law in the slow chiseling of human fate.
The external speaks to him, similarly,'' with power (1873) in

' He wrote to Wilhelm and Henriette v. Merckel from London in
1857 (W, .i, X, 163): "... eigensinnig bin ich nie. Ich vernarre mich
in nichts, weder in Menschen noch in Dinge, erwage jeden Augenblick
die Chancen der Situation und handle danach." These words, an expres-
sion of that objective sense of which he wrote later to Friedlander, had
no direct reference to literary criticism; yet they are significant for his
entire critical work. (Cf. also W. 2, X, 308; W, 2, VI, Vorwort, XI f.)

« W, 2, VIII, I f. (also V. Z. Sept. 23, B i), S7 f-

140

"Oedipus Coloneus." He gives extreme praise to the beauty
of "Tasso," to the lyric depth of "Iphigenie" and "Des Meeres
und der Liebe Wellen," indirectly also to the repose and the
beauty of line of the French classic drama.'

Yet there are repeated evidences that he considered the
classic drama ill-fitted to fulfil the mission of the modern
stage, — and for two reasons: first, because classic form and
style had degenerated in most of the disciples of the great
classicists — and especially in the hands of his contemporaries
— into a confusion of affectation and false ideality; second,
it involved an inherent separation from modern life. As early
as 1870, after praise of the national element in "Tell" and the
appeal of Heyse's "Colberg" to the Prussian heart, Fontane
writes in depreciation of the elevated style: "AUes, was der
Sprache unseres modernen Lebens naher steht, gliickt besser
als der hohe Gang Schiller'scher Verse." He says (1873) in
connection with "Tasso" that court and salon plots are cir-
cumscribed in appeal by the limitations of time and locality,
that greater problems move the modern world, whose interests
tend to turn from the exceptional human beings of high sta-
tion to the human factor of the mass (dem Menschen selber).
Although he notes in "The Wild Duck" the absence of the
accepted type of tragic exaltation, he is led by the deep truth
of this drama and its close relation to life to the conviction,
expressed (1888) without direct reference to classic tragedy,
that elevation need not be of the traditional sort, that it may
be attained through simple submission to the awful supremacy
of unfathomable fate.*

It is noticeable also that much that Fontane praises even in
the classic has close relation to the facts of life. This is illus-
trated most clearly in the connection he notes between the
Greek conception of sin and retribution and that of the natural-
istic drama. His idea of the character and place of retribution
in tragedy shows early the developing realist in him and in
connection with no less ancient of classic plays than "Oedipus
Rex" (1873). His scorn of the "worn-out tune of a tooth for a

1 W, 2, VIII, 106 f., 72.

' Cf.: V. Z. Aug. 24, B 2 (1870); W, 2, VIII, 58 (1873), 189 ff. (1888).

141

tooth," the " Klippklappspiel von Schuld und Suhne," as
compared with Sophocles' use of inexorable law and the
march of destiny is no ordinary recognition of the majesty
of the Greek conception of fate. It is also the response
of a critic ever alert for greatness and truth in old or new,
the recognition that the Greek conception was based upon
the effort to understand the eternal mystery of suffering
that engulfs the innocent with the guilty. His second im-
portant discussion of the subject occurs (1878) in connection
with Lud wig's "Erbforster." Here the idea of guilt as a
gradual development from small beginnings through the play
of daily circumstances upon temperament seems to Fontane
natural and true. What many call the arbitrary rule of chance
in this drama is to him the mysterious working together of
chance details toward a climax that brings both inevitable
retribution and innocent suffering in its wake.^ He writes of
"Das Friedensfest" (1890), which he considers a true repres-
entation of a daily occurrence, that the situation is not the
result of crime or of any irretrievable guilt but grows out of
limitations in temperament, stubbornness and lack of control.^
As late as 1895 he expresses admiration for the gathering of the
powers of destiny (Heraufziehen und Einschlagen der Schick-
salsmachte) in Ibsen's "Little Eyolf." * It is not unusual

'■ Fontane writes: "Was unser Leben bestimmt, sind eben 'Zufallig-
keiten,' Ereignisse, deren Gesetz wir nicht klar erkennen. Aber wir ahnen
das Gesetz und f iihlen in dem sich anscheinend zuf ^Uig Vollziehenden den
Zusammenhang mit unserem Tun und Lassen heraus. Nicht immer, aber
oft. Unser Gutes und unser Boses sind auch hier mittatig, und es besteht
ein geheimnisvoller Zusammenhang zwischen unserer Schuld und dem, was
wir 'unglucklichen Zufall' nennen. Und derartig sind die Zufalligkeiten
dieses Stuckes. Es waltet ein Gesetz darin, dass der Erbforster, als er den
vermeintlichen Morder seines Sohnes zu treffen glaubt, statt seiner die
eigene Tochter tri£Et. Und von 'Zufall' ist von dem Augenblick an nicht
mehr zu sprechen, da wir alles, was er bringt, als pradestiniert, als eine
blosse Frage der Zeit empfinden." (W, 2, VIII, 149 f.)

2 W, 2, VIII, 311.

' W, 2, XI, 335 (letter of Jan. 14 to Otto Brahm). — His reference
here is to the end of Act I. The exposition of AUmers' selfish devotion
to his work and of Rita's jealous passion for AUmers is followed at the
end of Act I by the death of little Eyolf, as by Nemesis.

142

for the present critics of the German naturalistic tragedy to
point out the similarity in respect to form of the tragedy
based upon Ibsen to the Greek tragedy of fate. Dr. Schlenther
in his criticism of "Ghosts" (1887) notes* that the preliminary
story is long and important, that the drama brings the gradual
unfolding of completed character instead of progressive char-
acter development, that the struggle against social relations
is similar to the struggle against fate in "Oedipus." Fontane's
criticism of "Oedipus Rex" shows a quarter of a century
before the Ibsen cult began the conviction that the inexplicable
misery of human life is a basis for tragedy superior to any
finely fabricated tragic problem evolved in large part from
the brain of a dramatist.

It is further worthy of note that except in the case of
"Iphigenie" Fontane pays to the greatest classicists of his
own nation no higher praise than that called forth by parts of
their Storm-and-Stress dramas in which realism is a prominent
factor. He considers Wallenstein a sentimentalist and a
phrase-maker in spite of the classic purity of form which he
recognizes in "Die Piccolomini." ^ His severest thrusts are
aimed at the false pathos of Marquis Posa,' whom he terms a

' Cf. above, p. 125, n. i. The novelty of Ibsen's method was a
subject of interest at this time. Dr. Schlenther expresses the wish to
defend "Ghosts" against such a charge as Spielhagen had made against
"A Doll's House," namely, that in essence it is epic, presenting simply
the turning-point of a well-conceived novel.

2 W, 2, VIII, 73 (1878); V. Z. Apr. 26, 1881, B I.

' In a report on "Hamlet" (7. Z. June 14, 1877) Fontane remarks
that the interpretation of Hamlet may easily become "Marquisposa-
haft"; he calls Acosta a Jewish Posa (V. Z. Nov. 11, 1879, B 2); cf.
also W, 2, VIII, 133 (1871), 217 (1871). — The diversity of dates
shows here that Fontane's feeling in regard to the character of Posa was
no mere temporary whim. There can be no doubt that it is due in part
to his hatred of phrase (cf. above, p. 13s); he has no praise for the
majesty and the sonorous richness of the Schiller language and on
occasions shows lack of sympathy with it (cf. above, p. 140); he men-
tions a thrill of joy in connection with "Die Jungfrau von Orleans"
(cf. below, p. 148), but this is due to the romantic beauty he finds in
it; his only extreme commendation of the language of a verse drama by
Schiller is for "Die Piccolomini" (cf. above, p. 136), in which he notes
also clearness and classic form. His objection to Wallenstein (cf. above,

143

mere abstraction, classing him on one occasion with Uriel
Acosta. He writes on the other hand that "Kabale und
Liebe" never loses its charm, that there is little in existence
more efiective on the stage than the last scene of Act II, that
the justly celebrated scenes in later works by Schiller such as
"Jungfrau" or "Tell" are artistically pale (kunstvoU ange-
krankelt) compared with this.^ His extreme praise of "Gotz
von Berlichingen" ^ is called forth largely by the fact that it
is a faithful reproduction of the period it presents.

In spite of the strong appeal that realism makes to Fontane,
there is no tendency in his criticism to exalt the realistic
except in so far as it serves the ends of art. And the qual-
ity of life-likeness is not in itself a guaranty of art. The
marriage of Kuck and the Countess of Them in Lindau's
"Diana" is to Fontane artistically impossible (1873), although
its counterpart may be found in life.^ The introduction of the

p. 119) and Posa as conceptions are similar to the charge made against
Ibsen of "phrases of feeling" (cf. above, p. 126). There is in each case
the imputation of lack of truth, based upon false understanding of or
overwrought use of instinctive feeling. Further evidence for this ulti-
mate foundation for Fontane's rejection of Wallenstein and Posa lies in
the fact that this imputation of lack of truth is never involved in that
which Fontane accepts or commends in Schiller. He writes to Maxi-
milian Ludwig of Karl Moor, a character that in his opinion cannot
maintain itself without some empty pathos: "Das Wesen der Dinge
bleibt dasselbe, aber die Form wechselt. Im letzten empfinde ich (gerade
ich) genau so wie Karl Moor, aber alles, was er sagt und tut, erscheint
mir unsinnig und lacherlich. Die Form von damals ist nicht mehr die
Form von heut. . . . Alles geschwoUen und aufgetrieben." (W, 2, X,
38s f. — May 3, 1878.) He writes on the other hand that "Tell" and
"Kabale und Liebe" are both in spite of improbabilities true to the
present day (cf. above, p. 134, n. i — 1882; W, 2, VIH, 67 — 1884).

» V. Z. Mar. 20, 1879, B 3. — The special scene referred to is that
in which Ferdinand threatens his father with exposure unless he recalls
the command for Luise's arrest. — It is interesting to note that here
again Fontane's ranking of a drama has close connection apparently with
his estimate of the language. He wrote years later: "Diese Miller-
sprache, die ganz modern und wie Ibsen in der hoheren Potenz wirkt"
(F. Z. June 21, 1889, Abendausgabe).

2 V. Z. Apr. 22, 1884, B I.

' W, 2, VIII, 236.

144

love motive in "Bataille de dames," before Lucy has any
indication that the valet is a mere masquerader, he regards
(1876) as so inesthetic a means of involving the plot that the
effect of the flaw is not removed when the central figure
unmasks later as Captain Henry of Flavigneul.^ In a letter
to his wife (1883) he denounces on general principles the use
of a narrow, empty, ridiculous conception of life for literary
ends, accurately as it may mirror a certain stratum of society.''
Another phase of this conviction that art requires more than
the realistically commonplace occurs (1889) in his defense of
EUida in "The Lady from the Sea." He considers her adapted
to artistic ends in drama not only on the ground that she
represents a modern temperamental type, but because she is
also a courageous, noble type.'

Fontane's basis for acceptance or rejection is, furthermore,
always ultimately the same, whether it has to do with material
or with method, with the fancied or the real. He terms it
truth. It is on this basis that he accepts the problem as
found in "Vor Sonnenaufgang" and rejects it in "Ghosts";
that he accepts the pathos of Melchthal and rejects that of
Posa; that he accepts the conception of EUida as a type but
rejects the method by which Ibsen brings her to the realiza-
tion of freedom. What he accepts is based upon spontaneous
impulse. What he rejects is consciously worked out on the
foundation of overwrought sentiment. The truth that Fontane
demands in art seems, therefore, a golden mean between nat-
ural instinct and proportion, involving both.

This idea of truth gains distinctness if we consider his dis-
cussion of Bjornson's "A Gauntlet" in relation to that of
"Ghosts" and "The Lady from the Sea." Fontane prefers
(Dec. 1889) that version* of "A Gauntlet" which eliminates

' W, 2, VIII, III f. — Fontane mentions this as one of the instances
in which art shows sterner laws than life.

* Cf. W, -2, VII, 64 f.

^ W, 2, VIII, 19s, 20S-

* Fontane's report on "A Gauntlet" appeared V. Z. Dec. 16, No.
S88, Abendausgabe. A large part of this report is found W, 2, VIII,
213 flf. — There were two versions of this drama (cf. Freie BUhne, IV

145

the idea of a final union between the lovers, on the basis that
a conciliatory conclusion would involve a sacrifice of human
truth in order to preserve the traditional attitude of society.
For Svava to have accepted the standard of society would
have meant, in Fontane's opinion, for her to make a con-
cession to her own integrity by reUnquishing the integrity of
her ideal. He even goes so far as to say that she wins our
sympathy the more because her rejection of Alf is not in keep-
ing with the usual course of events. It may be the first im-
pulse of one who has read Fontane's criticism of Ibsen to
charge him with whimsicality in regard to matters of social
reform. There is in reality, however, no inconsistency here.
Fontane's objection to both "Ghosts" and "The Lady from
the Sea" is due not to lack of sympathy for Ibsen's sug-
gested social ideal but to the multiplication of details or
phases through which he so emphasizes his theme that in the
end the whole of that segment of life that he has chosen to
portray seems to revolve around it, with the resultant im-
pression of fixed combinations and corresponding reactions.
Fontane writes in his criticism of "The Wild Duck" that this
drama and "Ghosts" preach the same doctrine:^

"Erst wieder reinen Tisch; das andere wird sich finden. Und
wenn sich's nicht findet, lieber der Hasslichkeit ins Gesicht gestarrt
als der Verzerrung, lieber der SUnde als der Gleisnerei."

He says of the former, however, that the power of the work
lies "in its genuineness and truth," that "life as such cele-

Jahrgang, 276 £f.; or Nation 21. 12. 1889): in the first, Svava's glove-
scene occurs at the end of Act II, and the play closes after a third act
with suggested reconciliation to follow a time of probation; in the second,
the glove-scene, with which Act III closes, makes clear an irremediable
breach between the lovers. It is for the latter version that Fontane
expresses preference in his criticism, stating also that this was not the
version used by the Free Stage. — The report of the Freie Biihne shows
that the two versions were both used in part for this performance, with
the consent of the author; the character of Nordau as raisonneur was
omitted, as in the second version, but the solution of version one was
retained.

1 W, 2, VIII, 189 f. (Oct. 21, 1888).

146

brates there its artistic triumph." In "Ghosts," on the con-
trary, he takes exception to the prominence which Ibsen gives
to the direct visitation of the sins of the fathers upon their
children, without regard to the Biblical reference to the fourth
generation.^ He writes that the best of us, judged according to
merit, would come to the gallows, that as an epidemic loses
its powers suddenly in the physical world, so in the moral
world mercy stays destruction and wholesomeness blossoms
forth where disease would be expected. His adverse criticism
of Ibsen in "The Lady from the Sea" is, finally, one which
expresses^ at the same time all that Fontane objects to in
"Ghosts":

"Konnte er sich entschliessen, es mit dem Einfachsten, Natiir-
lichsten und Bewahrtesten, statt mit etwas Herausgeklugeltem,
schliesslich durchaus Unwahrem und gewiss auch immer unwahr
Bleibendem, weil sich nichts im Leben auf seiche fix und fertigen
Satze zuriickfuhren lasst — zu versuchen, so hatten wir ein grandioses
Stuck gehabt."

"A Gauntlet" involves no such cleverly devised question, in-
tended to work itself out as by set magic formula. There is
here, furthermore, no operating with double motives, as in
"The Lady from the Sea."' The problem which makes the
vital substance of the play is simple and real. The drama it
serves is enacted before a background faithful to daily life.
Svava's inability to win through compromise the semblance
of what she had but believed herself to have, makes even her
not unreal, but unusual. When Fontane writes in regard to
her that "any strong impulse of a true and noble heart is a
truth the value of which is only increased by its deviation
from commonplace reality," he pleads, therefore, only for that
foundation for art for which the lifelike alone is on occasions
inadequate.

Fontane had written as early as 1872 that art must be more
than a mere copy, that it must add depth and beauty to

' JUd.

' W, 2, VIII, 204 (Mar. 21, 1889).

