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Deutschland. Eine Auswahl aus De L'Allemagne
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179 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1810
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About the author
Madame de Staël
733 books94 followersAnne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein (22 April 1766 – 14 July 1817), commonly known as Madame de Staël, was a French woman of letters of Swiss origin whose lifetime overlapped with the events of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era. She was one of Napoleon's principal opponents. Celebrated for her conversational eloquence, she participated actively in the political and intellectual life of her times. Her works, both critical and fictional, made their mark on the history of European Romanticism.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 28, 2023
Eigentlich 4,5 die ersten 70% waren absolut einsichtsvoll, das Frauenrechtskapitel großartig, aber das Empindsamkeitskapitel war mir doch zu zeitgebunden, ausführliche Rezi mit Zitaten später.
November 13, 2014
De l'Allemagne is a wonderful book written by a French Noblewoman living in exile during the Napoleonic Wars in which she presents an overview of the culture of the German speaking peoples with the goal of explaining the nature and magnitude of the contribution that they were making to the art, literature, music and philosophy of Europe.
De Stael begins by noting the differences between the German and French languages. Modern German differed little from the language spoken by the Germanic peoples at the time of their wars with the Roman Empire. French was an offshoot from Latin. Thus the French were speaking a language that was totally unrelated to their cultural roots. German had a difficult grammar which forced them to proceed ponderously whether they were conversing or writing. French grammar was easy and efficient thus allowing the French to talk and write quickly. As a result French conversation was frivolous and witty whereas German conversation was serious.
Because the Germans were forced to be deliberate and serious in their conversation, their poetry, philosophy and music thus became more profound than that of the French. De Stael reviews the major German composers, poets, novelists and philosophers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century carefully pointing out how the works of each fit into her model of the German personality was one of deep thought whereas the French personality was one of superficial wit.
De Stael felt German culture had emerged in the 18th century as a wonderful antidote against the increasingly deleterious effect of French culture. The French language was a refined latinate instrument that was at war with the Gallic or Celtic soul of the Frenchman. German however was resolutely German thus allowed the modern German to stay in touch with his cultural origins. French literature which used the models of Greek and Latin antiquity was completely out of touch with the sensitivities of the modern French man. The French culture based on classical Greek and Roman literature had at the time of the Renaissance established an unhealthy ascendancy over all European culture. Fortunately, the Germans because were still in touch with their medieval culture which had produced the great Romans such as Parsifal and Tristan. Thus Germans were able to revive the Romantic culture which had existed before the Renaissance and the subsequent French domination of European art.
I am in instinctive agreement with de Stael. The Germany language is cumbersome and balky but ultimately yields exquisite poetry. It has the full functionality required of any modern language, yet the Germans are still using the language of the authors of the Nibelungenlied in their daily language. During the last two decades of the 18th Century and the first two decades of the 19th century, the cultural production of the Germans was vastly superior to that of the French.
I urge all literature lovers to read this book which is a glorious tribute to the romantic genius of the German speaking peoples.
De Stael begins by noting the differences between the German and French languages. Modern German differed little from the language spoken by the Germanic peoples at the time of their wars with the Roman Empire. French was an offshoot from Latin. Thus the French were speaking a language that was totally unrelated to their cultural roots. German had a difficult grammar which forced them to proceed ponderously whether they were conversing or writing. French grammar was easy and efficient thus allowing the French to talk and write quickly. As a result French conversation was frivolous and witty whereas German conversation was serious.
Because the Germans were forced to be deliberate and serious in their conversation, their poetry, philosophy and music thus became more profound than that of the French. De Stael reviews the major German composers, poets, novelists and philosophers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century carefully pointing out how the works of each fit into her model of the German personality was one of deep thought whereas the French personality was one of superficial wit.
De Stael felt German culture had emerged in the 18th century as a wonderful antidote against the increasingly deleterious effect of French culture. The French language was a refined latinate instrument that was at war with the Gallic or Celtic soul of the Frenchman. German however was resolutely German thus allowed the modern German to stay in touch with his cultural origins. French literature which used the models of Greek and Latin antiquity was completely out of touch with the sensitivities of the modern French man. The French culture based on classical Greek and Roman literature had at the time of the Renaissance established an unhealthy ascendancy over all European culture. Fortunately, the Germans because were still in touch with their medieval culture which had produced the great Romans such as Parsifal and Tristan. Thus Germans were able to revive the Romantic culture which had existed before the Renaissance and the subsequent French domination of European art.
I am in instinctive agreement with de Stael. The Germany language is cumbersome and balky but ultimately yields exquisite poetry. It has the full functionality required of any modern language, yet the Germans are still using the language of the authors of the Nibelungenlied in their daily language. During the last two decades of the 18th Century and the first two decades of the 19th century, the cultural production of the Germans was vastly superior to that of the French.
I urge all literature lovers to read this book which is a glorious tribute to the romantic genius of the German speaking peoples.
February 4, 2007
Imprescindible para entender el movimiento romántico.
October 15, 2022
Madame de Staël, Fransız romantizm akımı açısından çok önemli, öncü isimlerden biri. özellikle de bu ve De la littérature kitabıyla birlikte adından söz ettiriyor.
eserlerin önemi yüzünden okudum, söylemek istediğim tek şey fazlasıyla yüzeysel ve yanlı şekilde yazıldığı. o döneme göre bile.
eserlerin önemi yüzünden okudum, söylemek istediğim tek şey fazlasıyla yüzeysel ve yanlı şekilde yazıldığı. o döneme göre bile.
December 19, 2025
Skipped the section on German theater, with the exception of Goethe's Faust. This is a very useful book for seeing the development of Romanticism. There are times when it seems like de Staël is trying to argue for a holy war of Germany and England against Napoleonic France for the purpose of defeating godless materialism, no wonder Napoleon destroyed the first edition.
January 15, 2022
3 yıldız versem de, hakkını vererek okuyan biri için 4 yıldızlık, derin, felsefi bir kitap. 200 yıl önce bir kadın yazarın sansürden geçen düşünceleri.
August 9, 2016
I'm sure this book makes great reading material for someone who knows a lot more about Germany and German literature, and France and French literature, than I do, because it is certainly well-written and undoubtedly informative. But for me, it was just slightly more than 'it was ok' (two stars) and not quite up to 'liked it' (three stars), hence my two stars as a rating.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews