Der Tunnel

by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Genres: German Literature, Fiction

42 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1952

About the author

Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921 – 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist.

Dürrenmatt was born in the Emmental (canton of Bern), the son of a Protestant pastor. His grandfather Ulrich Dürrenmatt was a conservative politician. The family moved to Bern in 1935. Dürrenmatt began to study philosophy and German language and literature at the University of Zurich in 1941, but moved to the University of Bern after one semester. In 1943 he decided to become an author and dramatist and dropped his academic career. In 1945-46, he wrote his first play, "It is written". On October 11 1946 he married actress Lotti Geissler. She died in 1983 and Dürrenmatt was married again to another actress, Charlotte Kerr, the following year.

He was a proponent of epic theater whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author gained fame largely due to his avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire. One of his leading sentences was: "A story is not finished, until it has taken the worst turn". Dürrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I (or perhaps it is more correct to say when we) read Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s 1952 novella Der Tunnel for a twentieth century German language literature seminar in 1987 (third year undergraduate at Mount Allison University), our professor was pretty well adamant that the main themes and contents of Der Tunnel are an allegorical reckoning with the Third Reich, that everyone from the passengers (including the nameless student who functions as the main protagonist in Der Tunnel) to the train conductor (and who all keep to their assigned seats and specified duties, who refuse to get off the train until it is too late) are supposed to symbolically represent the German people and also individuals like British PM Neville Chamberlain refusing to consider the National Socialists as evil, as dangerous and even at first believing that Adolf Hitler actually desired peace until it was too late, until WWII and the Holocaust were the only possible outcome (that Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s Der Tunnel basically represents Europe and the world’s descent into chaos and mayhem, a symbolic train ride to doom and destruction that might have been lessened and mitigated if the passengers along for the ride had resisted and tried to save themselves instead of just keeping to their seats and even in the face of increasing discomfort and nervousness refusing to get actively involved or even just jumping off).

However, while I do indeed think that with Der Tunnel, Friedrich Dürrenmatt more than likely had WWII, the Third Reich and how naively especially most of Europe at first approached and even accepted the National Socialists (and believed Adolf Hitler’s lies) in mind, in my opinion, what transpires in Der Tunnel can actually be seen, should actually be considered as a criticism in general of how easily people become inactive, how readily we accept what the authorities tell us (and that yes, even to the point of no return) and also, how we so heavily rely on rules, regulations and the like to both determine our lives and influence our decisions. And yes, in the face of the current coronavirus pandemic, perhaps we should all be reading Der Tunnel and considering that in my opinion, Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s symbolic story of a train full of passengers catapulting through a tunnel into oblivion does not only show a criticism of society but also the message not to ever totally accept what that authorities tell us, to also be proactive and intelligent with regard to actively helping ourselves and others, to not consider the state as a collective baby sitter and nanny like nurse for everyone.

[Siti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Racconto veloce da leggere perché brevissimo, al tempo stesso intenso e parossistico. Nasce da una situazione ordinaria e degenera in un'inconsueta instabilità. Siamo su un treno, il tragitto è noto, percorso innumerevoli altre volte, eppure tutto fin dall'inizio scricchiola, tremula, respinge. La stessa motivazione che porta il nostro protagonista, svogliato studente, a stare su quel treno è futile: si reca in città per assistere a un convegno al quale-sa già- non parteciperà...non ne ha voglia! Il treno entra in un tunnel e ciò che dovrebbe essere un'interruzione momentanea diventa dapprima un'inspiegabile tragitto di cui non si ricorda la lunghezza o forse, il dubbio si insinua, un tragitto che si sta percorrendo per errore. Gli altri, impassibili, continuano nelle loro attività da viaggio, non mostrano né sorpresa né insofferenza, tanto meno inquietudine. Si mostrano semmai insofferenti agli approcci del nostro che imperterrito indaga, tenta di capire, si avventura fino al locomotore e all'epilogo. Interessante scrittura per un racconto ricco di significati a ricordarci il mistero della vita. Godibile ma non imperdibile.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die Geschichte ist in ihrer Skurrilität unterhaltsam. Über das, was mir Dürrenmatt sonst noch sagen wollte, mache ich mir morgen Gedanken 😅

[Juxhin Deliu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uno studente fuoricorso ventiquatrenne, prende l'abituale treno per raggiungere l'università, il quale passa per un piccolo tunnel. Questa traversata sembra però non finire mai, nel mezzo di un'oscurità preoccupante, ma nessuno sembra farci caso salvo il protagonista, che comincia pian piano a capire che il convoglio stia cadendo verso un abisso. Un racconto colmo d'apprensione sull'ineluttabilità della tragedia e la cecità della società verso l'imminente catastrofe, coadiuvata dalla fiducia spesso ingiustificata per le autorità e l'entusiasmo con il quale si seguono sino alla fine, quando il "niente" sembra l'ultima opzione possibile.

[Ivy-Mabel Fling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This shortish story is a very suitable read for our times - not only does it appear that we are heading down to hell but we are doing our best to ignore what is going on. Dürrenmatt wrote this not long after the second world war but he could have written it yesterday!! An excellent read!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Che cosa possiamo fare?"

[Online Stig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tunneln va okej resten kass

[Vittorio Alberici · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5⭐ Il racconto è brevissimo ma densissimo di significati, e l’immagine del treno che accelera inesorabilmente mentre i passeggeri restano indifferenti o tranquillamente rassegnati è una metafora lucidissima del mondo moderno che corre verso l’autodistruzione — ambientale, morale o esistenziale — senza la capacità (o la volontà) di fermarsi.

Il protagonista, l’unico a rendersi davvero conto del pericolo, incarna la coscienza lucida ma impotente dell’individuo, schiacciato dall’inerzia collettiva.

[Elektra Alexaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μικρό αφήγημα σουρρεαλιστικης υφής με κοινωνικές,ομως, προεκτάσεις. Ενα έργο γραμμένο με την καθηλωτικη αφηγηματική δεξιότητα του Ελβετού συγγραφέα, που συνηθίζει να στήνει σκηνικά στα οποία η ένταση κορυφώνεται σταδιακά και ο αναγνώστης ολοκληρώνει την ανάγνωση, αλλά σκέφτεται για ώρες τα όσα διαδραματίστηκαν μέσα σε λίγες σελίδες.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una breve e farsesca caduta verso l'inferno.

[Ripleyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the tunnel during a boring lecture. It was aight I guess.

[Farbror the Guru · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noveller av olika klass. Det doftar lite Kafka och viss brist på idéer. Det är huvudsakligen välskrivet men vad vill bli sagt?

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing. God let us fall. And now we’ll come upon him.

[Rosewater Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

Оценка (не в смысле количественного определяющего) должна была бы зависеть от ожиданий, кои читатель вкладывает (уподобляя их требованиям) в отношении "малого формата" - рассказа. В данном случае ожидания были завышенными, поскольку Дюрренматт, дюрренматт.
Что же получилось? Обессмысливший собственное существование полнотелый молодой человек, следуя проторенными путями (в свету фонарей и темноте витрин и вслед дверям питейных заведений - однако, в зеркальном отражении домашнего очага), сталкивается с вовсе неожиданной преградой (и в то же время единственной предвиденной - "влечением к смерти"), перед лицом которой с ним не происходит ровным счётом ничего.
Это напомнило о коанах дзэн, но на деле представляется профаническим буддизмом в естественных для культурного явления условиях (Далай-лама?) - это напомнило о католицизме Ватикана и "местном" православии (думаю, всякий даст вполне полноценное определение "местному" православию). Роль начальника поезда слишком просто объяснима наброском индустриального предпринимателя-первопроходца, а посему кажется вовсе неуместной или чересчур поспешно достигнувшей финала.
..
..а поначалу даже послышался "Мадрапур" (раздражительный шахматист и курящая девушка, чьему чтению помешал тоннельный мрак) - и вполне возможно, что произвольно архи(и стерео)типизированный (есть такое слово?) товарищами труд Робера Мерля сложился бы в форме поезда, пересекавшего нежеланно длинный тоннель, ЕСЛИ БЫ Фридрих Дюрренматт решил продлить формат, расширить содержание и преисполнить дальнейшее существование (сигара + двое (не пара) очков + вата : университет в другом городе = ) полнотелого молодого человека смыслом - пусть шатким, абстрактным и безжалостным в той же мере, в какой чутким к стороннему влиянию.

[Timo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,07 - Eines der Bücher, von denen ich sehr froh bin, sie nicht im Deutschunterricht kennengelernt zu haben. Denn die Erzählung funktioniert für mich für sich alleine genommen so gut, dass ich sie mir nicht dadurch kaputt machen wollen würde, dazu gezwungen zu werden sie in ihrer Metapherhaftigkeit ausanalysieren zu müssen.

[Ko-Wei Cheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

"we had entered the tunnel, but we didn't know that even then everything was already lost. We didn't think that anything had changed, and yet the shaft of the depths had already received us, and we had entered our abyss." This will be the most representative quote that stand for the theme. The last sentence, ""Nothing. God let us fall. And now we'll come upon him." acts more as a manifesto of the final plot twist (for the opening ending, short stories always have those) rather than a direct message from the author. Fredrich Durrenmatt convey an alarm about the people's unawareness and ignorance on the approaching threat. I like the theory that relates this theme to the coming of the Third Reich — the appeasing policies and negligence toward Germany until things last go in their worst way. Each character in the story symbolized different kinds civilians in a changing society — the inactive passengers, the aware and somewhat rebellious protagonist and the “last minute rule” chief conductor.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sedevamo nei nostri scompartimenti e non sapevamo che tutto era già perduto. Ancora non era cambiato nulla, così ci sembrava, ma in realtà il pozzo verso l'abisso ci aveva già risucchiati, ci aveva precipitato nelle profondità".

[Fredo_Credo · Rating 3 out of 5]

ultimate 1960s hipster meets timely demise in unending tunnel.

was the tunnel the friends we made on the way?

totally not, its just death