' Cf. above, p. 112.

147

existence.! This point of view he preserves consistently
throughout his course as critic. He sees in "Die Familie
Selicke" (Apr. 1890) a phase of truth never attained so per-
fectly in the drama before. He writes of it ^ that it observes
and reproduces Berlin life with such accuracy as to render in-
significant all its predecessors in this line. He places here, ac-
cordingly, rather than in "Vor Sonnenaufgang " or Tolstoi's
"Power of Darkness," the entrance, so to speak, upon "virgin
soil," the parting of old and new in dramatic art. Yet he
finds the succession of painful scenes a transgression of the
law of proportion. He would not bar this new type from
the stage, but makes its "right to naturalization" dependent
upon the addition of more of the "mysterious molding-power
of art."

And for this molding-power he points to a union of the
realistic with the romantic. Romanticism' had waved its
magic wand over Fontane in his youth and he never ceased to
feel its spell. He says^ of himself (1891):

"Ich bin mit Maria Stuart zu Bett gegangen und mit Archibald
Douglas aufgestanden. Das romantisch Phantastische hat mich von
Jugend auf entziickt und bildet meine eigenste sudfranzosische
Natur. . . ."

Although he recognizes Menzel and Turgenef as his models'
(Dec. 1885), he writes « (August, 1885) of turning back at
sixty-five to twenty-five and the making of songs and bal-

' W, 2, VIII, 210 f. — Fontane made the statement with reference to
histrionic art in a report on Wichert's "Ein Schritt vom Wege."

2 W, 2, VIII, 313 ff-

3 The term Romanticism refers here not to the legacy of any particular
group of men to literature, but is used in the broader sense of a literary
tendency. Fontane seldom refers to the so-called Romantic School.

• W, 2, XI, 262 (letter of Apr. 15 to Hans Hertz). Fontane objects
here to the fact that one of the Hart brothers has put him in a fixed
category, apparently with no consideration of his poetic tastes and
attainments.

' W, ^, XI, 104 f. (letter to Ludwig Pietsch). — He refers evidently to

narrative work.

« W, 2, XI, 100 (letter to Emilie ZoUner).

148

lads. He writes * (1889) in the midst of his enthusiasm for
what he calls the "new realism" that the romantic remains
his favorite type, that the artistic pleasure which he owes to
the realistic school, the admiration with which he reads Zola,
Turgenef, Tolstoi, and Ibsen, vanish before the thrill (der
erhabenen Freude) which such romantic works as "Chevy-
Chase," Burger's "Lenore," Goethe's "Erlkonig," Strachwitz's
"Herz von Douglas," and Schiller's "Jungfrau von Orleans"
afford him. Plans for a romantic novel based on East Frisian
material from the Middle Ages engage him ^ (1895) just after
the completion of works in which his power in realism is as
evident as in "Effi Briest" and "Die Poggenpuhls."

But in addition to this evident fondness for the romantic,
Fontane had the conviction that art cannot submit to the re-
strictions of the purely realistic. Only the semblance of reality
can speak from the stage in any case.' The most perfect
photographic accuracy cannot make this semblance real. Art
must, therefore, resort to the ideal to give the impression of
completeness; it demands also humor to offset sadness, light
to contrast with shadow.* Realism, to come into its own,

^ W, 2, VIII, 435 f. — This is from Fontane's second criticism (F. Z.
Oct. 3, No. 461) of Voss's "Brigitta," whicli his first criticism (7. Z.
Oct. J, B i;, cf. W, J., VIII, 298 f.) shows to be an example of what he
terms the 'false romantic,' and which suffers by his comparison of it with
" Ghosts."

* Various letters of March and July show him busy in gathering
material for this work (W, 2, XI, 344 f., 349 f-, 352)- — According to
Fontane's diary, "Effi Briest" was accepted by Rodenberg in May,
1894, for the Deutsche Rundschau; "Die Poggenpuhls" was sent to Pan-
tenius in the summer of 1895.

' W, ^, VIII, no. — Fontane writes in this connection in defense of
"Der Traum ein Leben" (1884): "ob dieser Schein das Wiederbild von
Leben oder Traum ist, ist ziemlich gleichgtiltig. Nicht die Genesis des
'schonen Scheins' ist das entscheidende, sondern sein Kolorit, seine
Leuchtkraft.''

* W, 2, VIII, 312. — Fontane made this suggestion in connection with
"Das Friedensfest," June, 1890, and had expressed it previously in a
letter (cf. p. 149, n. i). When he commends Ernst v. Wolzogen
(Jan. 1891) for this opinion expressed in "Humor und Naturalismus"
(W, 2, XI, 256 f.) it is without mention of the fact that he has already
offered the same solution.

149

must employ beauty as well as ugliness. This the romantic
world affords, in Fontane's opinion, through its inherent con-
nection with poetry. He wrote to Friedrich Stephany, Octo-
ber lo, 1889:'

"Der Realismus wird ganz falsch aufgefasst, wenn man von ihm
annimmt, er sei mit der Hasslichkeit ein fur allemal vermahlt. Er
wird erst ganz echt sein, wenn er sich umgekehrt mit der Schonheit
vermahlt und das nebenherlaufende Hassliche, das nun mal zum
Leben gehort, verklart hat. Wie und wodurch? Das ist seine Sache,
zu finden. Der beste Weg ist der des Humors. tTbrigens haben wir
in Shakespeare langst die VoUendung des Realismus. Er wird nur
in seiner Grosse nicht ausschliesslich daraufhin angesehn."

He had written in a criticism of October i, 1889:^

" Der Realismus schafft nur die falsche Romantik aus der Welt, die
Romantik, die keine ist. Mit den mittelalterlichen Stoffen, zumal mit
dem Rittertumlichen kann die Poesie nie aufraumen; es ist eine
Welt, der der Stempel des Poetischen von vornherein in einem be-
sonders hohen Masse aufgedriickt ist. Aber dieser Stempel ist Umen
nicht so unvertUgbar tief aufgedriickt, dass er nicht unter prosaischen
Handen verloren gehen konnte. . . . Die ledernsten Menschen ma-
chen sich an die romantischen Stoffe ... die rechten glaubigen
Dichter miissen erst wieder dafiir erweckt werden. Dann werden sie
auch das Publikum zu erwecken imstande sein. Solange die Romantik
aber nur ein Geschaft ist, hat sie verspielt. Sie wird wieder siegen,
wenn sie wieder ein lebendiges Gefuhl geworden ist."

Fontane's plea is here, as elsewhere, for an ever-vigorous
and comprehensive art that preserves the best in the old as
it reaches forth to the new. It is a plea for the union of
poetry with realism for the attainment in art of that phase of
truth which cannot be grasped by sense alone. He can there-
fore consistently question (1875) the demand of August Wil-
helm Schlegel that each new work of art draw the curtain from
before a new world,* and yet (1889) defend the Free Stage in
its choice of the new, with the assertions * that their failures
may be in the end as valuable as successes, and that their
motto should be "Dare to err."

1 W, 2, XI, 219. ' W, ■., VIII, 238.

2 Cf. above, p. 148, n. 1. * W, 2, VIII, 438 f.

CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION

Final Estimate or Fontane as Critic

The failure to recognize Fontane among the constructive
forces in German dramaturgy is due, no doubt, in part to
the facts that he never allied himself with any movement;
that his other literary activities made his criticism seem at
best but a side issue, — especially since he was not oflScially
connected with any theater; and that most of it came and
went with the days of the calendar. But this failure is
dependent in part also upon his method and style in
criticism.

Both were necessarily varied on account of the variety of
material on which, in the theater reports especially, the work
was based; Fontane's belief that it was absurd to treat a
play seriously, if it lacked both depth of insight and artistic
form, barred a large number of the productions of the Royal
Stage from becoming anything more to him as critic than
another index — one of many — to the needs of German
dramatic art. Furthermore, the inextricable element of per-
sonality must always impart a greater variety of hues — less
brilliant though they be — to obligatory reports than to
voluntary criticism, since routine assists interest in dictating
such work and necessity rather than impulse prescribes the
time for expression. The fact that Fontane's criticism rests
on esthetic sense rather than dogma is also not without a
contribution to variety in point of attack. As a result, when
spontaneous feeling triumphs and no vital esthetic principle
is in question, there is a reflection of that saving sense of
humor or that delight in novelty that played a considerable
part in relieving his career of routine; when his mood is

151

colorless and the play imparts no color to it, his message is
neutral although a half-hearted approbation of specific de-
tails may be involved; on the other hand, when his esthetic
sense is outraged, he may employ a degree of sarcasm quite
proportionate to the violation of principle and good taste.

A conscious element works, too, in conjunction with per-
sonality, namely, the adaptation of style to the needs of the
daily press and the interest of the reading public. There is
no indication that Fontane ever renounced the journalistic
principle revealed in his London letters, that a quiet, contem-
plative treatment of bald facts is not adapted to the public
at large, that suggestion, originality, and cleverness are neces-
sary. He wrote to his wife in 1857 concerning the short-
comings of Die Zeit:^

"Die Leute sind alle auf dam Holzweg, prinzipiell in dem sie
meinen, eine Zeitung musse durch ruhige, besonnene Darstellung
wirken. Das ist lacherlich; so schreibt man fur Staatsmanner aber
nicht fiir's grosse Publikum rasp, den Barliner Budikar. Ausserdem
(ganz abgasahan von dam Prinzip, nach dem man redigirt) fehlt as
iibaraU an Gaist, Witz, Gadanken, so dass es nicht viel besser warden
wiirda, selbst wenn man von dem Prinzip 'einfacher SachUchkeit'
abgehen woUte."

A letter of 1852 shows the same journalistic aim; he wrote
that he would be satisfied if anyone could praise his articles
a little for esprit, clearness, and cleverness of style.

Especially in the reports on the Berlin stage, he meets
this need by the employment of jest and analogy. Both,
although in keeping with conviction, are doubtless in the
main the natural expression of a rare conversationalist. He
talks to his readers as he would talk to a circle of congenial
friends. The impression that results is rarely, therefore, that
of studied or forced cleverness, although Fontane fails to
resort to the means noted only when his esthetic sense is in
perfect accord with the drama in hand, and although they
are only less prominent as weapons against vulnerable points

» i — London, d. 18. Marz, 57; for the reference to 1852 cf. W, 2,
VI, 24.

152

even in his serious criticism. He writes, for example, of
"Herodes und Mariamne" that one has at the end a sense of
having passed five stations of martyrdom; of Dr. Wangel
in "The Lady from the Sea" that he should be set in gold;
of Ibsen's treatment of the motif of freedom in this drama,
"Ich bin auch fur Freiheit, und die Vossische Zeitung noch
mehr; aber so viel werden wir beide von der Freiheit nicht
erwarten. Auch die Freiheit, wie alles im Leben, kocht
schliesslich nur mit Wasser"; of EUida's impulse to follow
the Northman when he reminds her of her oath, that any
Berlin woman would in a like situation have bethought
herself of the police.'

His use of analogy amounts frequently to little more than
a figure of speech: he writes, for example, of Frl. Kiissner's
Luise that she wraps all her words in crape; of Beck's Karl
Moor, that he handles his bandits like a debating-club; of
Matkowsky's acting, that it suggests the thunderstorm and
the song of the nightingale, Icelandic berserkers and jas-
mine-arbor sentimentality.^ Frequently, too, he suggests the
analysis of a character or the description of its interpretation
by an actor through detailed reference to well-known locali-
ties or social types; the provincial and class eccentricities of
North Germany were particularly familiar to him, and he
makes the most of them in his criticism. Again, he employs
anecdote to drive his point home.

Fontane himself admits the use of analogy to a degree
that might lay him open to the charge of mannerism, but
justifies it by the desire to say something different from the
stereotyped criticism and at the same time give vividness to
his work. He adds:'

"Nur so, behaupt' ich, vermag ich dem Laser ein leidlich anschau-
liches Bild davon zu geben, wie die gestrige Jungfrau von Orleans
Oder der gestrige Bolingbroke wirklich war. 'Der Bolingbroke des
Herm X. liess die hofmannische Haltung vermissen,' sagt gar nichtS;
wenn ich aber nach einem lebhaft und richtig empfangenen Eindruck

' Cf. for this paragraph W, 2, VIII, 151, 192 ff-
^ Cf. for this paragraph W, 2, VIII, 65, 59, 63.
3 W, 2, VIII, 386 f. (1881).

153

aus voller Uberzeugung niederschreibe: 'Sein Bolingbroke hatte die
Haltung eines Landrats aus dem Neu-Vorpommerschen' oder: 'eines
Rittmeisters vom Kiirassierregiment Kaiser Nikolaus von Russland,'
so sag' ich damit etwas Anschauliches und setze den Leser auf einen
Schlag in die Moglichkeit zu wissen, was der gestrige Gast vom
Bolingbroke hatte und was nicht."

There is also a clear expression of conviction from him in
regard to jest, the employment of which he considers ad-
vantageous to criticism, provided it is clear that an honest
and honorable opinion underlies it.^

There can be no 'doubt that, as he himself evidently be-
lieved, this method and style give his work originality and
piquancy and remove it from the pale of the dogmatic. They
tend also, on the other hand, to a treatment that is at times
unduly chatty and diffuse. For the casual, more or less
disinterested daily reader, they probably often furnished
amusement primarily, perhaps even at the expense of any
serious thought as to the principle beneath analogy or anec-
dote. Consequently, like romantic irony in its tendency
toward negation, this method introduces into Fontane's criti-
cism at times an element of self-destruction that retards
conviction.

But the theater reports are not without other weaknesses
that must naturally have detracted from a general apprecia-
tion of their full value even by those who approached them
with entire confidence in the critic's ability. There is occa-
sionally a disturbing lack of definiteness or an apparent con-
tradiction due either to an indistinct use of term or to a
hasty generalization. A single instance will in each case
suffice to illustrate the point in hand. In spite of the honest
admission that Wilhelmine von Hillern's "Geierwally" as
arranged for the stage approaches at times dangerously near
the ludicrous, Fontane commends the sense of fitness shown
in both character portrayal and situation, failing, however,

1 W, 2, X, 335 (letter of Sept. 13, 1874, to Ludwig Pietsch; Fontane
was justifying here a criticism of Alma Tadema which he had written
for the press as substitute for Pietsch; cf. above, p. 17, n. 3, and
p. 22.

154

to give a very illuminating definition of the exact saving
grace of this play. He writes: '

"In diesem Schauspiele der Frau v. Hillern haben wir richtige
Menschen, die das Richtige sagen und das Richtige tun und dies
Richtige tun zu richtiger Zeit und am richtigen Ort. Und so kommt
es denn, dass wir alles mit zu durchleben glauben und in jene Mit-
leidenschaft gezogen werden, die sich nur da einstellt, wo statt der
Engebildetheiten von Leid und Lust ihre Wirklichkeiten an uns
herantreten. Diese Richtigkeit (Korrektheit ist etwas anderes und
Echtheit auch und Wahrheit auch) ist der gute Engel, der neben
dem bestandig am Abgrunde hinschreitenden Stuck einhergeht."

" The critic doth protest too much, methinks," — an unfor-
tunate impression in consideration of the fact that Fontane
evidently admired the play.'' Later, comparing it with
Wildenbruch's "Harold" to the detriment of the latter, he
writes that it will disappear not on account of its mistakes,
but because it belongs by virtue of its material to a lower
art-realm, because only kings and great destinies have the
right to engage our interest permanently.' Extreme illustra-
tions of the weakness in question have been chosen with
purpose; the first has to do with no less important a word
in Fontane's criticism than truth; the second seems to
involve the statement of an absolute tenet opposed to the
whole spirit of his work, to his interest in the human being
per se without respect to station. Considered in the light of
his general criticism, what is apparently a statement of
principle can mean only this, that public taste prefers char-
acters of high rank, such as are found in "Harold."

