Summary Of Effi Briest

2707 Words6 Pages

Q: Analyse the character of Effi Briest in Fontane’s novel and critically comment on her fate as part of Fontane’s concerns regarding the cultural legitimacy of the Junker class to lead German society in the final years of the 19th century, but also to what extent Effi is to blame for her own misfortunes.

Effi Briest, a realist novel written by Theodore Fontane and published in 1896. This novel forms a story around a female character’s point of view of a socially arranged marriage to a man 21 years her senior, resulting in a story of adultery and ultimately tragedy. This essay aims to analyse the character of Effi Briest, with critical commentary on her tragic fate as part of Fontane’s concerns with regard to the cultural legitimacy of the Junker class to lead the German society in the final years of the 19th century. The essay will go on further to make comment on the extent that Effi is to blame for her own misfortunes in the novel.

Effi Briest, when we meet her in the novel is a 17-year-old girl, who can be considered a carefree, and happy child. Her adolescence is revealed early in the novel, when she is doing some embroidery with her mother (Luise), and appears to be restless when taking part. This image is furtherly painted by the author when the reader sees Effi playing a game of tag with her middle class friends Hulda, Hertha and Bertha, in chapter 2, when she knows she has to meet someone important later, but wants some more time to play with her friends. “…Effi was off up the nearest gravel path, dodging left and right until suddenly she was gone. ‘Effi, that doesn’t count. Where are you? We’re not playing hide and seek, we’re playing tag.’” (Chapter 2). This childishness that Effi embodies is significant, as it casts ...

... middle of paper ...

...lame, for arranging an unsuitable marriage, between two completely opposite people, only for her social and financial gain, ignoring her personality completely. Innstetten holds some accountability in the matter, as he was so unsuitable for Effi, and he did not try to relate to her emotionally or physically, leaving her feeling totally isolated. Major Von Crampas is blameable too, as he took advantage of Effi, and led a major role in her exclusion from society. Fontane means to conclude that it is not a single one of these characters that plays a role in Effi’s fall, but the society itself that influences the individual character’s thought processes that causes Effi’s misfortunes, and ultimately her death. It is possible to believe that in Fontane’s text, he leaves the interpretation for society, in the hopes that they will fix their socially guided ways.

Show More
Related

  • Firsthand Accounts of World War I

    2167 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the history of modern western civilization, there have been few incidents of war, famine, and other calamities that severely affected the modern European society. The First World War was one such incident which served as a reflection of modern European society in its industrial age, altering mankind’s perception of war into catastrophic levels of carnage and violence. As a transition to modern warfare, the experiences of the Great War were entirely new and unfamiliar. In this anomalous environment, a range of first hand accounts have emerged, detailing the events and experiences of the authors. For instance, both the works of Ernst Junger and Erich Maria Remarque emphasize the frightening and inhumane nature of war to some degree – more explicit in Jünger’s than in Remarque’s – but the sense of glorification, heroism, and nationalism in Jünger’s The Storm of Steel is absent in Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. Instead, they are replaced by psychological damage caused by the war – the internalization of loss and pain, coupled with a sense of helplessness and disconnectedness with the past and the future. As such, the accounts of Jünger and Remarque reveal the similar experiences of extreme violence and danger of World War I shared by soldiers but draw from their experiences differing ideologies and perception of war.

    Read More

  • Burgermeister's Daughter

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anna was the daughter of Hermann Buschler, a prominent citizen who had even been the burgermeister of the German town of Schwabisch Hall, within the Holy Roman Empire. When she was young, Anna had simultaneous affairs with a young local nobleman, Erasmus Schenk of Limpurg, and a cavalryman named Daniel Treutwein. Anna’s father was so upset when he discovered these affairs; he deprived her of mostly all her inheritance. Anna a scandalized woman, fought in the Hall legal system for decades, and she eventually won back some of her inheritance.

    Read More

  • Storm of Steel Reading Response Essay

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    Storm of Steel provides a memoir of the savagery and periods of beauty that Ernst Jünger’s experienced while serving the German army during the First World War. Though the account does not take a clear stand, it lacks any embedded emotional effects or horrors of the Great War that left so few soldiers who survived unaffected. Jünger is very straightforward and does remorse over any of his recollections. The darkness of the hallucinations Jünger reports to have experienced provides subtle anti-war sentiment. However, in light of the descriptive adventures he sought during the brief moments of peace, the darkness seems to be rationalized as a sacrifice any soldier would make for duty and honor in a vain attempt for his nation’s victory. The overall lack of darkness and Jünger’s nonchalance about the brutality of war is enough to conclude that the account in Storm of Steel should be interpreted as a “pro” war novel; however, it should not be interpreted as “pro” violence or death.

