Soll und Haben

Soll und Haben #1-3

by Gustav Freytag

Bei diesem Werk handelt es sich um eine urheberrechtsfreie Ausgabe.
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Genres: Classics, German Literature, Fiction, Germany

565 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1855

About the author

Gustav Freytag (13 July 1816 – 30 April 1895) was a German novelist and playwright.

Freytag was born in Kreuzburg (Kluczbork) in Silesia. After attending the gymnasium at Oels (Oleśnica), he studied philology at the universities of Breslau (Wrocław) and Berlin, and in 1838 received his degree with a dissertation titled De initiis poeseos scenicae apud Germanos (Über die Anfänge der dramatischen Poesie bei den Germanen, English: On the Beginnings of Dramatic Poetry among the Germans). He became member of the student corps Borussia zu Breslau.

In 1839, he settled in Breslau, as Privatdozent in German language and literature, but devoted his principal attention to writing for the stage, achieving considerable success with the comedy Die Brautfahrt, oder Kunz von der Rosen (1844). This was followed by a volume of unimportant poems, In Breslau (1845), and the dramas Die Valentine (1846) and Graf Waldemar (1847). He at last attained a prominent position by his comedy, Die Journalisten (1853), one of the best German comedies of the 19th century.

In 1847, he migrated to Berlin, and in the following year took over, in conjunction with Julian Schmidt, the editorship of Die Grenzboten, a weekly journal which, founded in 1841, now became the leading organ of German and Austrian liberalism. Freytag helped to conduct it until 1861, and again from 1867 till 1870, when for a short time he edited a new periodical, Im neuen Reich. In 1863 he developed what is known as Freytag's pyramid.

He died in Wiesbaden.

Reviews

[Czarny Pies · Rating 1 out of 5]

Faute de pouvoir donner cinq étrons, je le donne une étoile.
Gustav Freytag's "Debit and Credit" is a nasty, evil work by an albeit talented writer. The novel vigorously promotes anti-Semitism, ethnic cleansing and middle class morality. Published in 1855, it supports the thesis that the Endlosung had a very long genesis and should not be viewed as an aberration caused by an overreaction to the allegedly unjust Treaty of Versailles of 1919. One reads "Debit and Credit" for the way that it illuminates the cultural context in which the Nazis acceded to power not for its literary qualities.

The primary plot describes the scheme of Itzig Veitel a malevolent moneylender to acquire the ownership of the land a poor Prussian noble family through unscrupulous means. Freytag describes this villain as being not only evil but physically hideous: "From that moment Itzig Vietel had a fixed plan, and began to carry it out. Indeed, young Itzig was by no means a pleasant apparition, pale, haggard, red-haired, and shabbily clothed as he was. He speculated cunningly too. He determined to acquire a claim upon the baron's property by a mortgage; thus he would safely invest his capital, and work on quietly till the day came when he could get hold of the property itself. " The passages with Itzig are quite painful to read.

A major subplot concerns the suppression of a Polish insurgency against German colonists determined to evict them from their homeland. (The edition I read did not make it clear whether Freytag was talking about the Greater Poland Uprising of 1846 or 1848). Freytag categorically endorses this ethnic cleansing putting the following words in the mouth of his hero: "I stand here now as one of the conquerors who, in the behalf of free labor and civilization, have usurped the dominion of the country from a weaker race. There is an old warfare between us and the Slavonic tribes; and we feel with pride that culture, industry, and credit are on our side. Whatever the Polish proprietors around us may now be—and there are many rich and intelligent men among them—every dollar that they can spend, they have made, directly or indirectly, by German intelligence. Their wild flocks are improved by our breeds; we erect the machinery that fills their spirit-casks; the acceptance their promissory notes and lands have hitherto obtained rests upon German credit and German confidence. The very arms they use against us are made in our factories or sold by our firms. It is not by a cunning policy, but peacefully through our own industry, that we have won our real empire over this country." Freytag very simply believes that as a superior race the Germans had ever right to expel the Poles from their own country. This is odious stuff.

His manifesto for middle class morality is at least interesting. His hero Anton Wohlfart is the son of an accountant. He grows up in reasonable comfort but is essentially left penniless when his two parents die while he is a teenager. The owner of a importing firm hires him as a clerk. Wohlfart demonstrates good bookkeeping skills, strong ethics and excellent judgement which allows him to progress steadily with the firm. However, he falls in love with a Lenore Rothsattel the daughter of a baron who has fallen into the traps set by Itzig the crooked Jewish moneylender. When the Baron loses his main estate, Anton becomes the steward of the Baron's second estate in Polish territory hoping to save the Baron's family from poverty. Working as a steward for the Baron, he realizes that much as he loves Lenore, he cannot love her because her world view as a noble is too different from his.

Anton succeeds in making the estate profitable but he lacks the skills necessary to fend off the Polish rebels who attack the property. At this point his aristocratic friend Fink arrives to lead the defenders of the estate. Fink and Lenore fall in love. Wohlfart returns to Berlin where he unmasks the fraud that was used to deprive Lenore's father of his main estate thus ensuring that Lenore will have an honourable dowry when she marries Fink. Lenore returns to the import firm where he learned his business skills. He is welcomed back like a prodigal son and marries the principal's daughter. Thus two aristocrats and two middle-class people are united in appropriate matches.

I found this novel abhorrent from beginning to end but it does provide a great portrait of the values that dominated Prussian society in the second half of the nineteenth century. It is recommended for history buffs rather than literature lovers.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the most successful German novels of the 19th century. Forty years ago it was nearly impossible not to find it when walking over a flea market.

In the quarter I grew up the streets were named after famous German writers. Goethe, Schiller, Heine. And Freytag was one of them. Today, the book and the author are nearly forgotten. It is no longer in print and if the book is remembered at all then as an example of a boring, bland and antisemitic piece of literature.

I always wanted to check for myself and now I finally did. The main obstacle was that I could not get hold of a modern print and so I had to work my way through the old Fraktur. One gets used to it but it was not easy.

So, what is it about? The main character is a young man called Anton Wohlfart, who arrives at the Hauptstadt (Breslau) to start an apprenticeship in the office of a merchant called Schröter. On the way to the city he gets to know by chance the noble family of Rothsattel. The younger generation is represented by Leonore and her brother Eugen. Old Schröter has also boy and a girl. The young lady being called Sabine. And it seems clear that our hero will choose in the end either Leonore or Sabine. But, and it is a very important but, this is not a novel about love and lovers. Love plays next to no role in this book.

Together with Anton another young man comes to the city, a Jew called Veitel Itzig who is destined to become the villain of the story. They know each other from school and Anton had even protected him from the other kids but it is fair to say that there is no friendship between the two.

Both of them find a mentor who will play an important role in their lives. Anton makes friends with the arrogant and cynic (and brave and golden-hearted) colleague Fritz von Fink (after nearly getting killed by him because honour demands to challenge him for a duel because of some minor quarrel). Itzig finds the wine-drinking dubios ex-lawyer Hippus to teach him everything he needs to know to make it in society (including the more dirty tricks of the trade).

Rothsattel represents the German nobility. He is as arrogant as incompetent. Trying to make a fortune to guarantee the superior living style of his family for all eternity he decides to build a nice manufacture. He gets credits from one Hirsch Ehrenthal (employer of Itzig) but makes a mess out of it. And finally sees no way out. But even to kill himself he is too incompetent. He just manages to become an invalid blind old guy who loses everything. Or nearly everything.

Because there is still some piece of land in Poland. And the family makes poor Anton the guy in charge. For reasons not entirely clear, he quits his job at Schröters and works for the noble family maybe he thinks he might be in love with Leonore. But more likely because he thinks it it somehow the honorable thing to do. To no ones surprise the old Rothsattel is not inclined to be very grateful. And Freytag makes it quite clear that Leonore is not really the lady deserving our hero. (She is too stupid and lazy to learn English, for example.)

Anyway. There are lot of adventures with the Poles (who indeed are often pictured as not on a level with Germans). Fink, who had gone to America in the meantime comes back. And finally buys the land and marries Leonore. And Anton returns to the worthy Sabine.

Itzig becomes a murderer (of poor Hippus) and gets killed. That’s it.

A very strange novel. Excellently written. Very simple most of the time but poetic if occasion called. (How about this: “Die meisten der jüngeren waren, wie sich aus den Neckereien merken ließ, während der ersten Monate ihres Aufenthaltes leidenschaftlich in das Fräulein des Hauses verliebt gewesen. Und als die Flamme aus Mangel an Nahrung nach und hach heruntergebrannt war, hatte jeder ein Häuflein glühender Kohlen vor den Spöttereien in den geheimsten Winkeln seines Herzens geschoben, wo die Kohlen noch lagen und fortglimmten.”) Some great characters, especially Fink and Hippus. Anton is too good to be true but not totally boring.
What is the book really about? About the ethics of working. (There is a very good supporting character representing the working class.) Of staying at home and doing ones work. (Anton had the chance to join his friend to go to America. But he is not interested.)

Is it an antisemitic novel? I do not think so. Itzig is evil and not very likeable but then people turn nasty if they do not receive any sympathy and not even Anton can bring himself to even treat him decently. Ehrenthal is maybe a carricature of a Jew but not a bad character and his son Bernhard (a friend of Anton) is the essence of goodness. (Maybe that is a sign of antisemitism). Also, there was the rumour that Fassbinder toyed with the idea of making a movie out of the story. And he, definitely, was an Antisemite, so maybe he found something he liked in the book.

[Vivi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wenn man die Erzählung ohne ihren geschichtlichen Hintergrund oder ihrer Bedeutung für den Nationalsozialismus liest, ist es ein unterhaltsames, angenehm zu lesendes, wenn auch manchmal langatmiges Werk.
Freytag versteht es den Wert des Bürgertums in scharfer Abgrenzung zum nichtsnutzigen und zum Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts irrelevant werdenden Adel hervorzuheben. In allem - der Kultur, der Moral, dem Fleiß, der Bildung war das Bürgertum nun die vorherrschende Klasse der Gesellschaft.
Besonders schön zeigt sich dieser Kampf und die spätere Symbiose mit dem Adel durch die Beziehungen des Protagonisten Anton Wohlfahrt und seinen Freunden dieser Schicht. Wo am Anfang Bewunderung für die glänzende Welt der Reichen und eine gewisse Sehnsucht danach in ihm erwacht, folgt Ernüchterung und die Erkenntnis, dass nur harte Arbeit, Fleiß und Ehrlichkeit sich in der Welt bewähren kann. An sich eine schöne idealistische Idee.

Leider werfen die meist negativen Darstellungen von Juden und Polen bzw. slawischen Völkern ihren antisemitischen Schatten über das viel-gelesene Buch. Denn selbst, wenn Freytag nicht antisemitisch gesinnt war, so diente seine Geschichte doch vielen, sie in ihren Vorurteilen über die Juden zu bestärken.

[Chortexiphan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfekt.

[arius ;]

0 stars. i agree with user czarny pies' review. couldn't have said it better.

[Alexandru Cuibus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written - like Berlin Alexander-Platz