There are also rare instances in Fontane's criticism of
something suggesting personal bias. The most marked of
these are his dislike of the pathetic hero, which appears in

1 W, 2, VIII, 227 f- (Oct. i88i).

2 This is one of the very rare instances in which his diary entry, if it
involved more than mere mention, does not suggest the point of de-
parture for the published criticism. He writes: "trotz manchem, was
sich dagegen sagen lassen mag, ein brillantes Stuck Arbeit, voll dra-
matischem Leben" {D — under the heading: "Sommer und Herbst.
i88i").

» V. Z. Apr. 23, 1882, B I (additional to W, 2, VIII, 254 £E.).

155

his treatment of Marquis Posa, Uriel Acosta, and Wallen-
stein; his sensitiveness to a disregard in art for the dignity
of European class distinction, illustrated best by his adverse
criticism of Scribe's methods in "Bataille de dames" and
"Les doigts de fee"; his objection to Ibsen's treatment of the
ideal marriage, which may account for the term "Quatsch-
lise" with which he honors Nora. It must be granted,
however, that Fontane is not without estimable company
in any of these positions and that, in his case, the objection
to type or motif always occurs in defense of one or more
stable art principles, prominent in his critical work.^

Although the last two instances argue a kind of conserva-
tism in matters of established institutions often shown by
Fontane and a point of view in itself at variance with his
enthusiasm for novelty, his position amounts in the end to
nothing more unreasonable than a preference of evolution
to revolution; in his criticism of Scribe^ he defends himself
against the possible charge of letting class prejudice influence
his opinion as follows:

"Ich gehore nicht zu denen, die die Menschheit erst vom Baron
an auf warts zu rechnen beginnen; ich habe mitunter ein leises Vor-
gefuhl davon, als wurde ich meine Tage nicht hier, sondern in Gegen-
den beschliessen, wo es keine Herzoge und keine Grafen gibt, und ich
glaube dabei des einen sicher zu sein, dass die Feudalpyramide mit
zu dem Letzten gehoren wurde, was ich da driiben wirklich ent-
behren wurde. . . . es kommt nur darauf an, ob diese Dinge in
einem Einzelfall als einfache, nichts bedeuten wollende Tatsache an
uns herantreten, oder ob sie mit einem 'Geht hin und tut des-
gleichen,' will also sagen: als ein neues Zeitevangelium prinzipiell
und gesinnungstiichtig von der Biihne her zu uns sprechen. Hier in
der alten Welt, wie die Dinge nun mal liegen, ist dies alias einfach
Umsturz. . . . Die Torheit, die Inkonsequenz, vor allem die Kurz-
sichtigkeit, die sind es, die mich verdriessea. ..."

1 This reference to Nora occurs in the letter to Stephany, in which
Fontane pronounced Hauptmann a greater poet than Ibsen because
more true (Mar. 1898); cf. above, p. 127, n. r.

^ Fontane charges Scribe (W, 2, VIII, 112 ff.) with preaching in
"Les doigts de t6e" a new popular gospel, with courting pubUc favor by
making a disinherited countess play the role of modiste so successfully
that her needle delivers her enemies into her hands.

156

He does not enlarge upon his dislike for Nora beyond the
single word "untrue," but he had written to Guido Weiss
almost a decade before concerning lack of maturity in the
Ibsen criticism of Schlenther and Brahm:

"Ich bin auch scharf Ibsenianer, abet Ibsenianer mif siebzig, die
andern mit funfunddreissig und — unverheiratet. Daher das Ein-
gehen auf den Ibsenschen Eheblodsinn."

The severe though brief denunciation of Nora naturally sug-
gests also this basis for objection, especially since his last
published reference to Ibsen suggests unreality, improba-
bility: 1

"Gegen Nora bin ich sehr, auch gegen andere Ibsengestalten,
aber fur einen Bekehrten durfen sie mich doch nicht halten. Ich bin
Ibsen gegeniiber fast ganz unverandert gebUeben. In vorderster
Reihe stehen doch Bewunderung und Dank, denn er ist ein grosser
Reformator unseres Buhnenwesens gewesen. Er hat neue Gestalten
und vor aUem eine neue Sprache geschaffen. Dass unter den Gestal-
ten viele aus der Retorte sind, darf man ihm nicht so ubehiehmen.
Dafur war er — Apotheker."

It would be in keeping with the general spirit of Fontane's
criticism of Ibsen for him to reject as "doctrinaire" the pos-
sibility that a Nora, newly awakened to her dignity as a
human entity, could even consider in a moment of sanity a
permanent separation from her children; action on the basis
of mere sentimental devotion to principle was to Fontane
the essence of human untruth, therefore of unreality. His
conservatism cannot be separated here then — nor can it
ever be separated entirely — from that pivotal regard for
proportion that regulated all his tenets, that served to se-
cure a balance for him between antagonistic force.s in criticism
and in life.

There is, furthermore, in the theater reports a tendency to
extreme statement which, though attributable clearly to the
spell of momentary enthusiasm that affects to a certain
degree all occasional criticism, makes it necessary to consider

> W, 2, XI, 207 (1889, to Guido Weiss); 465 (May 17, 1898, to F.
Stephany).

157

single reports in relation to the whole in order to reach a
complete understanding of the critic's point of view. The
published criticisms of Ibsen and Hauptmann, which furnish
the most important example here, are somewhat confusing
at the first consecutive reading by virtue of the superlatives
doled out to both dramatists. Criticisms that are unques-
tionably unusual in point of departure and in the weighing
of subtle esthetic values are thus weakened by the necessity
for making additions and subtractions, slight though they be,
in order to render the series entirely consistent. That Fon-
tane was himself aware of this quality in his work is evident
from the fact that he wrote to Stephany with reference to a
proposed criticism of "Vor Sonnenauf gang " : i

" Ja, ich bin auch sehr von ihm (Hauptmann) eingenommen, werde
mich aber sehr manierlich ausdriicken und alien Radau vermeiden,
was ich auch kann, ja muss, weil ich durchaus nicht so stehe, dass
ich wiinschen konnte, die nachste Generation mit lauter Gerhart
Hauptmannschen Schnapstragodien oder dem Ahnlichen begliickt zu
sehen."

There is a certain naivete in this expression of intention, a
quality which makes in all of Fontane's work one of a num-
ber of elements that are paradoxical^ without being in-
comprehensible; it is less prominent here than in the not
infrequent attempts, requiring a stretching of the point in
question, to make courteous amends within the bounds of
honesty for previous impatient or extreme adverse criticism
of mediocre art.

But neither the possible rare indications of bias on the one
hand nor the inconsistent expressions of enthusiasm on the
other partake of the nature of personal prejudice. From

' W, 2, XI, 219 (1889).

' Fontane's personality is strikingly one of reconciled opposites: en-
thusiasm for democratic ideals is offset by a distinct romantic, almost
childlike interest in types representative of the Prussian landed gentry
and the nobUity; the firm belief in the right of the individual to self-
expression is offset by deep reverence for inviolable universal law; what
amounts here as elsewhere to an admission of shortcoming is counter-
balanced by repeated expressions of self-confidence, the latter indeed so
naive or so softened by a lovable personality as to be entirely inoffensive.

158

this Fontane is, true to his theory, extraordinarily free. Had
he been inclined to such expressions of personal feeling as
are the pitfall of many critics, both his well-defined habit of
keeping an objective point of view and his high regard for
the critic's function would have militated against them.
But he was not given to consuming dislikes and he never
attempts, therefore, to use criticism as a means of making
propaganda for anything except a truer, more stable art.
The most interesting indication in all his work of an at-
tempt at retaliation is but a harmless parry, likely to do
more injury on the rebound to Fontane's judgment than in
the first instance to the object of the aim, and so far sepa-
rated in time from the cause of irritation that it can be
regarded at most only as a naive thrust for personal satis-
faction with no thought of enduring harm. After surpassing
all his colleagues in commendation of Paul Heyse's "Die
Weisheit Salomos" he weakens his whole argument for the
drama by adding that among modern productions Richard
Voss's "Der Mohr des Zaren" is most similar to it. His subse-
quent admission in the same report that Voss's play is im-
possible as a play, that the two works are related only in
treatment of historical background, is evidence that Voss's
free use of fact could in Fontane's own opinion have no real
weight here in support of the principle in question — the
vindication of such license for the sake of distinct gain in
poetic truth. Fontane was not averse to padding to some
extent reports in which he had nothing really vital to say.
Here, however, the tone and argument show both interest
and sincere admiration. It seems probable that, enticed by
the actual similarity of purpose evident in the two works
mentioned, Fontane introduced the second in secret enjoy-
ment of the thought of Heyse's discomfiture at sight of the
name of Voss.in print in juxtaposition with his own. Fon-
tane knew that, low as he himself rated Voss as a dramatist,
Heyse rated him still lower,' and he knew also only too well
Heyse's self-satisfaction.

' In justice to Fontane it must be said that he criticized "Der Mohr
des Zaren" more favorably than any of Voss's other plays. He wrote of

159

On the whole, indeed, whatever weaknesses Fontane's
criticism shows are more than counterbalanced by frankness,
breadth of view, objectivity of verdict, humor, and the
charm of personality. In the strong points of his work he
was invulnerable to the adverse conditions that confronted
him as critic. The weaknesses in his critical style he fell
into through the fact that the stage failed on many occa-
sions to inspire the causeur to genuine criticism. He once
wrote to his wife, evidently in reply to the charge of dif-
fuseness, that this was connected with his literary virtues,
that he treated the small with the same fondness as the
great because he did not draw the customary lines of difference
between small and great, that he was brief, however, when
the great was in question since the great needed no artistic
treatment in order to be effective.* Especially the last part
of this statement, made with reference to narrative work,
could not be applied generally to Fontane's theater reports;
Schiller and Goethe are, to be sure, both passed over with

it after the premiere that it fulfils technically various requirements of a
good play in that its purpose is sympathetic, its characters keep within
the bounds of probability, it avoids absurdity and caprice, and is enter-
taining. In regard to the fact that the historic setting, deftly chosen, is
incorrectly treated, he writes consistently with his position toward Heyse
later: "Aus dieser historischen Uncorrektheit aber dem Stiick einen
Vorwurf machen zu wollen, scheint mir nicht statthaft. Das Colorit ist
richtig, und Ort und Zeit dienen durchaus der Aufgabe, die der Dichter
sich stellte" (V. Z. Apr. s, 1884). For other criticisms of Voss, cf. W, 2,
VIII, 294 ff. — Fontane's criticism of " Die Weisheit Salomos" was written
after the first performance of this play (1888; cf. above, pp. 129).
There is among Fontane's posthumous papers an account of a call from
Heyse ("Paul Heyse — Besuch bei mir. i. Marz. 1883") soon after
Fontane's enthusiastic report on "Die Rantzau" (Feb 1883; cf. above,
pp. 114), in the course of which Heyse berated this play and Voss (an
acquaintance of both and a member of Riitli at this time), and gave
various additional evidences of a sense of the superiority of himself and
Munich to the rest of the German art-world. The visit seemed to leave
a bad taste, so to speak, and Fontane evidently dashed off the report of
it in a spirit of irritation. He did not have the squib printed, however,
and it was withheld from the public by his heirs until after Heyse's death

(1914).

' W, 2, VII, 71 f. (Aug. 1883).

160

comparatively slight analysis of either literary or dramatic
art, partly oh this account perhaps, largely because their
dramas were widely* known and often poorly given; yet
Fontane's best style is found, naturally, as are his most
valuable opinions, in his treatment of real masterpieces.
The statement is, nevertheless, not without probable bearing
upon his criticism. At any rate, much that is dramatically
of comparatively little import is treated with a fondness not
common among critics of insight, a fact due not to failuje to
draw an artistic distinction between small and great, but to
the ability to find seeds of promise in the small in the ab-
sence of the great. The seriousness, depth, and esthetic
value of Fontane's criticism of real art have been amply
treated. It remains to say what is practically self-evident
from various excerpts, that his best work shows also a sty-
Ustic individuality and power unusual in obligatory occasional
criticism, — clearness, directness, striking comparisons or
contrasts, onomatopoetic word-groups — often groups of
three — not infrequent effective brevity, above all that
union of vividness and suggestion in poetic description or
analysis that imparts to the reader something of the critic's
own esthetic insight and a new or keener appreciation of
whatever beauty was felt before.

Detailed comparison of Fontane with any other critic is
not the function of this study. Even for the sake of ten-
tative ranking it has little purpose, since the peculiar char-
acter of his work and the fact that he was neither professional
critic nor officially connected with any stage makes it impos-
sible to put him in any ready-made category. It is note-
worthy, however, that he has some points in common with
several of Germany's most celebrated critics and that he is,
in certain respects, even superior to these well-known con-
tributors to universal criticism of the drama and the stage.

His criticism shows in common with that of Lessing the
attempt to bring about unity between principle and stage
conditions with progress toward the illusion of realism, and
a strong underlying desire for the general elevation of Ger-

161

man dramatic art. There is in the work of both the con-
viction of the innate independence of art, its privilege to use
purpose, historical fact, and even daily life in its own way.
Fontane is inspired, like Lessing, by the desire for truth; but
Lessing's enthusiasm for truth is that of the restless searcher
to whom the search itself is exhilarating. Fontane, equally
ardent in steadfastness to an ideal, equally tireless but less
intense, finds kernels of truth along the way; his use of those
norms of naturalness and reality, related to truth, approaches
everywhere closer by far to the nerve of actual life. Fon-
tane has, like Lessing, the conviction that art must be
national; but Lessing's patriotic message is that of the
pathfinder and conscious reformer, Fontane's that of the
beautifier whose strong desire for the unattained in art makes
him so insistent that he is half unconsciously a reformer.
Lessing does not disregard detail, but his work is in the
main that of bold, telling strokes, whether for destruction or
construction; Fontane is less a creator than an adapter; he
has less to do with scaffolding; his work deals necessarily
in large measure with details of artistic completeness. Les-
sing's message, although humorous in flashes, is polemical,
and not wholly free from withering taunts and personal ani-
mosity; Fontane's, although touched at all points by the
playing flame of personality, is mellow with a harmonious
philosophy of life that removes the sting from his humor.

August Wilhelm Schlegel's criticism of drama is naturally
far removed from Fontane's in general character by the
radical difference in conditions attending it. Schlegel's pur-
pose was scholarly literary criticism and his work was without
immediate practical connection with the stage. He ap-
proaches his subject, therefore, frequently — as does Lessing
— through definition of term or function, through compari-
son with an earlier critical theory or an earlier Uterary phe-
nomenon, — methods rare in Fontane's work and never
pursued in detail. In certain points, however, his statement
of principle approaches more closely the spirit of Fontane's
work than the spirit of Lessing's; he opposes Aristotle's
dissection of beauty, advocating the Platonic method of

162

acquiring a conception of the beautiful by intuitive inspira-
tion; he objects to the French conception of unity as based
upon understanding rather than feeling; he is of the opinion
that Moliere exceeds the bounds of propriety in his treatment
of morality, that comedy should instruct incidentally, that
tragedy should at least indicate clearly an ultimate balance
between great universal conflicting forces. There is in these
expressions of conviction a distinct foreshadowing of Fon-
tane's point of departure in criticism. The heritage is un-
conscious, for no question of borrowing arises in connection
with Fontane's work; as if by virtue of his innate sympathy
with the romantic reverence for beauty, he becomes the
clearer mouthpiece for the earlier suggested treatment of the
intuitive expression of beauty; Schlegel's principles, couched
in elevated language, are the scholarly conclusions based on
research and reflection; Fontane's varied reports, often far
less elegant, have the irresistible animus that comes from a
live esthetic sense busy with practical art problems.

In many respects Fontane's criticism bears even closer re-
lation to that of Tieck. Fontane is, like Tieck, an observer
of art rather than a philosopher. Both attempt to grasp
art laws by feeling and enthusiasm rather than by theory.
The highest test of dramatic values for both is artistic illu-
sion in which reason and fancy are perfectly balanced be-
cause both are satisfied. Although Tieck was not, like
Fontane, consistently independent throughout his career of
tendency or school, both were alike in enthusiasm for the
realistic as well as the romantic; alike, therefore, ultimately
in the tenacity with which they clung to artistic freedom.
Finally Tieck, as critical manager, showed a sympathy for the
ephemeral and for the moderately successful play, especially
if it caught anything of the genuine spirit of the people,
similar to the tolerance that Fontane showed as critic.

