Mythological forms in Conrad Ferdinand Meyer's "Die Richterin"

MYTHOLOGICAL FORMS IN CONRAD FERDINAND MEYER’S “DIE RICHTERIN” Gábor Kis PhD Student University of Debrecen, Faculty of Arts [email protected] Die Richterin (1885) is one of the latest novellas of Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. Within German literature of the later nineteeth century the Swiss writer occupies a distinguished place even though his work, written between 1870 and 1891, is limited size. He is best known for his historical novellas in which he conjures up figures of the great European past from the Middle Ages to the seventeenth century. Meyer is said to have raised the historical novella to new artistic heights. Meyer sets Die Richterin in Graubünden at the time Charlemagne is emperor (800-814 A.D.). At the time of the inflow of positivist history Meyer’s novella suppresses the exact time and place of the story. He attends much more to proposing moral questions and problems such as crime and punishment. In Die Richterin all this is embedded in a seemingly incestuous love story. The telling name of Malmort, an estate of Raetia, where the story takes place means “bad death”. The lady and arbitress of Malmort is Stemma, the title heroine. Stemma recalls his stepson, Wulfrin from the army of Charlemagne so that he would clear up Stemma’s unexplained past before the people and acknowledge her innocence in the matter of the death of Wulfrin’s father. Wulfrin meets Stemma’s wish but he falls in love with his stepsister. Like in all of Meyer’s works, in this novella, too, love has an underground power that subverts symbolic order. It is worth beginning the interpretation of this work with the affects of love. By its first reading the novella includes three love triangles which affect each other in causality. 1. MYTHOLOGICAL PATTERNS The most important love triangle is the story of the love of the title heroine, Stemma. She inherited the judicature in early years and instituted order and justice in her domain, which had been dominated by family feuds and is still disturbed by hordes of Lombards. But she began this task after having secretly poisoned her much older husband, Wolfe who she did not love. At that time she was already pregnant by Peregrin, a young travelling scholar murdered by her father. According to the ritual of the Wolf family, her husband blew his horn after having returned from a campaign and then she offered her some wine from the family goblet. Wolfe drank the wine and died in sight of his own people. Before him Stemma also had had some wine but was untouched by it. She strives for justice but denies the truth even to her daughter Palma novella, who happened to overhear her when she hurled the naked facts at her husband’s grave. The count of Wolfe has a son named Wulfrin from his second marriage, the one before Stemma. Wulfrin is one of Charlemagne’s warriors; he is strong and courageous. Stemma recalls him from Charlemagne’s army and asks him to

investigate the circumstances of the death of his father and in case he finds her, Stemma innocent, proclaim his judgment. Wulfrin and Palma novella have affection towards one another from the beginning but Wulfrin, who believes that she is his half-sister, feels guilt about his seemingly sinful feeling. This affection brings the greatest tension in the novella and overthrows its symbolic order. Stemma’s problem also results from this: if she exposes the circumstances of the birth of Palma novella (i.e. that Palma and Wulfrin are not related) she declares herself guilty and must be condemned for murder. If she refrains from confession she makes the person, Palma unhappy the happiness of whom she blasted her own virtue by the murder. The second love triangle is that of Palma novella, Wulfrin and Palma’s admirer, Gnadenreich. According to Stemma’s plan Palma and Gnadenreich must get married and Wulfrin would act as their guardian and be the protector of the domain. Wulfrin is horrified at his own sinful desire so he does not protest and wants to marry Palma to Gnadenreich. Palma, endowed with an adventurous spirit, first innocently indulges in her love for the admired “brother,” but when she realizes the depth of her feeling and learns the truth of her birth, she refuses to live knowing yet dissembling the dark secret. Counterparts to these strong-willed characters, Stemma, Wulfrin and Palma are the Bishop Felix of Chur who, in his Christian meekness, is unable to assert his authority, and his “nephew” (that is, natural son), Gnadenreich, who is a self-righteous coward and refuses Palma because he does not want to marry the child of murder. The third love triangle is the story of Faustine, Lupulus and Stenio. Stemma is given a parallel figure in the servant Faustine, who also killed her husband, Lupulus, because she had already been pregnant by a dead man called Stenio. But once her daughter is married, Faustine confesses her crime to Stemma and demands her rightful punishment. The name Lupulus recalls Count Wolfe – they become each other’s counterparts just like Faustine and Stemma. Above them all Charlemagne rules as supreme judge, a personification of just and forceful order. The name Faustine carries the name “Faust”. This salient signal suggests that the novella should be read as a paraphrase of the myth of Faust. Stemma figuratively enters into alliance with the devil in order to live in peace. The impersonator of the devil is Peregrin – he is the one who transfers the posion to both Stemma and Faustine. On the vial of poison an image of a snake represents the link with the devil. Peregrin, like Faust and Mephistopheles is a voluptuary and an adventurer wandering the world. [1] He is a priest, best apprentice of Alcuin, and an expert in medicine. He seduces Stemma but does not want to elope with her so he soon meets his end. Stemma sees visions of him several times – in one of her visions he approaches his own daughter, Palma, ignoring the danger of incest. He consults only his own interests, he is clearly a negative character. Stemma, by invoking dead people (Peregrin and Count Wolfe) in her visions, is invested with an attribute of Faust.

2. MYTHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY Two objects presented by the characters as magical are introduced in the novella. One is a goblet which was given to the Wolf family by a Rhenish goblin or a mermaid. As long as a wife in the Wolf family recites flawlessly the incantation engraved on it her husband loves her. Stemma used this goblet to poison her husband. The object invokes the story of the Rhinegold which is also based on an alliance with the devil: he who wants to obtain the treasure has to give up his love. The other magical object is a hunting horn which descended from father to son in the Wolf family. According to Wulfrin the horn had fallen from the sky when the angel armies pronounced the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah and was dug out by one of his ancestors in the Holy Land. It’s magical power is that when a Wolf blows it on his way home his wife must admit if she has fallen into sin. [2] Wulfrin denies the power of the goblet since his father chased away Wulfrin’s mother although she could recite the incantation. Wulfrin blows the horn in a Roman tavern called “Palma novella” and its sound is so loud that all the walls in Rome could fall. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament is analogous to the Apocalypse [3] so the horn is connected to the Last Judgment as well. According to M. Burkhard Meyer uses the Wulfrin horn and the goblet as the main symbols throughout the novella. The horn is a symbol of judgement and the goblet is a symbol of love and union. [4] One of these two magical objects is present as an element of a pagan myth and the other as that of a Christian myth. Paganism being present as mythology and Christianity are connected at several points. The opening scene of the novella takes place in front of an equestrian statue. The statue is thought to represent Constantine the emperor (Saint Constantine) but Alcuin reveals the truth to Charlemagne: the statue is an image of Marcus Aurelius, a “pagan philosopher”. [5] Gnadenreich tells a story about how the church of Chur was robbed by the Lombards. The bishop tried to talk to the thief so the thief smacked the bishop’s horse with the bishop’s crook and the crook sundered. [6] The question of marriage is related to this paralellism as well. The novella poses the question if a marriage forced by society is superior to natural relationships. The love of Stemma and Peregrin, that of Wulfrin and Palma and that of Faustine and Stenio are natural relationships but are not acceptable by society. The reasons are that there is a difference of rank between Stemma and Peregrin; Wulfrin and Palma are thought to have kinship; and Faustine and Stenio did not got married. Even Charlemagne has a concubine although he is present as the embodiment of the supreme power (of God). The plot of the story is based on marriages forced by society – if natural relationships were untouched murders would not have happened. At the end of the novella the two points of view seem to join in the love of Wulfrin and Palma, their natural relationship results in a marriage accepted by society. These allusions hidden in the novella draw attention to the fact that the difference between paganism and Christianity is not proven; and that in this struggle Christianity cannot triumph. In the novella paganism represents natural life instincts and deeper truth which cannot be controlled by the meekness of Christianity. This

idea can be found also in Nietzsche’s works [7] but my study does not touch upon the similarities of the ideas of Meyer and Nietzsche in more detail. 3. MYTHOLOGICAL STRUCTURES The novella works by the logic of mythology not only in its elements but also in its structure. According to Frye a good example is the accomplishment of a prophecy mentioned at the beginning of the story. In such cases divine providence or fate comes into action. In reality this is a tool of literature which creates symmetry between the beginning and the end of fiction. [8] This process mentioned in Frye’s example is called mise en abyme by Dällenbach. This concept means a reduplication of the subject-matter of the story as in a mirror. Mise en abyme places also the structure of time of the narrated story in a different point of view. By simplifying the complexity of the original subject-matter, the fictional copy transforms time into space, changes sequentiality into simultaneity. The absence of real time is a proof of the correspondence between the functioning of myth and that of literature. [9] The novella contains several mise en abymes. Plater draws attention to the role of Alcuin’s fable about Raetia. The fable with its symbolic figures and landscape exemplifies the process of expressing abstract thoughts and feelings in concrete form. Meyer suggests not only an important scene later in the narrative but also the general background of the story and the basic plight and motivation of the main characters. Alcuin’s fable serves as a striking reminder of the highly conscious and intricate style characteristic of Meyer and of the special need of the reader to approach his work with the greatest care, if he is to enjoy all the subtleties of his complex narrative art. [10] When Palma and Wulfrin meets for the first time, an old lady, Sibilla appears and says that Wulfrin will be a very good husband of Palma. [11] Although it is explained to her that she misunderstands the situation her sentences become a prophecy yet to accomplish. Her name, Sibilla refers to the Sibylline Books, the Roman relics of prophecies or the Sibylline Oracles. Some objects become symbols by accumulating in themselves the interpretations and psychological situtations that the narrator withholds. In the novella a book appears on a picture of which a warrior is chased by a girl. The girl strongly resembles Palma novella. When it turns out that the picture is supposed to be a deterrent object lesson of love between siblings Wulfrin becomes devastated and rips the page out. He says that he was shocked at the book not being Christian but the reader knows that he recognized Palma and himself at the picture and got terrified. [12] 4. MAGICAL OBJECTS Mythological thinking is present in the novella with magical objects and rituals linked to them. By “magical” I mean the causality connecting two different, unrelated events. [13] The literary aspect of making the world magical is demonstrated by the functioning of textual objects and words creating causality.