    Read More

  • Edith Hahn Beer

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edith dreamed of good things and participated in deep political discussions. When Edith was twenty-four and an aspiring law student with only one exam left to finish her schooling and her future looked very bright. Edith fell in love with a young and intelligent Pepi Rosenfeld. However, it would soon dim when Hitler and the Nazis took over Austria. When the Nazis came to power all hope was lost for Edith. Five years of school and the law career she had dreamed of was denied her because she was a Jew and no longer welcome. After her two younger sisters Hansi and Mimi had become Zionist, Edith and her mother had to bec...

    Read More

  • Theodor Geisel

    2517 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Geisels, though they were not wealthy, lived a comfortable life. They were of German descent, and took great pride in their heritage until th...

    Read More

  • Roles Of Women In Gothic Literature

    511 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the corner stones in gothic literature is the characterization of female characters as weak and submissive. This notion can be tracked all the way back to 1764, when Horace Walpole wrote what many assume to be the first gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto. When the sickly Conrad dies, his sister Matilda expresses her apprehension to her attendant Bianca over the increased scorn of Manfred. “No, Bianca; his heart was ever the stranger to me – but he is my father, and I must not complain,” (Pg. 37). Matilda understands what her role in the household is and accepts it, despite of Manfred’s increased scorn. Matilda, as well as the other female characters, exhibits no negative or evil traits or thoughts yet are treated with nothing but contempt. They are submissive for no real reason beside from that was how men expected women to be in the time of the novel. The purpose of this essay is to show that if the reader does not understand the feature of the

    Read More

  • Mrs Dalloway Comparison

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Schlegel’s are known for loving their art and literature, compared to the Wilcoxes who would rather speak about sport, economics, and polities. Margaret Schlegel, who is apart of the upper class, does not all her social standing to unrecognized social injustice. Margaret encounters Leonard Bast, a working man who is apart of the lower class, as Forster describes “He was not in the abyss, but he could see it, and at times people whom he knew had dropped in, and counted no more. He knew that he was poor, and would admit it: he would have died sooner than confess any inferiority to the rich” (Forster). Although his family disowns him because of his marriage to Jacky, a woman of a questionable past from the extreme lower class, Leonard “intuitively recognizes the ethics of his romantic commitment to her, as well as the perilous nature of the ‘fallen woman’ in his society 's class structure” (Womack). Margaret seeked advice from, Henry Wilcox a business man and the head of the Wilcox family about Leonard Basts employment at Porphyrion Fire Insurance Company, because Henry believes that the lower classes should be kept at a discreet distance, a maneuver that he accomplishes himself through the art of gratuity, he had little to no interest in Leonards employment. Although Henry information about Leonards employment was misleading he does nothing to help; “A word of advice. Don 't take that sentimental

    Read More

  • The Use Of War In Voltaire's Candide

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    With exaggeration, authors craft their writing to have an even greater, more impactful effect on their audiences. This enhanced effect found in Candide serves the purpose of highlighting how humans adopt a type of absolute viciousness and inhumanity in times of war. One example is the instance where Candide - a member of the Bulgar army, at the time - must choose between being “flogged” by the entirety of the military command, or to endure “twelve bullets in his brain” (24). Here, Candide is given a nonsensical, almost ludicrous, ultimatum. Voltaire offers an embellished example that serves to demonstrate the barbaric military practices that come with war. Being a recurring aspect of war, Candide is, essentially, forced to choose between death and death. In fact, along with exaggeration, Voltaire satirizes war even further as the choice of whether it be a gradual or speedy demise is Candide’s own luxury. Voltaire does not just simply antagonize the ramifications of war, but rather, he ridicules all facets of war. Another example within Candide is when the Old Woman reveals the story of her own life as proof of the grim hardship that she too has experienced. In the midst of another battle, “one buttock” was cut off of the live bodies of every woman present in the interest of feeding the starving soldiers (56).