Fontane had in common with all three an extreme admira-
tion for Shakspere as the master who united most elements
to be desired for German dramatic art. He was superior to
all three in that understanding of life that comes through
insight, practical contact, and sympathy. As a result of the

163

union of extreme sensitiveness to beauty and the recognition
of a transitory element in all conceivable limitations, whether
of time or of law, to the artistic impulse he had also a clearer
conception than any of them of the absolute in art;
paradoxical as the statement may seem, he revered, too, for
this reason more than any of them the law of change, which
he regarded as the only means of approach toward the abso-
lute. Infinitely less a scholar than any of them, he was
proportionately greater as an esthete in that he regarded
even details of concrete form and their relation to spirit as
well as abstract beauty. Less a theorist, he was nevertheless
more fruitful in vital practical suggestions for artistic com-
pleteness. With less regard for definite fixed law, he directed
his efforts toward clearer comprehension of that unwritten
law of the poet's sense for beauty and proportion and the
seer's comprehension of truth.

APPENDIX

Chronological Outline of Fontane's work and Literary
Interests Exclusive, except in Section Three, of
Criticism of Drama.

This outline is arranged to show how relatively small a part criticism of
the drama occupies in Fontane's literary activity. It includes detailed refer-
ence to none of the miscellaneous book reviews and occasional criticisms of
poetry and the narrative, which appeared often weekly for a time (as in 1875)
or every two or three days (as in Dec. 1880). Mention of individual poems
is rare, since it would have rendered the outline unnecessarily bulky. When
no reference is given in regard to editions, the statement follows that found
at the beginning of the various volumes of " Gesanmielte Werke " or the card-
catalog of Fontane publications, Royal Library, Berlin. — Except in case of
editions, when no other reference is noted, the point in question is based on
the diary; this occurs most frequently in sections 4, 5, 6. — Roman numerals
refer to corresponding volumes in " Gesammelte Werke," Series 2. — It should
be noted that Fontane's letters frequently show that a book was on the
Christmas market in the year previous to that announced by the publisher
(cf. X, 210, note).

I. Previous to the career of letters.
1834-36
A few poems, unimportant except as beginnings (X, 106 f.;
XI, 499).
1837 (probably)

An epic begun (X, 106).
1841

" Shakespeares Strumpf" (II, 321).
1844 (probably)
Poem, "Der Towerbrand," soon after return from England
(X, 107).
1846

"Der alte Derfflinger" and probably other Prussian ballads
,(III, 21).

166

i847

"Von der schonen Rosamunde" (cf. "Theodor Fontanes
Brief wechsel mit Wilhelm Wolfsohn," 30).
1848-49

Poems (III, 286; X, 198).

2. Beginning of a career; period previous to first criticism of

drama.
1850

"Manner und Helden" (Berlin, _^yj/ edition).
"Von der schonen Rosamunde" (D essa.n, first edition).
Poems (X, IS £f., 25 and note, 38 and note).
1851
Poems (X, 34 f.)-
"Gedichte" (BeTlin, first edition).
"Deutsches Dichter- Album," an anthology edited by Fon-

tane {Beilin, first edition).
"Von der schonen Rosamunde," 2. Aufl.
1852
Letters from England to various papers, especially to Preus-

sische Zeitung and Die Zeit (VI, i, 18).
Poems and ballads, some of which he calls translations from

Percy and Scott (X, 49 and note, 55, 57).
"Deutsches Dichter-Album," 2.-3. Aufl.

1853
Critical essays and reviews (X, 73, 96 f. and note).
Poem (X, 59).

3. Period of the letters on the London stage.

1854
Poems and ballads (X, 126 ff., 148 and note; XI, 403 and

note).
Critical review (X, 116, note).
Argo. Belletristisches Jahrbuch, edited by Fontane and

Franz Kugler (Dessau, _^r5< edition).
"Ein Sommer in London" (Dessau, ^rs< edition).

1855
Poems (X, 126 and note, 184 and note).
Articles in various German publications, some of which were
on the drama (X, 131; cf. above, p. 8).

167

i8s6
Poem (X, 157).

Articles (X, 147, 151 and note).
"Manner und Helden," 2. Aufl.

i8S7

Poems (X, 184).

Articles, some of which were on the drama (X, 177 and note,
183 f.; cf. above, p. 8).
1858

"Deutsches Dichter-Album," 4. Aufl. (X, 170, note).

1859

Miscellaneous articles, some on English subjects

"Jenseit des Tweed" finished (VI, 98).

"Aus England" finished (VI, 100).

Studies of the Mark Brandenburg begun (VI, 100).
4. Intermediate period between the two devoted in part to criticism

of drama.
i860

Lectures on England and Scotland, also on English, Scotch,
and American literature (Jan.-Mar.).

Work on " Wanderungen " at intervals throughout the
year.

Work on other miscellaneous articles (Mar .-Oct.).

Ballads on generals of the Great Elector (July).

"Balladen" (Berlin, first edition) appeared in Dec. (X, 210;
cf. XI, 403, iiote).

"Jenseit des Tweed" (Berlin, first edition).

"Aus England" (Berlin, first edition).
1861

Lectures and articles on English subjects occasional through-
out the year.

Work on "Wanderungen" throughout the year; also on
miscellaneous articles.

Poems.

Prolog for the Royal Theater on the Emperor's birthday
(Mar. 22).

Memorial poem for the thirtieth of September.

Tenzonen to von Lepel (Nov.).

168

i862

(First two items as in 1861.)
Preliminary work for a novel (Jan. — cf. 1863).
"Grafschaft Ruppin," vol. i of "Wanderungen durch die
Mark Brandenburg" (Berlin, first edition).
1863
Articles on English subjects, also miscellaneous articles;

both are infrequent.
Work on "Wanderungen" throughout the year.
Prolog for Festoper (Mar.).
Probably work on "Vor dem Sturm" (cf. XI, 371; also:

reference to novel, 1862; above, p. 3, n).
"Von der schonen Rosamunde," 3. Aufl. (Dresden).
"Oderland," vol. 2 of "Wanderungen" (Berlin, ^y^i edition).
1864
Essay on Shakspere.
Occasional miscellaneous articles.
Work on "Wanderungen" throughout the year.
Prolog for celebration in Royal Theater of 300th anniver-
sary of Shakespere's birth (X, 240, note).
Ballad, "Gorm Grymme" (cf. above, p. 24, n. i).
"Grafschaft Ruppin" (increased), 2. Aufl.
1865
Occasional reviews.

Work on Danish letters, history, and ballads (Jan.).
Spring and summer spent on "Der Schleswig-Holsteinische
Krieg imjahre 1864."
1866
Occasional reviews (Jan.); also, work on "Wanderungen."
Work on "Vor dem Sturm" (Apr.-June; cf. outlinefor 1863);
he writes: "Mein Roman beschaftigt mich ausschliesslich."
"Bohmische Reisebriefe" (Sept.; Fontane had gone to Bo-
hemia in August to collect material for the book on the
war of 1866).
"Der Schleswig-Holsteinische Krieg im Jahre 1864" (Berlin,

first edition).
Preparations for new war-book (Nov.).
Poem (X, 248).

169

i867
Occasional reviews.
War-book advances.
"Oderland" (revised), 2. Aufl.
1868
Finishes war-book and begins corrections which "last until
June, 1869."
1869
Work on " Wanderungen " (June- Aug., Nov., Dec).
"Der Feldzug in Bohmen und Mahren," vol. i of "Der
deutsche Krieg von 1866" (Berlin, first edition).
5. Period of reports on the Royal Stage of Berlin.
1870
Arranges for a third war-book (Aug. — X, 270) ; for trip to

scene of war (Sept. — X, 273).
"Der Feldzug in West- und Mitteldeutschland," vol. 2 of
"Der deutsche Krieg von 1866" (Berlin, first edition).
1871
Work on " Kriegsgef angen, " Erlebtes (Jan. — X, 281 ff.).
Occasional poems (June — X, 286).
Work on "Aus den Tagen der Occupation" (Oct. — X,

291).
"Der deutsche Krieg von 1866," 2. Aufl.
" Kriegsgef angen " {^erlia., first edition).
1872
Work on "Havelland," vol. 3 of "Wanderungen" (May,

Sept. — X, 29s, 304).
Work on "Der Krieg gegen Frankreich" (Sept. — X,

304)-
"Aus den Tagen der Occupation" (Berlin, first edition).

1873
Work on "Grafschaft Ruppin" (cf. above, p. 26, n. i).
Considers possibility of the translation into English of "Der

Krieg gegen Frankreich" (Sept. — X, 314 S-)-
Reviews (Feb., Mar. ; in Fontane's collected reports).
"Der Krieg gegen das Kaiserreich," vol. i of "Der Krieg

gegen Frankreich" (Berlin, jJrii edition).
"Havelland" {'&ev\m, first edition).

170

i874

Work on 3d edition of "Grafschaft Ruppin," greatly in-
creased (Jan. — X, 320).

Is arranging 2d edition of "Gedichte" (Mar. — X, 323).

Collects material for "Spreeland," vol. 4 of "Wanderungen"
(July -X, 328).

Work on 3d half -volume of "Der Krieg gegen Frankreich"
(undated).

Reviews (Feb., July — in Fontane's collected reports).

1875
Work on last half-volume of war-book (Apr., July — X,

353 fi-, 359)-
Plans work on "Vor dem Sturm" for winter and attempts

to arrange for the printing of it (Apr., July — X, 354, 357).
Plans work on "Fiinf Schlosser," a supplementary volume

of "Wanderungen" (Apr. — X, 354).
Reviews (Jan. -Aug. — in coll. reports).
"Grafschaft Ruppin," 3. Aufl.
"Gedichte," 2. Aufl.
1876
Arranges for publication of "Vor dem Sturm" (Aug. — X,

370); work on it (Nov. — X, 375).
Indications of work on "Havelland" (X, 372).
Article on " Akademie der Ktinste" (Aug. — in coll. reports).
"Der Krieg gegen die Republik," vol. 2 of "Der Krieg gegen

Frankreich" (Berlin, first edition).
1877
Work on "Vor dem Sturm" (Mar. Dec), finished in Dec.

(X, 383 f .) ; this appeared in Daheim.
Reviews (Jan., July, Aug. — in coll. reports).
1878
Plans "Grete Minde" (May); work on it (Aug. — ; VI, 267;

X, 387, note); this appeared in Nord und Siid.
Wishes to try humorous representation of Berlin social

life (May — X, 386).
Has material for a dozen stories (May — X, 388).
Plans work on "Schach von Wuthenow" (Aug., Sept. —

VI, 268; X, 390).

171

1878

Work on " Wanderungen " (Nov., Dec. —X, 391 ff.).

Reviews (Mar., Nov, — in coll. reports).

"Vor dem Sturm" (Berlin, first edition).
1879

Work on "Grete Minde" (Jan., Feb. — X, 405, 410 f.);
plans to finish it in the Harz (Apr. — X, 415 ff.).

Considers revision of "Oderland" for 3d edition (Jan. —

X, 404 f.); plans work on Kustrin and Katte chapters
(Feb. — X, 410 f.).

Plans work on " EUernklipp " (Feb. — X, 410 f.); work on
it (June, Dec. —XI, 3).

Plans work on " Schach von Wuthenow ' ' (Apr. - June — X, 414).

Plans to finish in the rough in the Harz "Sidonie von
Borcke" (sic); this was never written (X, 415 ff.).

"L'Adultera" finished in the rough and refused by Hertz
(Dec. —XI, if.).

Reviews (Dec. — in coll. reports).

"Grete Minde" (Berlin, first edition).
1880

Has written "Die Briicke von Tay" (Jan. — XI, 2).

Corrects " L'Adultera " which appeared, June- July, in Nord
und sad (Mar. — XI, i f.).

Corrects chapter, Oranienburg, for revised edition of "Havel-
land" (Mar. —VI, 284).

Work on" Fiinf Schlosser" (May, July, Nov. — VI, 300;

XI, 8, 10, 25).

Corrects and revises "EUernklipp" (June, Aug. — VI, 308;

XI, 9).
Work on "Graf Petofy" (Aug. — VI, 307 f.).
Reviews (Dec. — in coll. reports).
"Havelland," 2. Aufl.
1881
Work on "Fiinf Schlosser" (Feb. —XI, 31 f., 40).
Corrects proof of "EUernklipp" (Mar. —XI, 31 f.).
CoUects material for "Spreeland" (Apr. —XI, 40 ff.).
Plans new book, "Storch von Adebar," never finished (June

-XI, 45 f-).

172

i88i

Works on "Graf Petofy" and "Schach von Wuthenow"

(June — XI, 45 f-)-
Arranges for " L' Adultera " in book form (Sept. — XI, 56),
Plans to write the Scherenberg essay (Nov. — XI, 59 f.).
"L' Adultera" (Breslau, ^w^ edition).
"Spreeland" (Berlin, J?r5/ edition).
" Ellernklipp " (Berlin, first edition).
1882
Work on "Schach von Wuthenow" (May, June); appeared

in V. Z., July-Aug.
Plans to spend October and subsequent months on "Graf
Petofy" and the Scherenberg essay (Aug. — VII, 19; cf.
also XI, 83).
"Grafschaft Ruppin," 4. Aufl.; this was prepared in Sept.

(XI, 71).
"Schach von Wuthenow" (Leipzig, first two editions).
1883
Work on a new novel, "Irrungen, Wirrungen" (Feb.).
Reviews (Feb.-May). .

Needs material for "Graf Petofy" (July — VII, 50).
Work on Scherenberg essay (Nov., Dec).
"Graf Petofy" (Dresden, first edition).
1884
Scherenberg essay is finished and corrected (Mar. -June —

VII, 83, 88; XI, 60) ; appeared in V. Z., June and July.
Eight chapters of "Irrungen, Wirrungen" written in Hankels
Ahlage, the scene of a part of the story; thus the entire
plan is completed (i2th-26th of May).
"Cecile" planned in Harz, at Hotel Zehnpfund, the scene

of a part of the story (last part of June — VII, 98 &.).
"Christian Friedrich Scherenberg" {^exlva, first edition).
Poem, "Jung Bismarck" for Nord und SUd (between Feb.

and Apr.).
Correction of "Cecile" (June).

New ballads written (June, Aug. — VII, 116 f.; XI, 100).
Prolog to celebrate anniversary festival of French Colony
(Oct. — XI, loi).

173

1 884

Second edition of "Spreeland" is in preparation (Dec. —

XI, 103 f.).
Part of "Stine" written (cf. letter of Apr. 1890, XI, 249).
"Unterm Birnbaum" (Berlin, first edition).
1886

Correction of "Spreeland" (Jan. — XI, 107).

Work on "Quitt" (May, June); can complete only one such

story this year in addition to work for V. Z. (XI, 112,115).
Completion of "Irrungen, Wirrungen" (cf. letter of Apr.

1890, XI, 249).
"Spreeland," 2. Aufl.
1887
Considers sth edition of "Grafschaft Ruppin" with additions

(Mar. —XI, 124 ff.).
Plans 3d edition of "Gedichte" with additions (Apr. —

XI, 127).
Work on "Irrungen, Wirrungen" (probably correction, cf.

outline for 1886); appeared in V. Z., July-Aug. (July —

XI, 131).
Wishes to write on the Quitzows (July — XI, 129 f.); a sec-
tion of "Fiinf Schlosser" bears this title.
Story, "Eine Frau in meinen Jahren" finished (July — XI,

130)-
Prepares 2d edition of "Crete Minde" (Aug. — XI, 136.)
Contemplates writing "Die Likedeeler" (Aug. — XI, 135 f.).
Work on " Unwiederbringlich " (Oct.-Dec).
"Cecile" {BeAia, first two editions).
"Irrungen, Wirrungen" (Leipzig, ^r^/ edition).
1888
Writes for information for a ballad, "Briiderchen und

Schwesterchen," never written (Feb. — XI, 14S f-)-
Correction of "Funf Schlosser" (Feb.).
Finishes" Frau Jenny Treibel" in the rough (May — VII

173 ff-)-

"Stine" refused by V.Z. (June — XI, 155).