Magical objects, when revealing their nature, “act” or “make people act” as incantations. In myths human acts and objects become “real” (have value) in case they are part of a reality beyond them, part of a sacral reality. The meaning and value of an act is evidently not in its physical aspects but in its capability of recreating an ancient, original mythic example. [14] Consequently an object or an act can become “real” only if it imitates or reproduces its archetype. In Die Richterin the two magical objects effectively create causality between unrelated events. Both objects are part of rituals being determinant and archetypal acts of the clan of the Wolf. The first time Palma and Wulfrin meet Palma wants to recite the words engraved on the goblet but Stemma stops her and removes the goblet from her hands. Therefore the goblet cannot “act” so Palma and Wulfrin’s love cannot become complete yet because the ritual has not happened. Stemma wants to remove also the horn from her sight, she throws it in the brook. Later a boy named Gabriel (called “angel Gabriel” [15] by Palma novella) fishes it out. Wulfrin blows the horn to see if it is working. Stemma, far from him in the town, thinks that her murdered husband has blown the horn so she visits his grave and tells him the truth to make him stop worrying her. Palma novella catches the confession in consequence of which Stemma confesses the murder in front of Charlemagne and the people clearing away the obstacle from the way of Palma and Wulfrin’s love. As far as causality is concerned, it was the blowing of the horn that brought the truth to light: Stemma had to confess her sin because of the link between the horn and the Last Judgment. Stemma and also Faustine kill themselves so symbolic order can be restored. 5. MYTH AND REALITY In his major work, The Dialectics of Myth A. Losev identifies myth with symbol. According to him symbols are not only objects but objects having intelligence and personality. [16] In Meyer’s novella objects with magical power are symbols, which proves that Meyer should not be classified as a “realist” dispite the fact that all of his prose was written during a chronologiacal period generally termed German Poetic Realism. We can note symbolist elements in Die Richterin, where images taken from sculpture or painting express central plot elements in one vivid symbolic compression. [17] Mythological forms also associate Meyer with symbolism. If we look at the novella from the point of view of real history, we find that the moral problems posed in it existed already in myths, meaning that the truth of myth surpasses historic reality. However, if we see it from the mythical point of view we reach the opposite of the preceding statement: problems arising in myths have become shallow and this means the precedence of history to myth. This is a paradox that the novella keeps continuously on the surface. REFERENCES [1] WALKÓ György Faust és Mefisztó, Bp., Magvető, 1982, p. 34. [2] MEYER, Conrad Ferdinand, Az asszonybíró. Trans by Lányi Viktor. Bp., Új Magyar, 1956, p. 13.

[3] See FRYE, Northrop, Kettős tükör. [The Great Code] Trans. by Pásztor Péter. Bp., Európa, 1996. [4] BURKHARD, Marianne, Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, Boston, Twayne Publishers, 1978, p. 140. [5] MEYER, op. cit., p. 8. [6] Ibid. p. 56. [7] See Nietzsche, Az Antikrisztus. Trans by Csejtei Dezső. Bp., Ictus, 1993. [8] FRYE, Northrop, A kritika anatómiája. [Anatomy of criticism] Trans by Szili József. Bp., Helikon, 1998, p. 119-20 [9] DÄLLENBACH, Lucien, Intertextus és autotextus. Trans. by Bónus Tibor. Helikon, No. 1-2. 1996, p. 53. [10] Edward M. V. Plater, Alcuin’s “Harmlose Fabel” in C. F. Meyer’s “Die Richterin”. German Life and Letters, Vol. 32, No. 4, 1979, pp. 318-26. [11] MEYER, op. cit., p. 44. [12] Ibid., p. 63. [13] FRAZER, James G., Az Aranyág. [The Golden Bough] Trans. by Bodrogi Tibor és Bónis György. Századvég, Bp., 1993. pp. 21-2. [14] ELIADE, Mircea, Az örök visszatérés mítosza. Trans. by Pásztor Péter. Európa, Bp., 2006. p. 17. [15] MEYER, op. cit., p. 50. [16] LOSZEV, Alekszej, A mítosz dialektikája. Trans. by Goretity József. Európa, Bp., 2000. p. 259. [17] See LUND, Deborah S., Ambiguity as Narrative Strategy in the Prose Work of C. F. Meyer. p. 174.