    Read More

  • The Bildungsroman and the Big Screen

    2414 Words  | 5 Pages

    Labovitz, Esther Kleinbord. The Myth of the Heroine: the Female Bildungsroman in the Twentieth Century. 2nd ed.

    Read More

  • Illusion versus Reality in Miss Brill

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nly a secondary symbol, it assists in enriching our understanding of Miss Brill's peculiarities while pointing out primary symbols, like her own fur necklet. How Mansfield employs the "ermine toque" to foretell the plot of the larger story demonstrates a difference between those who interact and constructively deal with conflict and those who run away, refusing to accept the realities of life. Miss Brill, who does not interact with life, chooses to interact with her fur which, though genuine, is not alive. Instead, she chooses an imitation for her own life by "sitting in other people's lives" (440) which, though reality, cannot remain her reality.

    Read More

  • Edie Bardot Research Paper

    1309 Words  | 3 Pages

    London, was one of the biggest areas of fashion influence in the sixties. Even the salons in Paris were in thrall of London (p.11 Reed, Paula). The film La Dolce Vita was one of the most stylish films of all time, and greatly inspired the sack dress (Schell, Lauren). Lackie Kennedy wore prim skirt suits, pill box hat, and super sized dark sunglasses. Audrey Hepburn made the top handle bag very popular through the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. She also influenced the fashion community by making capri pants and ballet pumps very popular (Watt, Alice). As a model for Vogue, Jean Shrimpton popularized the mini skirt (Jean Shrimpton Biography). Brigitte Bardot made messy piled-high-up-do’s the hairstyle of choice. Edie Sedgwick was the original “it” girl. Her go to outfit was a mini mod dress with sheer black tights and cropped platinum

    Read More

  • Persuasion, by Jane Austen

    1909 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion emanates the social and political upheaval caused by the war and depicts the transition into nineteenth century realism where class and wealth was considered extremely important in the social hierarchy. She explores the reactions to the newly diverse interactions between different social classes and although she was “no snob, she knew all about snobbery.” Therefore, she is able to realistically portray the views of upper class characters such as Sir Walter Elliot and contrast them to men who have earned their wealth, such as Captain Wentworth. Whilst Britain was involved with the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in the early nineteenth century, the navy had a profound involvement therefore this is not only reflected in Austen’s real life, but also in her novels. This alters the narrative in the novel as a whole as Austen depicts how wealth and being upper class is no longer limited to hereditory but can also be earned through professions such as being in the navy. As a result, the contrasts between the opinions and actions of the men who work for their wealth and the men who merely receive it from their family are profound.

    Read More

  • Mademoiselle De Scoudéri Gender

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Mademoiselle de Scudéri,” written by E. T. A. Hoffman, is the first German language detective story ever written. Inspired by the story of La Voisin, an old woman involved with the art of making poisons and poisoning members of society, this novel intertwines aspects of history and fiction, creating an entertaining short story that feeds off the fear of citizens who are knowledgeable about La Voisin and her poisonous crimes. Within this novel, Hoffman portrays a variety of characters, all of which can be separated into two distinct groups in regards to the perception of societal classes: male characters and female characters. Each group perceives the different societal classes in their own way, creating clear distinctions between the two groups.

    Read More

  • A Summary Of Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    7713 Words  | 16 Pages

    In America, the 1890s were a decade of tension and social change. A central theme in Kate Chopin’s fiction was the independence of women. In Louisiana, most women were their husband’s property. The codes of Napoleon were still governing the matrimonial contract. Since Louisiana was a Catholic state, divorce was rare and scandalous. In any case, Edna Pontellier of Chopin had no legal rights for divorce, even though Léonce undoubtedly did. When Chopin gave life to a hero that tested freedom’s limits, she touched a nerve of the politic body. However, not Edna’s love, nor her artistic inner world, sex, or friendship can reconcile her personal growth, her creativity, her own sense of self and her expectations. It is a very particular academic fashion that has had Edna transformed into some sort of a feminist heroine. If she could have seen that her awakening in fact was a passion for Edna herself, then perhaps her suicide would have been avoided. Everyone was forced to observe, including the cynics that only because a young

    Read More

  • Scientific Materialism In Thomas Hardy's Tess Of The D Urbervilles

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Her sexual morality and personal actions are secondary to Kettle’s interest in the larger historical and economic processes at work in late nineteenth century. For Kettle Hardy novel has:

    Read More

More about Summary Of Effi Briest

Open Document