Plans ballad, "Die Todten von Hemmingstedt," not com-
pleted (Sept. —XI, 162 f.; cf. outline, 1889).

174

i888

Correction of "Unwiederbringlich" (Nov. — XI, 163 f.).
Article, "Die Marker und das Berlinertum" appeared (XI,

167, note).
"Fiinf Schlosser" {Beilin, first edition).
1889
Correction of "Quitt."
Seeks information for "Die Todten von Heramingstedt"

(Jan. -XI, 174 f.).
Asks to send new ballads to Rodenberg for publication

(June — VII, 216; XI, 19s f.).
Work on Bredow chapters for a new book (June — XI,

194 ff., 202); asks Dr. Schlenther to substitute for him

as critic for the theater, since he is engaged in getting

material for his Bredow book, upon which the little future

he has left depends (Sept. — XI, 214 f.).
Correction of "Unwiederbringlich" (Oct.).
" Gedichte," 3. Aufl. (about one-third are new; cf. XI, 232 f.).
6. Subsequent to the cessation of regular dramatic criticisjn

(cf. above, p. 34). V

1890
Plans to write autobiography (XI, 242).
Correction of "Unwiederbringlich."

" Graf Petofy," Neue Ausgabe (F. Fontane & Co., Berlin),
"Stine" (Berlin, first edition); this had appeared before

in F. Mauthner's Deutschland, Bd. i.
"Quitt" (Berlin, first edition); appeared before in Garten-

laube.
"Irrungen, Wirrungen" (Berlin, J^r^i edition).
All of the narratives which had appeared to this time are

collected in "Gesammelte Romane und Erzahlungen"

(Berlin, 1890-92).
1891
Correction of "Frau Jenny Treibel."
Work on "Mathilde Mohring;" this appeared first in

"Aus dem Nachlass" (Berlin, 1908), complete in plan but

probably without final revision.
Work on "Die Poggenpuhls."

175

1891

"Gedichte," 4. Aufl. (XI, 260, 265 and note).

"Stine," 2.-3. Aufl.

"Irrungen, Wirrungen," 2. Aufl.

"L'Adultera," 2. Aufl.

"Unwiederbringlich" appeared in the Deutsche Rundschau.
1892

Finishes "Die Poggenpuhls" (XI, 284).

Begins correction of "Efl5 Briest."

Decides to write " Kinderjahre " to 1832; works on auto-
biography for some weeks (XI, 295 ff.).

"Grafschaft Ruppin" (increased) 5. Aufl. (cf. XI, 125 and
note, 284).

"Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg," Volksaus-
gabe (Berlin), 4 vols.

"Cecile," Neue Ausgabe.

" Kriegsgef angen," 2. Aufl.; this appeared also in French
translation (Paris).

"Frau Jenny Treibel" {'Re.xlva., first two editions); appeared
before in Deutsche Rundschau.

"Unwiederbringlich" (Berlin, _^r5< edition).

1893

Correction of "Effi Briest," written three years before.

"Frau Jenny Treibel," 3. Aufl.

Four short stories appear in Deutsche Rundschau (XI, 302
and note); these appear later under the title "Von, vor
und nach der Reise."

"Meine Kinderjahre" (Berlin, _^r5* edition).
1894

Correction of "Die Poggenpuhls."

"Unwiederbringlich" appeared in Danish translation (XI,

331)-
"Effi Briest" appeared in Deutsche Rundschau from October

on (XI, 340 and note).
"Meine Kinderjahre," 2.-3. Aufl.

"Von, vor und nach der Reise" {B&iim, first two editions).
"Schach von Wuthenow," 3. Aufl.
"Kriegsgef angen," 3. Aufl.

176

Began "Der Stechlin."

Work during the winter is on a second volume of reminis-
cences, "Fortsetzung der Kinderjahre"; reference is to
"Von Zwanzig bis Dreissig"; some chapters appeared in
Pan (XI, 336, note).

Seeks material for "Die Likedeeler" (XI, 343 f.; cf. above,
p. 148; also, outline for 1887).

"Effi Briest" (Berlin, first three editions).

"Die Poggenpuhls" appeared in Vom Pels zum Meer.
1896

Some chapters of "Von Zwanzig bis Dreissig" appear in
Deutsche Rundschau (XI, 381, note) ; finishes and corrects
volume 2, "Erinnerungen."

Wrote "Der Stechlin" in the winter (XI, 388).

"Vor dem Sturm," Volksausgabe (Berlin).

"Grafschaft Kuppin," 6. Aufl.

"Frau Jenny Treibel," 4. Aufl.

"Effi Briest," 4.-5. Aufl.

"Die Poggenpuhls" (Berlin, first four editions).
1897

Prepares sth edition of "Gedichte" with additions (XI, 424,
440).

"Effi Briest," 6. Aufl.

"Der Stechlin" appeared first in Uber Land und Meer (XI,

433)-
1898
"Effi Briest," 7. Aufl.
"Gedichte," 5. Aufl.
"Frau Jenny Treibel," 5. Aufl.
" Kriegsgefangen," 4. Aufl.
"L'Adultera," 3. Aufl.
" Unwiederbringlich," 2.-3. Aufl.
"Der Stechlin" (Berlin, first five editions).
"Von Zwanzig bis Dreissig" (Berlin, first edition).
Plan to work on "Das Landchen Friesack und die Bredows"
(XI, 472 f-).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works of Fontane Used

Manner und Helden. Berlin, 1850.

Von der schonen Rosamunde. Dessau, 1850.

Gedichte. Berlin, 1851.

Argo. Belletristisches Jahrbuch (edited by Fontane and Franz

Kugler). Dessau, 1854.
Argo. Breslau, 1857, 1858, 1859 (Fontane had no part in editing

the Argo after 1854 but made contributions to it).
Ein Sommer in London. Dessau, 1854.
Shakespeare auf der modernen englischen Biihne. Liter atur

Blatt (Supplement of Deutsches Kunsthlatt, Zeitschrift fur

bildende Kunst, Baukunst und Kunstwerke). Berlin, 1855-

1857.
Jenseit des Tweed. Berlin, i860.
Aus England. Studien und Briefe iiber Londoner Theater,

Kunst und Presse. Stuttgart, i860.
Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg. Berlin, 1862-

1881.
Der Schleswig-Holsteinische Krieg im Jahre 1864. Berlin, 1866.
Der deutsche Krieg von 1866. Berlin, 1869-1870.
Der Krieg gegen Frankreich. Berlin, 1873-1876.
Fiinf Schlosser. Berlin, 1888.
Gesammelte Werke von Theodor Fontane. Erste Serie:

Romane und Novellen (10 vols.). Zweite Serie: Gedichte,

Autobiographisches, Briefe, Kritiken, Nachlass (11 vols.).

Berlin (no date on the title page; copyright dates range

from 1905 to 1912).
Theater Reports as published in the Vossische Zeitung, 1870-

1889.
Unpublished Family Letters, 1852-1896.
Unpublished Diary, 1860-1898.

178

Authorities Consulted for a General Knowledge of
fontane and his period

(i) The most important Histories of Literature:

Bartels, Adolf: Geschichte der deutschen Literatur; Bd. 2,

Die neuere Literatur. 5. und 6. Aufl. Leipzig, 1909.
Die deutsche Dichtung der Gegenwart; die Alten und die

Jungen. 8. Aufl. Leipzig, 1910.
Biese, Alfred: Deutsche Literaturgeschichte. Bd. 3, Von

Hebbel bis zur Gegenwart. 1.-3. Aufl. Miinchen, 1911.
Kummer, Friedricli: Deutsche Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts

dargestellt nach Generationen. Dresden, 1909.
Meyer, Richard M.: Die deutsche Literatur des 19. Jahr-
hunderts. 3. umgearbeitete Aufl. Berlin, 1906.
Stern, Adolf : Geschichte der neueren Literatur. Leipzig, 1882-

1885.
Die deutsche Nationalliteratur von Tode Goethes bis zur

Gegenwart. Marburg und Leipzig, 1886.
Storck, Karl: Deutsche Literaturgeschichte. 6. u. 7. ver-

mehrte Aufl. Stuttgart, 1913.
Witkowski, Georg: Die Entwicklung der deutschen Literatur

seit 1830. Leipzig, 191 2.
Wolff, Eugen: Geschichte der deutschen Literatur in der

Gegenwart. Leipzig, 1896.

(2) Letters, Memoirs and Records:

Heyse, Paul: Jugenderinnerungen und Bekenntnisse: 2 Bde.

3 Aufl. Berlin, 1900.
Lepel, Bernhard von: Bernhard von Lepel an Theodor Fontane,

Briefe von 1843-1883. Hrsg. von Eva A. von Arnim.

Berlin, 1910.
Liibke, Wilhelm: Lebenserinnerungen. Berlin, 1891.
Pietsch, Ludwig: Wie ich Schriftsteller geworden bin. Erin-

nerungen aus den fiinfziger Jahren. Berlin, 1893.

Aus jungen und alten Tagen. Berlin, 1904.

Roquette, Otto: Siebzig Jahre. 2 Bde. Darmstadt, 1894.

179

Theodor Fontanes Briefwechsel mit Wilhelm Wolfsohn. Hrsg.
von Wilhelm Wolters. Berlin, 1910.

Wilbrandt, Adolf: Aus der Werdezeit. Erinnerungen. Stutt-
gart und Berlin, 1907.

Zur Geschichte des literischen Sonntags-Vereins, "Tunnel iiber
der Spree," in Berlin, 1827-1877 (undated pamphlet;
Royal Library, Berlin).

(3) Essays, Monographs and Miscellaneous Press Articles on
Fontane (the following list includes less than one-third of the
miscellaneous press articles and reviews read for this work) :

Baumgarten, Dr. Franz: Theodor Fontane. Frankfurter Zei-

tung, 22. Sept., 1908.
Behrend, Dr. Fritz: Der "Tunnel uber der Spree." Sonntags-

beilage zur Vossischen Zeitung, 25. Sept., igio.
Bolsche, Wilhelm: Theodor Fontane. Aphorismen. Social-

istische Monatskefte, Okt., 1898.
Brandt, Rolf: Theodor Fontane. Velhagen und Klasing

Volksbiicher, nr. 97. Bielefeld, 1913.
Conrad, Hermann : Theodor Fontane's " Hamlet." Das litera-

rische Echo, 2. Jahrg., Heft i, i. Okt, 1899.
Dahms, Gustav: Aus dem Nachlass eines deutschen Dichters.

N. Y. Staatszeitung, 30. Apr., 1899.
Defi&s, Dr. Hans: Aus Theodor Fontanes Werdejahren. Sonn-

tagsbeilage z. Vossischen Zeitung, Nov., 1908.
Eggers, Alexander: Aus Theodor Fontanes Selbstbiographie.

Baltische Monatsschrift, Nov., 1905.
Elster, Hanns Martin: Theodor Fontanes Berlin. Deutsche

Tageszeitung, 13. Juni, 1912.
Ernst, Otto (cf. Schmidt).
Ettlinger, Josef : Neue Fontane-Kunde. Vossische Zeitung, 12.

Feb., 1911.
Theodor Fontane in seinen Brief en. Beilage z. allgemeinen

?, nr. 90, 1905.
Fassbinder, Dr. Josef: Die Balladendichtung Theodor Fontanes.

Der Gral, 4. Jahrg., Heft 11/12.
Franzos, Karl Emil: Die Geschichte des Erstlingswerks. Berlin

(no date).

180

Kricker, Gottfried: Theodor Fontane, von seiner Art und

epischen Technik. Berlin, 1912.
Meyer, Richard M.: Fontanes Balladen. Velhagen und Klas-

ings Monatshefte, 25. Jahrg-., Sept., 1910.

Gestalten und Probleme. Berlin, 1905.

Necker, Moritz: Theodor Fontane als Kritiker. Die Zeit, Bd.

XL, Okt., 1904.
Pan tenius, Theodor Hermann: Theodor Fontane. Daheimj ^$.

Jahrg., Sept., 1898.
Pfembert, Franz: Die Aktion, nr. 37, 191 1.
Pniower, Otto: Crete Minde. Brandenburgia, 9. Jahrg., 1901.
Dichtungen und Dichter. Essays und Studien. 19 12 (no

place).
Poppenburg, Felix: Theodor Fontane und Bernhard von Lepel.

Die Grenzhoten, 13. Apr., 1910.
Schlenther, Paul: Aus Theodor Fontanes Friihzeit. Berliner

Tageblatt, Beiblatt, 4, 16. Nov., 1910.
Servaes, Franz: Theodor Fontane. Bd. XXIV von "Die

Dichtung." Berlin und Leipzig, 1904.
Schmidt, Erich: Charaktistiken. Berlin, 1886.
(Schmidt) Ernst, Otto: Bliihender Lorbeer. Leipzig, 1910.
Schoenemann, Dr. Friedrich: Theodor Fontane. Der Volkser-

zieher, 14. Jahrg., nr. 9.
Theodor Fontane als Marker. Sonderabdruck aus Zeii-

schriftfUr den deutschen Unterricht, 28. Jahrg., 6. Heft.
Theodor Fontane und England. Sonntagsblatt der N. Y.

Staatszeitung, 13. Dez., 1914.
Schott, Siegmund: Theodor Fontanes letzter Roman. Beilage

z. allgem. Zeitung, 11. Nov., 1898.
Servaes, Franz: Warum wir unseren Theodor Fontane so lieb

hatten. Das Magazinfiir Literatur, 67. Jahrg., 8. Okt., 1898.
Spierp, Heinrich: Theodor Fontane. Konservative Monats-

schriftfUr Politik, Literatur und Kunst, 63 . Jahrg., Juni, 1906.

Hermen. Essays und Studien. 1906 (no place).

Sprengler, Josef: Neues iiber und von' Theodor Fontane.

Literarischer Handweiser, nr. 21, 1905.
StrobI, Karl Hans: Die neue Fontane- Ausgabe. Osterreichiscke

Rundschau, 15. Marz, 1906.

181 ■

Tielo, A. R. T.: Theodor Fontanes erste lyrische Dichtungen.

Beilage z. allgem. Zeitung, 7. Juni, 1899.
Warncke, Paul: Zum Gedachtnis Theodor Fontanes. Der Bar,

Bd. 24, 1898.
Wegmann, Carl: Theodor Fontane als Ubersetzer englischer

und schottischer Balladen. Miinster in Westfalen, 1910.

(4) Books and Articles {hearing upon this study) read and criti-
cised by Fontane:

Albert!, Conrad (cf. Sittenfeld).

Brahm, Otto: Das Leben Heinrichs von Kleist. Berlin, 191 1.

Paul Heyse. Westermanns Illustrierte deutsche Monatshefle,

Bd. 53, Braunschweig, 1883.
Engel, Eduard: Psychologic der franzosischen Literatur. Ber-
lin, 1885.
Frenzel, Karl: (Report on) Wildenbruchs "Opfer um Opfer".

Nationalzeitung, Morgenausgabe, 12. Dez., 1882.
Die Zukunft des Schauspielhauses. Nationalzeitung, 13.

und 19. Dez., 1888.
Kuh, Emil: Biographic Fricdrich Hebbels. Wien, 1877.
Nordau, Max: Einiges iiber Schillers Don Carlos. Vossiscke

Zeitung, 18.-20. Dez., 1896.
Schlenther, Paul: Botho von Hiilsen und seine Leute. Ein

Jubilaumskritik iiber das Berliner Hofschauspiel. 2.

Aufl. Berlin, 1883.

Henrik Ibsen. Zur guten Stunde, 1889 (Berlin).

(Sittenfeld) Alberti, Conrad: Ohne Schminke. Wahrheiten

iiber das moderne Theater. Leipzig, 1887.
Wolzogen, Ernst von: Humor und Naturalismus. Frei Buhne,

I. Jahrg., 1890.

The Chief Authorities on General Criticism, Stage
History and the Drama (used as a compa,rative basis in
estimating Fontane's dramatic criticism):

Arnold, Matthew: Essays in Criticism, ist series, ist essay,
The Function of Criticism at the Present Time. London,
1902 (ist ed. 1865).

182

Arnold, Robert F.: Das moderne Drama. 2. verbesserte,

teilweise neu bearbeitete Aufl. Strassburg, 191 2.
Bahr, Hermann: Studien zur Kritik der Moderne. Frankfurt

a. M., 1894.

Wiener Theater (1892-1898). Berlin, 1899.

Baker, George P.: The Development of Shakespeare as a

Dramatist. New York, 1914.
Berg, Leo: Henrik Ibsen und das Germanentum in der

modernen Literatur. Literarische Volkshefte, nr. 2,

Berlin (no date).
Der Naturalismus. Zur Psychologic der modernen

Kunst. Miinchen, 1892.
Zwischen zwei Jahrhunderten. Gesammelte Essays.

Frankfurt a. M., 1896.

Neue Essays. Oldenburg und Leipzig, 1901.

Bernays, Michael: Zur neueren und neuesten Literaturge-

schichte. II. Berlin, 1899.
Bischoff, Heinrich: Ludwig Tieck als Dramaturg. Brussel,

Bleibtreu, Carl: Revolution der Literatur. 2. Aufl. Leipzig,

1886.

Der Kampfum's Dasein der Literatur. Leipzig, 1889.

Boas, Frederick S.: Shakespere and his Predecessors. New

York, 1908.
Bolsche, Wilhelm: Hinter der Weltstadt. Leipzig, 1901.
Brachvogel, A. E.: Geschichte des Koniglichen Theaters zu

Berlin. Bde. i. u. 2. Berlin, 1877-1878.
Brahm, Otto: Kritische Schriften iiber Drama und Theater.

Hrsg. von Paul Schlenther. Berlin, 1913.
Brandes, George: Main Currents in Nineteenth Century Litera-
ture. Vol. VI, Young Germany. New York, 1905.
Moderne Geister. Literarische Bildnisse aus dem neun-

zehnten Jahrhundert. 4. von neuem durchgesehene und

vermehrte Aufl. Frankfurt a. M., 1901.
Brunetiere, Ferdinand: Les epoques du theatre franfais: 1636-

1850. septieme edition, Paris, 1909.
Bulthaupt, Heinrich A. : Dramaturgie des Schauspiels. 4 vols.

12. Aufl. Oldenburg und Leipzig, 1908.

183

Shakespeare und der Naturalismus. Supplement zu Bd.

XXVIII des Jahrbuchs der deutschen Shakespeare-

Gesellschaft. Weimar, 1893.
Butcher, S. H.: Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art;

with a critical text and translation of the Poetics. 4th

ed. London, 1901.
Bytkowski, Sigismund: Gerhart Hauptmanns Naturalismus

und das Drama. Hamburg und Leipzig, 1908.
Chandler, Frank W.: Aspects of Modern Drama. New York,

1914.
Clark, Barrett H.: The Continental Drama of Today. New

York, 1914.
Conrad, Michael G. : Von Emile Zola bis Gerhart Hauptmann.

Erinnerungen zur Geschichte der Modernen. Leipzig,

1902.
Creizenach, W.: Geschichte des neueren Dramas. Halle a. S.,

1893-1909.
Devrient, Eduard: Geschichte der deutschen Schauspielkunst.

Leipzig, 1848-1861-1874.
Ehrhard, August (and) Neckar, Moritz: Franz Grillparzer.

Sei,n Lebensgang und seine Werke. Munchen, 1910.
Eloesser, Arthur: Das biirgerliche Drama. Seine Geschichte

im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert. Berlin, 1898.
Ernst, Paul: Der Weg zur Form. Asthetische Abhandlungen

vornehmlich zur Tragodie und Novelle. Leipzig, 1906.
Frenzel, Karl: Berliner Dramaturgie. 2 Bde. Erfurt, 1877.
Freytag, Gustav: Die Technik des Dramas. Leipzig, 1863.
Aufsatze zur Geschichte, Literatur und Kunst. Leipzig,

1888.
Freie Buhne. BerUn, 1889-1892.
Gottschall, Rudolf von: Zur Kritik des modernen Dramas.

Vergleichende Studien. 2. Aufl. Berlin, 1900.
Hamilton, Clayton M.: The Theory of the Theater. New

York, 1913.
Hanstein, Adelbert von: Das jungste Deutschland. Zwei

Jahrhunderte miterlebter Literaturgeschichte. Leipzig,

1900.
Harden, Maximilian: Literatur und Theater. Berlin, 1896.

184

Hart, Heinrich (und) Julius: Kritische Waffengange. Leipzig,
1882-1884.

Holz, Arno: Die Ku^st. Ihr Wesen und ihre Gesetze. Neue
Folge. 2. Aufl. Berlin, 1893.

Huneker, James G.: Iconoclasts. New York, 1905.

Kerr, Alfred: Das neue Drama. Berlin, 1905.

Klaar, Alfred: Geschichte des modernen Dramas in Umrissen.
Leipzig, 1883.

Koch, Herbert: tjber das Verbal tnis von Drama und Geschichte
bei Hebbel. Leipzig, 1904.

KuefEner, Louise M.: The Development of the Historic Drama.
Its Theory and Practice: A Study based chiefly on the
dramas of Elizabethan England and of Germany. Chi-
cago, 1910.

Laube, Heinrich: Ausgewahlte Werke in 10 Banden. Bd. 6,
Das norddeutsche Theater. Leipzig (no date; introduc-
tion is dated Wien, Nov., 187 1).

Lee, Jennette B.: The Ibsen Secret. New York, 1907.

Lessing, G. E.: Samtliche Schriften. Hrsg. von Karl Lach-
mann. 3. aufs neue durchgesehene und vermehrte Aufl.
besorgt durch Franz Muncker: Bd. 6, Theatralische
Bibliothek 1754-1758. Stuttgart, 1890; Bd. 8, Briefe, die
neueste Literatur betreffend. Stuttgart, 1892; Bde. 9 u.
10, Hamburgische Dramaturgic. Stuttgart, 1894.

Lessing, Otto E.: Masters in Modern German Literature.
Dresden, 191 2.

Die neue Form, ein Beitrag zum Verstandnis des deutschen

Naturalismus. Dresden, 1910.

Lewisohn, Ludwig: The Modern Drama. An Essay in Inter-
pretation. New York, 1915.

Litzmann, Berthold: Das deutsche Drama in den literarischen
Bewegungen der Gegenwart. Hamburg und Leipzig, 1894.

Ernst von Wildenbruch. Berlin, 1913.

Lorenz, Max: Die Literatur am Jahrhundertende. Stuttgart,
1900.

Lothar, Rudolph: Das deutsche Drama der Gegenwart.
Miinchen und Leipzig, 1905.

Sbudien zur Psychologic der Literatur. Breslau, 1895.

185

Lublinski, Samuel: Die Bilanz der Moderne. Berlin, 1904.

Der Ausgang der Moderne. Dresden, 1909.

Ludwig, Otto: Gesammelte Schriften. Bd. 5, Studien. Leip-
zig, 1 89 1.
Matthews, Brander: The Development of the Drama. New

York, 1906.
French Dramatists of the Nineteenth Century. New

York, 1881.

Shakespere as a Playwright. New York, 19 13.

Moliere. His Life and his Works. New York, 1910.

Mauthner, Fritz: Von Keller zu Zola. Kritische Aufsatze.

Berlin, 1887.
Meyer, Richard M. : Der Darwinismus in Drama. Buhne und

Welt, 1908-1909.
Morley, Henry: The Journal of a London Playgoer from

1851-1866. London, 1891 ("prologue" is dated 1866).
Nicholson, Watson: The Struggle for a Free Stage in London.

Boston and New York, 1906.
Pellisier, Georges: Literary Movement in France during the

Nineteenth Century: authorized English version by

Anne Garrison Brinton, with a general introduction.

New York, 1897.
Pforten, Otto von der: Werden und Wesen des historischen

Dramas. Heidelberg, 1901.
Prolz, Robert: Geschichte des neueren Dramas. 3 Bde.

Leipzig, 1880-1883.
Das herzoglich Meiningen'sche Hoftheater. Seine Ent-

wicklung. Leipzig, 1887.
Riemann, Robert: Das neunzehnte Jahrhundert der deutschen

Literatur. 2. Aufl. 1912 (no place).
Rohr, Julius: Wildenbruch als Dramatiker. Kritische Unter-

suchungen. Berlin, 1908.
Gerhart Hauptmanns dramatisches SchafiEen. Eine Studie.

Dresden, 1912.
Schiemann, Paul: Auf dem Wege zum neuen Drama. Ein

literar-historischer Versuch. Reval, 191 2.
Schlag, Hermann: Das Drama. Wesen, Theorie und Technik

des Dramas. Essen, 1909.

186

Schlegel, August W. : Vorlesungen uber dramatische Kunst und

Literatur. I. 3. Ausgabe, besorgt von Eduard Bocking.

Leipzig, 1846.
Schlenther, Paul: Gerhart Hauptmann. Sein Lebensgang und

seine Dichtung. 3. Aufl. Berlin, 1898.
Schmidt, Julian: Bilder aus dem geistigen Leben unserer Zeit.

Leipzig, 1 870-1 873.
Charakterbilder aus der zeitgenossischen Literatur. Leip-
zig, 1875-
Soergel, Albert: Dichtung und Dichter der Zeit. 19 11 (no

place).
Spingarn, J. E.: The Origins of Modern Criticism. Modern

Philology, Apr., 1904.
The New Criticism: a Lecture Delivered at Columbia

University, March 9, 1910. New York, 191 1.
Statistischer RuckbUck auf die Koniglichen Theater zu Berlin,

Hannover, Cassel und Wiesbaden 1867-1881; 1882-1889.

Berlin (Druck von A. W. Hayns Erben).
Steiger, Edgar: Das Werden des neueren Dramas. Berlin, 1899.
Der Kampf um die neue Richtung. Kritische Beitrage

zur Geschichte der zeitgenossischen deutschen Literatur.

2. Aufl. Leipzig (introduction dated 1889).
Stern, Adolf: Zur Literatur der Gegenwart. Leipzig, 1880.
Studien zur Literatur der Gegenwart. 3. vermehrte und

neu bearbeitete Aufl. Dresden und Leipzig, 1905.
Sternberg, Kurt: Gerhart Hauptmann. Der Entwicklungs-

gang seiner Dichtungen. Berlin, 1910.
Theatergeschichtliche Forschungen. Hrsg. von Berthold Litz-

mann. Bd. 6, Gesammelte Aufsatze zur Buhnengeschichte.

Hamburg und Leipzig, 1893.
Thomas, Calvin : The Life and Works of Schiller. New York,

1902.

A History of German Literature. New York, 1909.

Tieck, Ludwig: Deutsches Theater. 2 Bde. Berlin, 1817.
Dramaturgische Blatter. Zum erstenmale voUstandig

gesammelt. Leipzig, 1848.
Volkelt, Johannes: Asthetik des Tragischen. Miinchen, 1897.

187

Weitbrecht, Carl: Das deutsche Drama. Grundzuge seiner

Asthetik. Berlin, 1900.
Werder, Carl: Vorlesungen uber Shakespeares Hamlet Berlin

1875.
Wildenbruch, Ernst von : Das deutsche Drama. Seine Entwick-

lung und sein gegenwartiger Stand. Leipzig, 1906.
Witkowski, Georg: Das deutsche Drama des neunzehnten

Jahrhunderts in seiner Entwicklung dargestellt. Leipzig,

1910.

Aristoteles und Shakespeare in Lessings Hamburgischer

Dramaturgic. Euphorion, Bd. 2, 1895.

Woodbridge, Elizabeth: The Drama. Its Law and Technique.
Boston, 1898.

Worsfold, W. B.: Principles of Criticism. London, 1897.

Zabel, Eugen: Zur modernen Dramaturgic. Studien und
Kritiken (iber das auslandische Theater. 3. Aufl. Olden-
burg und Leipzig, 1905.

Zola, fimile: Le naturalisme au theatre. Troisieme edition.
Paris, 1881.

The plays read for an estimate of Fontanels criticism are listed in
the Index under the following names: Auerbach, von Bauern-
feld. Beer, Benedix, Birch-Pfeiffer, Bjornson, Brachvogel,
Byron, Calderon, Dumas, Eckstein, Erckmann-Chatrian,
Fitger, Freytag, Geibel, Gensichen, Goethe, von Gottschall,
Grillparzer, Gutzkow, Halm, Hauptmann, Hebbel, Heyse,
von Hillern, Holz und Schlaf, Ibsen, Iffland, von Kleist,
Koberstein, Kotzebue, Kruse, Laube, Lessing, Lindau,
Lindner, Ludwig, Massinger, Moliere, von Mosenthal, von
Moser, Philippi, Raimund, Schiller, Scribe, Shakespere,
Sophocles, Spielhagen, Sudermann, Tolstoi, Voss, Wichert,
Wilbrandt, von Wildenbruch.

[Koberstein's " Um Nancy " and Gensichen's " Euphrosjme " I could not
obtain; likewise the one play each by Birch-Pfeiffer and von Hillern to
which reference is made, " Auf dem Oberhof " and " Die Geierwally," re-
spectively; the last two I have read in the narrative form upon which the
plays are based.]

188

The Following Special EdiHons Were Used:

Bjornson, Bjornstjerne: Svava. Schauspiel in 4 Akten. Fiir
die deutsche Biihne bearbeitet von Emil Jonas. Berlin,
1888.

A Gauntlet (Norwegian Drama En Hanske, translated

into English by Osman Edwards). London, 1894 (The
Introduction to this translation contains variant readings
from the first version of 1883 and the second version of
1887).

Schiller : Kabale und Liebe. Edited by Wm. Addison Hervey.
New York, 1912.

Shakespere: Die weisse Rose. 2. Halfte des Historiencyclus
von Shakespere, fiir die deutsche Biihne frei bearbeitet.
Franz Dingelstedts sammtliche Werke. Bd. 12, Berlin,
1877.

Ein Wintermarchen. Schauspiel in 4 Aufziigen von

Shakespeare, fur die deutsche Biihne neu Ubersetzt und
bearbeitet von Franz Dingelstedt. Berlin, 1859.

W. Shakespeares dramatische Werke, iibersetzt von

August Wilhelm von Schlegel und Ludwig Tieck. Im
Auftrag der deutschen Shakespeare Gesellschaft herausge-
geben und mit Einleitungen versehen von Wilhelm
Oechelhauser. 3. Aufl. Stuttgart, Leipzig, Berlin, Wien
(no date).

Variorum Shakespeare. Edited by Horace H. Furness. London
and Philadelphia. (Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III,
King Lear.)

INDEX

Many geographical names and some others, especially those mentioned
in quotations from Fontane without significance, are excluded from this index.
Reference to a literary work indicates either mention of the title or treatment
of some phase of the work. "Q" indicates treatment or mention in a quota-
tion from Fontane either with or without reference on the same page to the
main text; such reference to excerpts is omitted usually under the index head,
Theodor Fontane. The arrangement of subheads is alphabetical except
under Theodor Fontane. The titles of works by authors treated in the text
are entered only under the names of the respective authors.]

Academy of Art, The Royal (or
Akademie der Kiinste), 13, i8, 19,

33. 170.
Alberti, Conrad. Cf. Sittenfeld.
Alexis, WiUibald, 2 n.q.
AUgemeiner Vereinfiir deutsche Liter a-

tur, 36 f.
Anzengruber, Ludwig, 47 q.
Aristotle, 36, 161.
Arnim, Achim v., 2 n.q.
Die Kronenwiickter, 2 n.q.
Von Volksliedern, 2 n.q.
A Sentimental Journey, 2 n.q.
Auerbach, Berthold.

Das erlosende Wort, 106.
Austro-Prussian War, book on the, by
Fontane, 3. Cf. Fontane, Der
deutsche Krieg iion 1866.

Bauernfeld, Eduard v., 14 n., 60 n.

Der kategorische Imperativ.

Die Bekenntnisse.
Beck, Casar, as Karl Moor, 152.
Beer, Michael.

Struensee, 17 q., 129.
Belle-Alliance Theater, Berlin, 47 n.

Benedix, Roderich, 14 n., 58, 60 n.,
62/., 6sq., 70, 133, 135.
Der Storenfried, 67, 68 q.
Gegeniiber, 66 q. and n., 67 q.

Berlin, criticism, 43; Fontane's feel-
ing for it or his interests there,
S, II, 2S q., 38 q-, 41. SO, 68 n.q.,
69, 131, 147, 151; French actors
in Berlin, 76; stage, cf. The
Royal Stage, Residenz Theater,
and Deutsches Theater; the Uni-
versity, cf. Fontane.

Berliner Fremdenblatt, 28 q.

Berliner TageUatt (or Tageblatt), 28 q.,
29 q.

Berndal, Gustav, 17, 98.

Beutner, Dr. (editor of the Kreuz-
zeitung), 18 n., 19 n.q.

Birch-Pfeiffer, Charlotte, 14 n., 60 n.,
61.
Auf dem Oberhof, 20, 106 n.

Bismarck, 28 q.

Bjornson, Bjornstjerne,
A Gauntlet, 34, i44 and n., 14S and
n., 146-

Bleibtreu, Karl, 47, S°-

190

Blomberg, Hugo v., 23 n.q.

Blumenthal, Oscar, 29 q. and n., 46.

Brachvogel, Albert E., 20 n.q.
Narziss, 14 n., 52, 58 n., 60, 95.

Brahm, Otto, 3, 16 n., 17 q., 28 q.,
36, 37 n., 43-48, 50-52, 69, 124,
141 n., 156.

Brandenburg Traveler. Cf. Fontane,
Wanderungen.

Bruckmann, Friedrich, 34.

Bunsen, C. R. v. (Prussian ambassa-
dor to England), 37.

Burger, Gottfried A., 132 q., 148.

Burger, Hugo (pseudonym), 28 q.
Cf. Lubliner.

Byron.
Manfred, 14 n., 92.

Calderon, 14 n.

Life a Dream, 27, 123 and n., 130 n.
Cambridge, 5,37.
Chevy-Chase, 148. Cf. also Fontane,

poems.
Conrad (actor), as v. Kalb, 99.
Conrad, Paula, 25 q.

Danish War, book on the, by Fontane,
3. Cf. Fontane, Der Schleswig-
Holsteinische Krieg im Jahre
1864; peasant-kingdom, 119.

Decker, Rudolf v. (publisher), 12 n.

Dehnicke (actor), as v. Kalb, 99.

Der Tunnel Uber der Spree, friends of
Fontane in the Tunnel, 40;
Fontane's contributions to the
programs, 24 n., 29, 30, 32 n.

Deutsche Rundschau, 148 n.

Deutsches Kunstblatt, 7 n.q.

Deutsches Theater, 17 q., 47 n., 52,

93-
Devrient, Eduard, 31.
Devrient, Emil, as Richard II, 90.
Diamond Necklace, 48 n.
Die Zeit, 3, 151.
Dingelstedt, Franz, 75 and n., 76

and n., 77 and n., 78 q. and n.

Dor£, Gustav, 67 q.

Doring, Theodor, 61 n., 94, 115 n.

(as Falstaff).
Douglas, Archibald, 147 q.
Dresden, 45.
Dresdner Zeiiung, 18.
Dumas, Alexandre, p6re, 67 q.
Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle, 90.

Eckstein, Ernst.
Ein Pessimist, 117.

Eggers, Friedrich, 7 n.

Eggers, Karl, 28 q.

Ellora, 23 n.q., 24 n.q.

Engel, Eduard, 108.

England, or English (miscellaneous),
37, 68 n.q.; correspondence of
Fontane, 3, 6, 31 n.q., 109, cf.
also London, letters on the stage,
and Fontane, Die Londoner Thea-
ter; life of Fontane in London, 5,
II and n., 18 q., 24; presentation
of Shakspere (general) , 8, 10, 1 1 q. ,
81, 85, cf. also Shakspere, the va-
rious plays.

Erckmann-Chatrian.
Die Rantzau, 14 n., 114, 133, 159 n.

Erhardt, Luise, 50 q.

Ernst, Otto. Cf. Schmidt. '

European, 155.

Ferrand, 23 n.q.

Fitger, Arthur.

Von Gotles Gnaden, 124 n.

Fontane, Emilie Labry, mother of
Theodor Fontane, 9 q., 18.

Fontane, Emilie Rouanet-Kummer,
wife of Theodor Fontane, i and
n., 3, sn., 6n., 7 n., 9 and n.,
10 and n., 11 and n., 17, 19,
20 n., 22, 23 n., 24 n., 25, 29 q.,
30 n., 31 n., 33, 37 and n., 55,
68 n., 69 and n., 151.

Fontane, Friedrich, son of Theodor
Fontane, 12 n.

Fontane, Martha (or Mete), 104 n., 126

191

Fontane, Theodor.
His Life: his training as an apoth-
ecary, lo; desire for further
cultural study, 27, 36; need of
earning a livelihood, i, 32;
independent literary life, 8, 39;
• marriage, 4; illnesses, 13 n.,
14 n.; educational value of life
in England, 11, cf. England;
experience in France, 12 and
n.q., i3n.q., cf. French; hope
of secretaryship under King
Maximilian of Bavaria, 41; cele-
bration of his seventieth birth-
^Vt 37 J-; degree from the Uni-
versity of Berlin, 38 and n., 39 n.
Personality and Tastes: tem-
perament, I f., 9 and n., 18,
20 f., 23 f., 3i, 38, 49 f., S2,
S6, 117, 150, issq., 157 and
n., 158; feeling for the French
Colony, 69; loyalty to Germany,
56, 64-66, 68 f., 161; regard for
novelty and individuality, 39,
59, 109; interest in art, 8 n.,
49 f.; interest in people, 23-25,

154-
As Literary Man and Critic:
his unique place among literary
men of his time, 3, 20, 31, 35,
47; attitude toward the aca-
demic, 10, 36-38, 48; early
preference for verse, 8f.; early
attitude toward journalistic work,
1,10; fondness for history, 26 f.,
42, 45, 80-83, 94, 126; his feeling
for the drama, 29-32; his feeling
for the stage, 19, 73-75; the
educational value of stage criti-
cism to him, 33 f., 160; scope of
his dramatic criticism, 3f.; his
own attitude toward his letters
on the London theaters, 7 f., 11;
his attitude toward his reports
on the Royal Stage, 12 n., 17-
21, 25, 27, 34; his evaluation of

his own ability, 9 f., 38, 46, 49-
52; his attitude toward adverse
criticism, 38, 41; his magnanim-
ity, 40-42, 44, 46 f., 52 f., 59 f.,
67. 71 f., 157 f-; his severity,
56-58, 62, 70, 71; his belief in
the vitality of art, 39, 56, 103;
his insistence on realism, 62 f.,
67, 71 f., 90, 100, 103, 106, 109,
136, 140 f., 146, 156, 161; his
insistence upon truth, 10, 43,
45, S3 i; 56-58, 64, 72, 79, 83,
85, 93-95, 98, 100 f., 113, 129,
14s, 15°, 154, 156; Ws insistence
upon the esthetic appeal, 78-80,
82 f.^ 86-89, 93, 98 f-, loi, 104,
iiof., 118, 133 f., 138, 143,
146-149; his faith in the ro-
mantic, 147 q.-i4g, 162; his
attitude toward the ideal in
dramatic art, 73, 96 f., 99, loi,
118, 140, 144 f., 146 f., 161-163.
His Works (excluding excerpts
from diary, letters and criti-
cisms) :

Argo (edited), 31 n.q.
Autobiographic.

Meine Kinderjahre, 24.

Von Zwanaig bis Dreissig, 24.
Collected f euilletons or criticisms.

Aus England, 8 n., 75 n., 103 q.

Die Londoner Theater (or L.T.),
3, 8, 10 n., 66, 79, 86-89, 93.
94 n., 96. Cf. also England,
correspondence of Fontane,
and London, stage.

Kritische Causerien titer Thea-
ter, 54 f. Cf. also Travels.

Deutsches Dichter - Album
(edited), 31 n.q.
Fragmentary.

Cromwell, 29, 30.

Karl Stuart, 29, 30, 33 n.
Cf . also Translations.
Novels.

Cecile, 59 n.

192

Fontane — His works — contintted.
Der StecUin, sg n.
Die Poggenpuhh, 148 and n.
Effi Briest, 59 n., 148 and n.
Irrungen, Wirrungen, 2g q., 46,

Vor dem Sturm, 3 n., 13 n., 26,

sgn.

Poems and ballads, 30 n,, 32,
130 n. Cf. translations.

* Chevy-Chase, 32 n.
Cromwells letzte Nacht, 30.

* Das Douglas Trauerspiel,
32 n.

Der letzte York, 32.

Der Tag von Hemmingstedt,

24 n., 31.
Gorm Grymme, 24 n.

* Jung Musgrave and Lady
Barnard (Fontane's version
of John Musgrave and Lady

Barnard), 32 n.

* Lord Aihol, 24 n., 32 n.
Marie Duchatel, 32 n.
Puritaner Predigt, 30.

* SchSn Margret und Lord Wil-

liam, 32 n.

Von der schonen Rosamunde
(ballad-cycle), 29.
Separate contributions to news-
papers.

Preussen. Ein Militiar- oder
Polizeistaat, 18 q.
Translations.

A Midsummer Night's Dream,
26 n. (unfinished).

English and Scotch ballads,
29 n. (The poems marked
* above are listed in W, 2,1
under Lieder und Balladen
frei nach dem Englischen.)

Hamlet, 26 n. (unfinished).
Travels.

Wanderungen, 3, 25, 26 n.q.
(Rohr-Kapitel), 43, 59, 68,
69 n.q., 130 n.

War books.
Der deutsche Krieg von 1866, 3,
12 n.q. Cf. Austro-Prussian
War.
Der Krieg gegen Frankreich, g q.
D^ Schleswig - Holsteinische
Krieg im Jahre 1864, 3. Cf.
Danish War.
Forster (regisseur), Deutsches Theater,

93 q-
France (or Frankreich), 26 n.q.,

68 n.q. Cf. French.
Frankfurt a. O., 26 n.q.

Free Stage, 4, 16 q., 34, 126 n., 145 n.,

149.
French, actors in Berlin, a, $2, 67 n.,

69 q.; ancestry of Fontane, 68,
69, 147; Causeries, 117; comedy,
6s, 67 f., 70; dramatic form,
128, 140; imitation of French
by Wildenbruch, 29 n.; lexicon,
31 n.q.; society play, 61; trans-
lations from the French, 16;
writers of modern plays, 104 f.,
133; unity, 162.

Frenzel, Karl, 17 n., 28 q., 29 q. and

n-, 45 n., 47-
Freytag, Gustav, 14 n., 132.

Die Journalisten.

Die Valentine.

Graf Waldemar.
Frieb, Minona (actress), 61 n.
Friedlander, Georg, 21, 22, 38, 139 n.
Fritsch, K. E. O., Professor, 121.

Gainsborough, 8 n.

Gallic, humor, 69; spirit, 108.

Geibel, Emanuel, 14 n.

Brunhild, 132.
Gente, Rudolf, 77.
Gensichen, Otto F^, 15 n.

Die Marchentante, in.

Euphrosyne, 88.
German, actors, 66, 92, 99 n.; art-
world, 105, 159 n.; attitude
toward Shakspere, 19, 75; bal-

193

lads, 130 n.; comedy, 61, 68,
6q, 120; criticism, 43, 56, 160;
dramaturgy, 14 and n., 15 and
n., 16, 20, 56, 59, 61, 74, 80 f.,
88, 93, loo, loi q., 150; natural-
ism, 123 f., 127, 142; presenta-
tion of Shakspere, 8, 13 n., i6,
26 n.q., 72; triumph at Vionville,
12; tjT)es, 60, 152; writers of
modem plays, 63-67, 70, 104,
106, 113.
Ghirlandajo, 23 n.q.
Girndt, Otto, 62, 65 q.
Goethe, 15 n., 16, 41, 61, 65 q., 74,
137, 159-
Clavigo, 97 f.
Egmont, 42, 83, 88 (Freudvoll und

leidvoll).
Faust, 31 n.q.
Goiz von Berlichingen, 91 (Adelheid),

129, 143.
Iphigenie, soq., 140, 142.
Palaeophron und Neoterpe, 73 q.
Poems, 31 n.q., 148 {Erlkmig).
Schiller-Goethe Briefwechsel, 2 n.q.
Tasso, 140.
Gossler, Gustav v., Prussian Minister,

46.
Gottschall, Rudolf v., 15 n.
Katharina Howard, 129.
Pitt und Fox, 60.
Greek conception of retribution, 140 ff .
Grillparzer, Franz, 15 n., 16, 41, 61,

74, 135-
Der Traum ein Leben, 27, 58, 80,

95, 123, 13° and n., 148 q.
Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen,
SO, 95, 122, 131 f. (Hero and
Leander story), 132 q., 136, 140.
Medea, 27.
Grimm Hermann, 38 q.
Gubitz, theater critic for the Vossische

Zeitung, 1 2 n.q.
Gutzkow, Karl, 15 n.

Ein weisses Blatt, 29 n., 113,
138.

Uriel Acosta, 49, 52 f., 60, 94, 95,
124 n., 13s, 142 n., 143, 155.

Hahn (Geheimrat), 12 n.q.
Halm, Friedrich.

Der Fechter von Ravenna, 118.
Hamburg, 45.

Hart, Heinrich and Julius, 147 n.
Harz, 2 n.q.

Hauptmann, Gerhart, 3, 34, 30-52,
55, 155 n.
Das Friedensfest, 119, 141, 148 n.
Die versunkene Glocke, 134.
Die Weber, 123 f.

Vor Sonnenaufgang, 46, 54, 119,
124-127, 131, 133, 144, 147, IS7 q.
Hebbel, Friedrich, 15 n., 16, 135.
Herodes und Mariamne, 74, 119,
124 n., 133, 138, 152.
Heine, Heinrich, 31 n.q.
Hertz, Hans, 147 n.q.
Hertz, Wilhelm, 2, 27, 43, 57.
Heyden, August v., 13 n.q., 14 n.q.,

19 n.q., 25, 28 q.
Heyse, Paul, 15 n., 31 n.q. (Fremd-
worterbuch), 41-43, 44 q. and n.
Colberg, 16 n., 140.
Das Recht des Stdrkeren, 40.
Die Briider, 31 n.q.
Die Weiber von Schorndorf, 57.
Die Weisheit Salomos, 42, 50, 95 f.,
129, 130 n.q., 131, 138, IS7, 159 n-
Elisabeth Charlotte, 51 n., S7-
Francesca von Rimini, 30.
Giacomo Leopardi, i.
Hans Lange, 40, 41, 113 f.
Hillern, Wilhelmine von, 15 n.

Die Geierwally, 153, 154 q. and n.
Hogarth, 8 n.
Hohenzollern, 32 n.
Holz, Amo (and J. Schlaf), 3, 34, 52.
Die Familie Selicke, 124 n., 128,
147.
Hudson, friend of Fontane in Eng-
land, s q-
Hiilsen, Botho v., 45, 47 n.

194

Ibsen, 3, 34, 48, 50-52, 55, 126 f.,

^33, 137, 143 n^q-. 148, 157-
A Doll's House, 142 n., 155 (Nora)

and n., 156 q.
Ghosts, 16 q., 50 f., 124-126 and

n., 142, 144 f., 146 q., 148 n.
Little Eyolf, 141 and n.
The Lady from the Sea,i$ n.,34n.q.,

43, 45 n., 112 £., 136, 144 f., 146,

152-
The Wild Duck, 140, 145.
Icolmskill, 86 q.
I£9and, August W., 15 n.
Der Spieler, 71 q., 96 q.
Italian (or Italy), folk-theater, 107,

io8q.; Fontane in Italy, 49 f., 69.

Kahle, Marie (actress), 25 q. Cf.

Kessler.
Kahle, Richard, as Lear, 91; as Rich-
ard III, 94; as Tiefenbacher, 96;
as Questenburg, 98.
Kean, Charles (or the Keans), 75,

79-82 q., 88, 90.
Kembles, 75.
Kessler, Marie, 92.
Kette, Hermann.

Carolina, Brocchi, 63 n.
Klein, Adolf, 54.

Kleist, Heinrich v., 2 n.q., 15 n., 16,
28q., 37, 74, 107, 118.
Das Kalhchen von Heilbronn, 91.
Der zerhrochene Krug, 61, 107 n.
Die HerrnannsschlacU, 15 n., 77 q.,

118 n., 136.
Prinz Friedrich von Homburg, 17,
128 f., 131, 139.
Kletke, Hermann, Dr., 12 n.q.
Koberstein, Karl.
Konig Erich XIV, 120, 129.
Vm Nancy, $$, 137 n.
Kopisch, August v., 23 n.q.
Kotzebue, August E. v., 15 n.

Die Ungliicklichen.
Krause, Wilhehn, as lUo, 97.
Krausneck, Arthur, as Tell, 22.

Kreuzzeitung, Fontane's connection
with the paper, 7 n.q., 18, 23 n.q.,
49. Cf . Preussische Zeitung.
Krummhubel, 2 n.q., 25.
Kruse, Heinrich.
Marino Faliero, 133 n.
, Wullenwever, 118 f., 128 n.
Kugler, Franz, 24 n., 32, 166.
Kaiser Pertinax, 30, 31 n.q.
Kiissner (actress), 152.

Landseer, 8 n.
Languedoc, 69.
Larochefoucauld, 108 q. .
L'Arronge, Adolf.
Die Loreley, 45.
Laube, Heinrich, as director, 45 n.,
90, 92; as writer, 15 n., 135.
Die Karlsschiiler, 63, 93 n., 135 n.
Graf Essex, 64 and n.q., 128, 129.
Lazarus, Moritz, 28 q., 43.
Lehnbach, Marie, 83 q., 92.
Lenau, Nikolaus, 31 n.q.
Lepel, Bernhard v., 29, 30, 31 and n.q.

Herodes, 32.
Leasing, 15 n., 31 n.q., 36, 56, 74,
107, 160 f.
Emilia Galotti, 91 (Countess

Orsina).
Minna von Barnhelm, 61, 107 n.,

121.
Nathan der Weise, 42, 91, 122 n.,

124.
Philotas, 121 n., 122.
Lewes, George Henry, 38 q.
Lindau, Paul, 15 n., 43 £., 46.
Diana, 64, 143.
Grdfln Lea, 41 f., 122 n.
Johannestrieb, 105.
Maria und Magdalena, 64.
Tante Therese, 64.
Verschamte Arbeit, 64, 113 and n.,
114 n.
Lindner, Albert, 15 n.
Brutus und Collatinus, 132 f., 135
and n.

195

Literary Bureau of the Ministry of

the Interior, 4.
Literatur Blatt, 7 n., 8.
London, personal letters of Fontane
on London, 5 I-, 7 n.q., 37; the
stage, 7, 14, 23, 72, 74, 78 n.,
82, 85-90, 93, 96, 151. Cf.
Fontane, Die Londoner Theater,
and England, correspondence of
Fontane.
Longfellow, 23 n.q., 24 n.q.

Evangeline.
Lubke, Wilhelm, 23 n.q., 24 n.
Lubliner, Hugo, 41. Cf. Burger.
Aus einer Grossstadt, 63.
Die Frau ohne Geist, 63.
Gabriele, 52. S 7, 63-
Gold and Eisen, 63.
Die Modelle des Sheridan, 62.
Lucae, Richard, 13 n.
Ludwig, Maximilian, 37, 49, si> 97.

99, 100 q., 143 n.
Ludwig, Otto, 41, 52, 61.

Der Erbforster, 15 n., 97 q., 119,
141 and n.q.
Luther, 75.

MddchenschwUre, 62.

Manchester, 8 n.

Marcks, A., director of a theater in

Hanover, 89.
Marlitt, 20 n.q.
Masaccio, 23 n.q.
Massinger, Philip.

The Duke of Milan, 73, 120.
Matkowsky, Adelbert, 98, 152.
Maximilian, King of Bavaria, 41, 75 n.
Meiningen actors, 20, 47 n., 79 and n.
Menzel, Adolf, 23 n.q. 28 q., 147.
Merckel, Henriette v., 32, 139 n.
Merckel, Wilhehn v., 31 n.q., 139 n.
Metzel, L., Dr., i n.q., 6 n.q.
Meyer, Richard M., 55.
Middle Ages, 148.
Milan, 68 n.
Minding, Julius, 23 n.q.

MoliSre, 15 n., 162.

Le malade imaginaire, 107 q.

Le Tarlufe, 108 q., 109.
Moricke, Eduard, 31 n.q.
Mosenthal, Salomon v., 15 n.

Die Sirene, 53 q.
Moser, Gustav v., 15 n., 16, S9 f->
60 n., 62.

Reflexe, 53 q.
MUller (actor), as Falstaff, 22, 116 n.
Munich, 41, 45, 75 and n.,99 n., 159 n.

Naples, 49.

National ZeUung, 17 n., 29 q.
Nemesis, 141 and n.
Nordau, Max, 48 q. and n.
Norman architecture, 85, 86 q.

Oberlander, Heinrich, as Shallow, 115

n., 116 n.
Oechelhauser, Wilhelm, 76, 84, 89,

iiSn.
Oxford, s, 37.

Paris, seventeenth century, 108.

Phelps, Samuel, 85.

Philippi, FeUx.
Daniela, 71.

Philistine, 63, 135.

Pietsch, Ludwig, 17 q. and n., 22,
147 n., IS3 n.

Platen, August v., 31 n.q., 138.

Platonic, 161.

Pniower, Otto, 46.

Polish, 62.

Pomeranian ballad, 131.

Preussiscke Zeitung (or Neue Preus-
sische Zeitung), 3, 6, 18 n. Cf.
Kreuzzeitung.

Princess Theater, London, 7 n.,
78 n.q., 80.

Prussian, ambassador to England, s;
appeal of Colberg to Prussian
hearts, 140; gentry, iS7ii-; minis-
terial press, 3; political interests
in England, 6.

196

PutlitZjGustav v.,isn., 62, 6s, 67, 70.
Zwei Tassen, 59 q.

Quehl, Rhjrno, Dr., 5.

Raimund, Ferdinand, 123.

Der Verschwender, 122.
Residenztheater, Berlin, 51 q., 125 n.
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 8 n.
Richter, Jean Paul.

Katzenhergers Badereise, 2 n.q.
Richter, Ludwig, 67 q.
Ring, Max, 20 n.q.
Ristori, Adelaide, as Maria Stuart,

90, 94.
Rittershaus, Emil, 126.
Rodenberg, Julius, 2 n.q., 12 n.q., 59 n.,

148 n.

Rohr, Mathilde v., 2, 26 n.q.

Rokoko architecture, 85.

Roman, 62, 108.

Romance actors, 91.

Romantic School, 147 n.

Ruppin, 25, 26 n. q.

Riiili, a club to which Fontane be-
longed, 23 n.q., 24 n., 28 q., 31
n.q., 159 n.

Sadler's Wells Theater, London, 7 n.,

7S, 87 f., 109.
Sardou, Victorien, 105 and n.q.
Nos bans villageois, 105 n.
Nos iniimes.
Scherenberg, Christian Friedrich, 31

n.q., 39.
Scherer, Wilhelm, 47.
Schiller, 15 n., 16, 30 n.q., 52. 60 Q,-
61, 64, 68 n.q., 74 n., 130 n.q.,
140 q., 159.
Die Braut von Messina, 98, 131.
Die Jungfrau von Orleans, 17 n., 42,

91, 142, 143, 148.

Die Rauber, 79 n., 95, 143 q., 152
(Karl Moor).
Don Carlos, 48 q., 142, 143 n., 144,
i$$ (Marquis von Posa).

Kabale und Liebe, 73, 92 (Lady
Milford), 99 (von Kalb), 100 q.,
143 and n., 152 (Luise).
Maria Stuart, 42, 100, 129 (con-
ception of Queen Elizabeth).
Schiller-Goethe Briefwechsel, 2 n.q.
Verse, 140.

Wallenstein, 91, g6t., 98, 119 f.,
142, i43n., 155. Die Piccolomini,
59 n., 98, 119 n., 128, 136, 142
and n.
Wilhelm Tell, 11, 22, 99, 129 f.n.,
134, 140, 143 and n., 144 (Melch-
thal).
Schlaf, Johannes. Cf. Holz, Arno.
Schlegel, August Wilhelm v., 22 n.,

149, 161 f.
Schlenther, Paul, Dr., 3, 17 n., 21 n.,
29, 32 n., 33 n., 35 f., 45 f., 48-
50, 51 n., 52 f., 104 n., 123 f.,
125, 130 n., 142, 156.
Schmidt, Erich, 3 n., 38, 39 n.
Schmidt, Julian, 136 n.
Schmidt, Otto Ernst, 55, 59 n.
Schopenhauer, 2 n.q.
Schreyer, Hermann.

Nausikaa, 50.
Schultze, Ernst, 24 n.q.
Scott, Walter, 3.
Scribe, Euggne, 15 n., 67 q., 133.
Bataille de dames, 66 q., 70, 105,

144, 155-
Les contes de la reine de Navarre, 70.
Les doigts defie, 53, 70, in, 113 n.,

155 q. and n.
Le verre d'eau, 70.
Shakspere, 6, 7 and n.q., 31 n.q., 32,

48 q. and n., 63, 94, 118, 128,

13S) i37> 162. Cf. also England,

Germany, and Fontane, Die

Londoner Theater.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, 26 n.,

79, 87.
Antony and Cleopatra, 7 n., 19,

26, 34, 78 n.
As you Like it, 26 n., no.

197

Coriolanus, 7 n., 75.

Hamlet, 7 n.q., 11 q., 26 n., 75,

87 q., 88 q., 91, 96, 118.
Henry IV, 711., 22, 26, 79, 87,

IIS, and n., 116 and n., 121.
Henry V., 99, 115 and n., 116, 128.
Henry VI, 23, 27, 76!., 91, 131

(Jack Cade).
Henry VIII, 7 n.q., 79, 80, 82 q.
Julius Caesar, 83.
King John, 66, 80, 90.
King Lear, 90, 95 q., 97, 118.
Macbeth, 7 n., 84 q., 83 q., 86 q.,

87-89, 118, 123.
Othello, II q., 96.
Richard II, 80, 90.
Richard III, 7 n.q., 23, 81, 89 f.
Romeo and Juliet, 26, 75.
The Comedy of Errors, 7 n., 109.
The Merchant of Venice, no.
The Merry Wives of Windsor, 7 n.,

74-
The Tempest, 7 n.q., 11 q., 75.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 7 n.,

74 f.
The Winter's Tale, 78, 86, 88,

130 n., 131 (Autolycus).
Twelfth Night, 26, 73 f., 88, 98 n.

(Viola), no.
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 107.
Siddons, Sarah, 94.
Sittenfeld Conrad Alberti, 46, 47 n.q.,

SO-
Soho Theater, London, 7 n., 23 and

n.q.
Sophocles. 141.
Antigone, 26.

Oedipus Coloneus, 26, 140.
Oedipus Rex, 25, 26 n.q., 131 f,,
139 fif., 142.
Spielhagen, Friedrich, 15 n., 142 n.

Liebefiir Liebe, 29 n., iig.

Stage, The Royal (or The Royal

Theater), Berlin, condition of

the stage, 20, 45 f., 47 n., 7c,

73 f., 79 and n., 81 q., 82 q.,

8s q., 88 q., 89, 90 f., 105, iso;
repertoire, 14 n., 15 n., 16, 27,
60 n.; reports of Fontane on the
stage, 3, II, 12 and n.q., 13 and
n-q.; 33 n., 5°, S3, S&, 60, 151.

Stephany, Friedrich, 21 n., 126 f.,
137 n., 149, iss n., IS7-

Stolberg, Leopoldine, 64 n.

Storm-and-Stress, 142.

Storm, Theodor, 9 n., 27, 31 n.q.

Strachwitz, Moritz Graf.
Das Herz von Douglas, 148.

Stuart, Mary, 86 q., 90, 147 q.

Sudermann, Hermann, 104 n.q.
Fritzchen, 104.

Tadema, Alma, 1S3.
Thale, 2 n.q.
Theater. Cf. Stage.
Thiiringen, 2 n.q.
Tieck, Ludwig, 36, 162.
Tolstoi, 148.

The Power of Darkness, 139, 147.
Topfer, Carl, is n.
Tristram Shandy, 2 n.q.
Turgenef, Ivan, 147 f.

Natalie, 1$ n.
Turner (artist), 8 n.

Ulrich, Christian, 97.

Versailles, s8 q., 108.
Vienna, 4s, 48.
Vionville, 12.

'Voss, Richard, is n., iS9 n.
Brigitta, 16 q., 148 n.
Der Mohr des Zoren, 158 and n.
Vossische Zeitung, 3, 10 q., 12 n., 34,
125 n. (Vossin), 152.

Wegmann, Carl, 29 n., 32 n.
Weimar, 38, s8 q., 99 and n. (School

of Actors).
Weiss, Guido, 156.
Wereschtschagin, Wassili, 43.
West, Benjamin, 8 n.

198

Wichert, Ernst, is n.
Der Freund des Fiirsten, 71, 122.
Die Realisten, 39 q., 70.
Ein Schriit vom Wege, 70, 147 n.
Wilbrandt, Adolf, 15 n., 62, 133.
Der Graf von Hammerstein, 64 n.
Die Maler, 64, 1 10.
Jugendliebe, 65 q., 114.
Kriemhild, 64 n.q.
Translation of Oedipus Rex, 131 n.
WUdenbruch, Ernst von, 15 n., 28,

29 n., 71.
Christoph Marlowe, 97, 138.
Der Fiirsi von Verona, 121.
Die Karolinger, 97 n., 106 n., 130 n.,

138.
Die Quitzows, 34 and n.q., 72 q.,

130 and n., 131, 136 f.
Harold, 28 q., 97 n., 120, 133,

134 n., 154.
Opfer urn Opfer, 28 q., 29 q.

Wilkie, David, 8 n.

Wilmowski (Geheimrat v.), 12 n.q.

Witte, Friedrich, 4, 32.

Wolff, Julius.

Tannhduser, 28 q.
Wolfsohn, Wilhelm, 4 f., 10, 13 n.,
18, 29, 30.

Herr von tausend Seelen, 31.

Nur eine Seele, 31 n.
Wolsey, the dramatic element in his

story, 81.
Wolzogen, Ernst von, 148 n.
Wunzer (actor), 57 q.

Ziegler, Clara, 40.
Zola, £mile, 148.
ZoUner, Emilie, 147 n.
ZoUner, Karl, 13 n., 28 q., 49 f.

VITA

Bertha Eleanor Trebeest, daughter of Frederick Chris-
tian and Joan Trebein, was born at Trebein's, Greene County,
Ohio, October 6, 1874. After training in the public schools
of Ohio she was graduated from Dana Hall School, Wellesley,
Mass., in 1893, and received the degree of A.B. from Wellesley
College in 1897. She was an assistant in English Composi-
tion and Literature and in elementary German in Ursinus
College, with work in English also in Ursinus Academy, 1898-
1900. After the death of her father in June, 1900, she devoted
herself temporarily to business interests. From September,
1904, to April, 1906, she was a student in Germanic Literature
and Philology at the University of Berlin. She received the
degree of A.M. in German on examination at Wellesley College,
June, 1906, submitting a Master's essay on "Schillers Auff as-
sung des Tragischen mit Bezugnahme auf seine Dramen." After
a year of resident study in the Department of Germanic Lan-
guages and Literatures of Columbia University she acted as
Professor of German at Agnes Scott College, 1907-1912.
After absence from this position for resident study at
Columbia University, 1912-1913, and for research work in
Germany, October, 1913-July, 1914, she resumed this position,
which she still holds.